Jim Terry. That’s a name many of us didn’t expect to see on top of the Pride Cup. Jim might admit he didn’t expect to see his name in lights, either.
Jim accepts the Pride Cup
Last year, Jim finished ninth with 130 tips, 17 behind the winner, Adam G. He grumbled as the season went on, having put too much faith in Gold Coast and GWS. He wasn’t paying attention to the odds.
This year, he paid attention to those odds but he also made gutsy, odd selections. Jim was never lower than fourth. He took the lead in round five over his daughter, Kristine. He led by two points after round seven but Kristine pegged him back, leading him by a point after round 13. The family rivalry was fierce.
Two gutsy tips in round 14, Gold Coast over Geelong and GWS to beat Carlton, gave Jim eight for the round and put him in front.
In round 17, he picked Brisbane at home to beat West Coast and the Western Bulldogs to beat Gold Coast, ending the round three tips ahead. By round 19, he led by four tips.
In the final rounds, Jim stayed away from upsets and won by a solitary tip from Kristine and Adam G.
When presented with the Pride Cup, Jim was thrilled. ‘I’m pleased I won,’ he said.
It was great watching Jim handle the trophy that once belonged to a fighter called Claude Clifford. It was Jim’s first victory. He becomes the twelfth person in history to win the Pride Cup.
For the first time in history, the Pride Cup went online. The competition was easier to manage and the footytips website offered more information than I did. To separate the punters, we had to pick the margin of each Friday night game. The lower our final margin, the better.
Technology improved the Pride Cup. It’s a long way from how it all started.
Way back in 1995, the Pride Cup had three members, Nick, Russ and I. Football fixtures kept the score. Given the paucity of members and the interstate distance between us, I suggested we would play for pride.
That’s why the competition has always been fierce.
Russ, Nick and I shared victory from 1995 until 2003, when Andy became the first Queenslander to win. To prove how tough the Pride Cup is, Andy has finished in the top three just once since his win, in 2009.
Adam G won his first Pride Cup in 2004, sharing the spoils with myself on 125 tips. It was the year Adam G’s remarkable run of excellence began.
Wayne finished three clear in 2005, his only triumph but one that was well deserved. Another new person winning the Pride Cup made the competition interesting.
It was the usual suspects in 2006, with Adam G, Russ and myself tying for first. Anne, in a major breakthrough in 2007, became the first woman to win. She was rightly celebrated.
The history of the Pride Cup showed it was getting harder to make the right selections. In 2004 the winners notched 125 points for the year. Wayne was seven below that in 2005.
In 2006 and 2007 the scores were worse, with the winners tied on 117 points.
But it got easier when another woman, Katy, shared victory with Adam G in 2008. Their scores, 126 tips, set a Pride Cup record.
Katy and Adam defended their titles in 2009, tying with Sandra, who also finished with 122 points.
Sandra became the third woman to win the Pride Cup, and that is good for football.
In 2010, Paul had a four tip lead with two rounds to play. In the last round, leading by two, Paul inexplicably picked three upsets and lost the Pride Cup to James, by one tip.
Dave joined the competition in 2002 and didn’t tip well in his early years. He rebounded in 2007 and 2009, finishing in second place. That was when he sent the infamous email, I’m not quitting until I win.
After finishing outside the top three in 2010, Dave got serious and won by a single tip in 2011. His score, 143, was bolstered by the introduction of the Gold Coast Suns, but it set a new Pride Cup record.
Dave promptly retired from competition and hasn’t been back.
Anne proved her ability by winning the Pride Cup again in 2012. Her score, 155, set another record that may never be beaten. She became a two-time champ, and remarkably has another seven podium finishes to her name.
With a little more luck, she might’ve had four titles.
But winning the Pride Cup isn’t easy. Victory is achieved by guts and glory, luck and skill.
Jim is testament to that. No one else has won the Pride Cup after finishing ninth the previous year. Jim’s performance is the best in Pride Cup history.
Pride Cup winners
| Pride Cup champions | |
|
Total |
Winner |
|
5 |
Adam G, Russ |
|
4 |
Matt |
|
3 |
Nick |
|
2 |
Anne, Katy |
|
1 |
Andy, Dave, Wayne, James F, Sandra, Jim |
Pride Cup history – 2014
|
Year |
Winner |
Score |
Second |
Score |
Third |
Score |
|
2014 |
Jim |
149 |
James |
145 |
Donna |
144 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
Kristine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adam G |
|
|
|
|
2013 |
Adam G |
147 |
Wayne |
145 |
Russ |
144 |
|
Matt |
||||||
|
Anne |
||||||
|
Kristine |
||||||
|
2012 |
Anne |
155 |
Matt |
153 |
Russ |
151 |
|
2011 |
Dave |
143 |
Anne |
142 |
James F |
141 |
|
2010 |
James F |
118 |
Paul |
117 |
Anne |
115 |
|
2009 |
Katy |
122 |
Dave |
120 |
Anne |
118 |
|
Adam G |
Neal |
Andy |
||||
|
Sandra |
||||||
|
2008 |
Katy |
126 |
Anne |
125 |
Russ |
123 |
|
Adam G |
Matt |
|||||
|
2007 |
Anne |
117 |
Dave |
115 |
Kim |
114 |
|
Matt |
114 |
|||||
|
Russ |
114 |
|||||
|
2006 |
Adam G |
117 |
Wayne |
116 |
Paul |
115 |
|
Matt |
117 |
|||||
|
Russ |
117 |
|||||
|
2005 |
Wayne |
118 |
Anne |
115 |
Matt |
114 |
|
Adam G |
115 |
Russ |
114 |
|||
|
2004 |
Matt |
125 |
Anne |
122 |
Kim |
121 |
|
Adam G |
125 |
Russ |
122 |
|||
|
2003 |
Andy |
122 |
Adam G |
120 |
Matt |
119 |
|
2002 |
Russ |
122 |
Eric |
120 |
Wayne |
119 |
|
Nick |
122 |
|||||
|
2001 |
Russ |
121 |
Adam L |
120 |
Matt |
119 |
|
2000 |
Matt |
116 |
Russ |
115 |
Nick |
113 |
|
1999 |
Nick |
122 |
Russ |
116 |
Matt |
114 |
|
1998 |
Russ |
113 |
Matt |
105 |
Nick |
100 |
|
1997 |
Matt |
117 |
Nick |
114 |
Russ |
113 |
|
1996 |
Russ |
119 |
Matt |
117 |
Nick |
116 |
|
1995 |
Nick |
116 |
Russ |
108 |
Matt |
105 |
