三十年前，澳洲足球联赛(AFL)曾提议将霍桑鹰队与墨尔本恶魔队合并1。这一计划随即引发了霍桑队内部的激烈反抗。前传奇球员唐·斯科特领导发起了名为"Operation Payback"的反合并运动1，通过支持者捐款和大规模集会的方式与之对抗1。
合并的诱饵并不小——AFL为此提供了600万美元的补贴1，并投入25万美元进行支持合并的公关活动1。但这些努力最终未能阻挡霍桑队的反弹。在决定性的最后一轮比赛中，墨尔本对阵霍桑的比赛吸引了64000名支持者到场1。随后的投票大会激烈进行，合并计划最终被否决1。
如今，霍桑队已经独立重建成一支强大的球队，拥有1亿美元的足球综合体和87000名会员1。
Three decades ago, the Australian Football League proposed a merger between Hawthorn and the Melbourne Demons, a move that would have fundamentally altered the sport's landscape.1 The AFL offered a merger subsidy of A$6 million and invested A$250,000 in a public relations campaign supporting the consolidation.1 However, legendary Hawthorn player Don Scott led a grassroots resistance movement called "Operation Payback," mobilizing supporters through donations and mass rallies to oppose the plan.1
The campaign reached its climax during a pivotal final-round match between Melbourne and Hawthorn, which drew 64,000 supporters to the ground.1 Following this critical game and an intense vote by club members, the merger proposal was decisively rejected.1 Scott, who played 302 games for the club and won three premierships—two as captain—became the face of Hawthorn's fight for independence.1
The outcome vindicated the resistance. Hawthorn has since rebuilt successfully as an independent entity, now boasting 87,000 members and a football complex valued at A$100 million.1 The club's revival stands as testament to the determination that saved it from absorption three decades earlier.1
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