Carlton’s reigning John Nicholls Medallist Andrew Carrazzo hoisted a Navy Blue flag to the heavens in Lygon Street, in what is now a traditional ceremony in the Club’s spiritual heartland to herald in the season.
“I love coming down to Lygon Street,” said Carrazzo, whose grandfather ran a bakery not far from the Carlton ground. “My family lived down here about 50 or 60 years ago, so I almost feel like I’m home sometimes. It’s a great part of Melbourne.”
Carrazzo raised a flag at the corner of Lygon and Faraday Streets where the now-retired Anthony Koutoufides did the deed last year. Together with popular restaurateur Pierre Succi of Ti Amo and the Vice-President (Welfare) of Melbourne University’s Overseas Student Service Jia Kai Goh, Carrazzo hoisted the last of 22 flags which will, for the next six weeks, proudly fly on the Lygon Street strip between Elgin and Grattan Streets.
“That was very different for me,” Jia said of his role in the ceremony. “I can see the importance of the Carlton Football Club connecting with the local community and the raising of the flags are symbolic of this connection.
“I believe that football is a means of enabling the international students to feel more welcome. The students are headquartered in Carlton and in seeing the flags they can identify with something that’s common. Together they can go to the match and shout their support for Carlton because they come from Carlton . . . it’s a fantastic experience.”
Carrazzo welcomed Jia’s involvement in the flag-raising ceremony, which he said was a small step in welcoming the international students into the fold.
“We’ve got around 9000 new Asian students coming into Melbourne Uni this year. I think they’re looking for a new home, so I’d like to welcome all of them down to the Blues and encourage them to take out a membership in 2008 and beyond.”
Shoptraders including Milu’s Michael Costanzo and Café Brunetti director Fab Angele have also fastened Carlton Football Club seasonal launch posters to their shopfront windows, in a display of solidarity reflecting the posters’ key message, “Together We Rise”.
