A mob of angry Essendon supporters has dissipated after one emotional fan set his merchandise alight to protest the Bombers’ poor form, only for the fire to fizzle out far sooner than intended.
The short-lived display occurred outside the MCG after Essendon’s match against Carlton, in which the Blues dominated the entire second half and finished 13-point winners.
One witness described the incident as “the second biggest anti-climax of the day”.
“As we were leaving the stadium, we saw the bloke with a big crowd around him,” the witness said.
“The bloke made it pretty clear he wanted to burn his scarf. The other fans tried to stop him but couldn’t, and the scarf went up in flames. The other fans started yelling at him. They weren’t impressed.
“And then it happened,” the witness continued, looking mesmerised.
“The fire just stopped. Nobody even touched it. The flames started out so strong, but they seemed to just die out of nowhere.
“It’s almost like it … gave up.”
This is salt in the wounds of Bombers fans, after their team this weekend suffered its sixth loss of the season due to a second half fade-out.