Taranto, Hopper, and The Power of First Impressions

The oldest rule in screenwriting is that the audience always falls in love with the first person they meet. The fifth oldest rule is that first impressions matter more than every other impression. Almost all of the 10 oldest rules are around the first time the audience meets a character that the audience is expected to feel strongly about, one way or another.

I’ve been watching the second season of Mike White’s The White Lotus. It’s phenomenal. Definitely funnier than the first season, which was extremely funny, and also a more interesting and scathing commentary on everything and everyone.

Part of the genius of that show is that it abides by those rules. Within 5 minutes of meeting the various characters going to the hotel, you know exactly what to expect from them. Aubrey Plaza has a forced smile, Michael Imperioli is making strained conversation with his weird son and sex pest father, and the happy old money guy and his wife are engaged in overt PDA while issuing warm and fallow smiles to Aubrey Plaza and her husband.

You just know all of these characters instantly. You can place them in your own life, and that instantly informs who you love and who you hate.

That’s the power of first impressions. That first impression provides an anchor for your impression of the character and it’s hard to depart from it. That’s what makes Michael’s transformation in The Godfather so stark and compelling. He flips that first impression on its head.

It’s the same in life and, pertinently, in footy, especially when a club has spent big money bringing in top recruits. It’s dumb and idiotic. It’s pure fan fiction. And yet, if I see that X new player is tearing up the track or Y new player set the club record running the tan or whatever propaganda a club will put out about its new recruits, I fall for it every single time.

In some breaking news that is as surprising as 45 complaining about election results, I have fallen for it again. When I saw Taranto and Hopper show up to preseason early, I became irrationally excited and I have fallen in love with them immediately.

Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are moving from a cold oven to a pressure cooker environment. Yes, I question whether you really should be paying a premium for pure midfield only talent. And yes, I am concerned that Hopper played only 7 games last year and Taranto only 16.

But no, I do not care. At least not yet. They showed up early. They made a good first impression. I am excited. I don't even know how I'll feel if one of them wins the time trial around the tan, or the first 2km. I'll be uncontrollably pumped, because as a fan I just can't help it.

I wrote earlier in the offseason that the Trade Period Industrial Complex very seldom anoints the right winners and losers in the moment (https://guywholikessport.wixsite.com/guywholikessport/post/why-memento-has-me-wondering-about-the-trade-period). More often than not, either nobody wins, or the team that paid too much money for marginal talent or talent in non-premium positions ends up the loser when the dust settles.

I have no idea if this will happen for the Tigers this year.

But based on this first impression. The Richmond Tigers are a rocket ship that is on a one way path to the moon. As it stands, on yet another wintry late November day, I honestly can’t see how Richmond can lose. Taranto, Hopper and one of Prestia/Bolton/Cotchin/Martin/Short/Graham/Sonsie in the middle. A still extremely potent forward setup. A defence that is ripe to improve markedly because Gibcus showed up early as well.

I’m asking honestly, where is the weakness for these Tigers?

This is not the most incisive article that I have ever written, nor is it full to the brim of data. Really, it’s just a guy talking himself into his team because he’s got nothing better to think about 5 months from the first bounce of the 2023 season.

But really what it’s about is the power of that first impression and why, as a new and expensive signing, there is nothing more important than getting off on the right foot with the fanbase. Taranto and Hopper have done just that, and I’m excited to see them play on the last Saturday in September. Better cancel my plans now to be safe.