First AFL match

[The rabbi]

Mine was probably about 1969 or 70. I am not sure.

Geelong played Norf Melbourne at Kardinia park. Geelong was a reasonable side and Norf were generally cellar dwellers and had not won a flag at that stage.

Norf beat Geelong.

 

[eliiiiza]

Not my 1st game...... but the 1st game i took my missus to was Vs Richmond in 2007....... we had such a great time...and shes been hooked ever since....must say shes had a better run then me..... i think we have only lost about 5 games since shes been going to the games with me......

and i cant remember my 1st game......

Haha that's the first Geelong game I took Craig to as well...

My first game was at Skilled Stadium in 2005 I think... Round 22 against the Tigers. I think we won one point.

 

[cats2rise]

When I was 5. Was vs Richmond at the MCG God only kicked two and we lost by 63 or so points. It was raining.

 

[re cat]

Mine was probably about 1969 or 70. I am not sure.

Geelong played Norf Melbourne at Kardinia park. Geelong was a reasonable side and Norf were generally cellar dwellers and had not won a flag at that stage.

Norf beat Geelong.

gee, you must be old

 

[Whiskers]

I was 8 and missed my Junior GF due to injury so my uncle drove me from the country to see the Cats vs Eagles PF in 1991 at waverly. Was a BAAAAAD week. My team won the local footy GF. Yes i prob should have gone to it even if i could not play.

 

[SJ]

When I was 5. Was vs Richmond at the MCG God only kicked two and we lost by 63 or so points. It was raining.

Must have been the only time he kicked less than eight or so against Richmond in his career.

 

[thejester]

I don't know the year or the round, but at a stab I'd say 92 or 93. It was at KP, we used Grandad's seat in the Brownlow, and it was against Melbourne...we won.

 

[SriLankanCat]

I been a mad footy fan since 1991, but living in sydney i didnt have a chacne to go to many cat games...

my first afl game was geelong v sydney in 2005 round 12 at the scg..geelong lost by 50 odd points...and of course the semi final which id like to forget about

The first 4 times i saw geelong play we lost...the last 7 have been wins

my first game at kardinia park was also against sydney in 2006 which we won!

the best game has to have been the 2007 prelim

 

[noclashjumpers]

I can't really remember my first game. I think it was against Collingwood in the early-mid 80's ...& we lost. Too young to remember though.

But I do remember Dad taking me to a family day around the same time, where I met Tommy Hafey! I was pretty awe-struck as a young kid. Still have a photo somewhere. I think his bicep was bigger than my head!

 

[James1970]

My first game watching the cats live was South Melbourne V Geelong at the Lakeside Oval 17th of August 1974. The Cats won by 1 point and as the only Geelong Supporter in a family of Swans. I had the best drive home I have ever had stirring the shit out of my older brothers who couldn't touch me because our parents were right there. Happy memories!

Do you remember the game a year or two later at Lakeside when the Cats smashed the Swans in the first half to lead by about 10 goals, to then lose by about 5 in pouring rain? I must have been around 6, but still remember the noise the Swans faithfull made in that final quater. A horrible, horrible day made worse by the fact that Mum wouldn't let me on the ground to kick the footy after the game because of the mud.

First game - age 4 - Cats Vs Lions, Junction Oval, 1974 - we won by three points with a Newman torp on the siren (or so memory tells me). Running on the oval after the game and patting players on the back, then kicking a footy around the goalposts at the scoreboard end, followed by fish and chips while watching The Winners. Grand days...

 

[goyoucatters]

Just looked up some online stats, to confirm the memories, bitter as they are...

Having lived my whole life as a Cat fan in exile, the entry of the Brisbane Bears to the comp. in 1987 was my first chance to see the boys play live in an actual fixture. Before that, they'd been here for a praccy match when I was 10 or 11.

Round 15, 1987 - Sunday 5th July at Carrara.

Going into the game, Cats were 1/2 a game out of the five, while the Bears were running third last, with four wins for the whole season.

What I (vividly) remember is how poorly we played, how pitiful the Bears (and their jumper) were, and how angry my Dad was. It was the first time he had been able to take his sons to see the Cats play, and to have them play so woefully was devastating for him.

My Dad has never forgiven the Bears/Lions - while my brother and I tolerate them, my father still vindictively hopes for them to finish last every year.

Two things happened that afternoon that have often recurred in my following of the Cats ever since:

(1) We inexplicably lost to pathetic (yet more determined) opposition.
(2) We kicked woefully - 7.18 at the last change.

I went home as a naive and impressionable 13 year old, and wrote a letter to the club, expressing my disappointment. I also included my selection advice for the following week, which was to make sure Billy and Gavin Exell were back in the team.

To my amazement (when I think back on it now), I received a typed, personal reply from the club (signed by Ron Hovey, I think). The letter thanked me for taking the time to write, and (sarcastically, I guess) agreed that Brownless and Exell were likely to be back in the seniors soon.

To my embarrassment, I think I threw the letter away some years ago....would have been great to show my little bloke when he's old enough to understand what it means to follow the Cats.

Even if nobody remembers this game, you might remember the corresponding fixture at KP in Round 2. Bears embarrassed us on our home turf, with Jim Edmond kicking eight.

You might also remember that the Hawks pipped us in the final seconds of Round 22 at home, so we missed the final five by half a game.

All very well to blame the Hawks, but 21 years later I'm still asking myself, 'Why couldn't we beat the Bears?'

Even one win in '87 (against the team that finished second last, winning only six games) would have been enough to see us playing finals.

Have to say that this inaugural experience has indelibly shaped the way I feel about Geelong - makes the '07 GF seem even more miraculous, and the '08 GF like the reversion to type...

 

[The rabbi]

gee, you must be old

I like to think of myself as a mature gentleman.

But most people think that I am just a silly old bastard.

 

[SJ]

Just looked up some online stats, to confirm the memories, bitter as they are...

Having lived my whole life as a Cat fan in exile, the entry of the Brisbane Bears to the comp. in 1987 was my first chance to see the boys play live in an actual fixture. Before that, they'd been here for a praccy match when I was 10 or 11.

Round 15, 1987 - Sunday 5th July at Carrara.

Going into the game, Cats were 1/2 a game out of the five, while the Bears were running third last, with four wins for the whole season.

What I (vividly) remember is how poorly we played, how pitiful the Bears (and their jumper) were, and how angry my Dad was. It was the first time he had been able to take his sons to see the Cats play, and to have them play so woefully was devastating for him.

My Dad has never forgiven the Bears/Lions - while my brother and I tolerate them, my father still vindictively hopes for them to finish last every year.

Two things happened that afternoon that have often recurred in my following of the Cats ever since:

(1) We inexplicably lost to pathetic (yet more determined) opposition.
(2) We kicked woefully - 7.18 at the last change.

I went home as a naive and impressionable 13 year old, and wrote a letter to the club, expressing my disappointment. I also included my selection advice for the following week, which was to make sure Billy and Gavin Exell were back in the team.

To my amazement (when I think back on it now), I received a typed, personal reply from the club (signed by Ron Hovey, I think). The letter thanked me for taking the time to write, and (sarcastically, I guess) agreed that Brownless and Exell were likely to be back in the seniors soon.

To my embarrassment, I think I threw the letter away some years ago....would have been great to show my little bloke when he's old enough to understand what it means to follow the Cats.

Even if nobody remembers this game, you might remember the corresponding fixture at KP in Round 2. Bears embarrassed us on our home turf, with Jim Edmond kicking eight.

You might also remember that the Hawks pipped us in the final seconds of Round 22 at home, so we missed the final five by half a game.

All very well to blame the Hawks, but 21 years later I'm still asking myself, 'Why couldn't we beat the Bears?'

Even one win in '87 (against the team that finished second last, winning only six games) would have been enough to see us playing finals.

Have to say that this inaugural experience has indelibly shaped the way I feel about Geelong - makes the '07 GF seem even more miraculous, and the '08 GF like the reversion to type...

This game was summed up beautifully in John Harms' Loose Men Everywhere. He said the same sort of things.

 

[Catsace]

My first game was Rd 7 1977, when Geelong beat the Dees 21.17.143 to 13.15.93. Larry Donohue scored 7 goals i think, and that game was made all the more memorable for a couple of unique games 'around the grounds'.

Hawthorn that day kicked 25.41.191 against St.Kilda's 16.7.103, so i would hear blokes in front call out scores like Hawks 8.20 to 8.1, and 10.24. to 10.3!

The other one was Collingwood inflicting Carlton's first 100+ point loss.

But a great day for a Cat fan, watching players like Turner, Donohue, Newman etc doing well. My next game was not so good, the Cats were beaten 6.15.51 to about 14.12.96 by the Kangaroos later that year.

I must admit, watching the Rd 1 1984 game was awesome. Jackson kicking 9 goals, hot on the heels of Terry Bright's previous season 'haul' of 26 in 1983, plus the debuts of Gary Sr and Greg Williams. Gary announced himself as a unique talent that day, and close to 25 years later, we can continue to be excited by that same name producing unique feats on the field for the Cats.

Thinking of that suddenly makes me feel better!

 

[goyoucatters]

This game was summed up beautifully in John Harms' Loose Men Everywhere. He said the same sort of things.

J. Harms is a quality individual. Nobody else out there can sum up the lot of the Cats supporter like John.

'Loose Men Everywhere' should be compulsory reading for every Cats fan...

 

[Jan44]

Well guys must be the oldest one around here. My first AFL or should I say VFL game was back in1968. I went down to the old Nth Melbourne ground and decided that day to join the cheer squad. Actually stayed a member till 1972 when I went to NZ for a working holiday. Memories from back then include a hill where the Doug Wade stand is, one row of seats around the ground. Painful memories include getting up at 4.30am to catch the train down to Geelong. We took it in turns to take the banners ( went around the ground) or a flogger home and had to take that on the train as well. Would you believe re-joined the group back in 1997 nearly 30 years on. Still a social member, and still keep in touch with supporters from 40 years ago. Also another though we used to make the run through in the old KROCK rooms only was the width of the race.
Slept out for finals tickets that was an experience and quite often chatted to Sammy Newman in the race that was also an experience.

 

[Sammy D]

I can't remember my first AFL match, it would have been a game at KP in 1991/1992. The earliest game I remember is Geelong vs Essendon Round 9, 1992 at the MCG.

Remember being just simply amazed at how massive the stadium was. We won 28.13.181 to 17.22.124 and Robert Scott kicked a bag.

 

[magic_johnson!]

b b b b b b bump

 

[winty]

When I was 5. Was vs Richmond at the MCG God only kicked two and we lost by 63 or so points. It was raining.

Was that the game where Justin Charles made his comeback after being suspended for taking steroids, and some Richmond guy came off the bench and ran through Barnesy, sending him into next week?

 

[Turkey Tom]

No idea on the first live game I saw, but it was probably a Collingwood game as my father and next door neighbour followed them.

It may have been a Collingwood vs Melbourne game at Victoria Park in the late 60's which Collingwood won easily. The highlight of the day was the ball getting kicked into one end of the windsock and coming out the other end.

1st Geelong game, may have been the first game at Waverley - 1970? We beat Fitzroy.

 

[cats2rise]

Was that the game where Justin Charles made his comeback after being suspended for taking steroids, and some Richmond guy came off the bench and ran through Barnesy, sending him into next week?

I just checked.

It was Round 20, 1996 so I was 7, not 5.

R20 Richmond 4.4 8.7 12.12 19.18 (132) dftd Geelong 2.2 4.7 6.12 9.13 (67) Melbourne Cricket Ground Aug 17 (Sat)

God kicked 2, and ROnnie kicked 1.4. I do believe it was the Justin Charles game as he is named, and Barnes only had 2 touches for the game so he must have been injured. I cant remember it though.

http://finalsiren.com/MatchDetails.asp?GameID=1212&Code=55059bc9c30c37bd81926e8000d2eb64

 

[ripitup27]

Can't remember too much other than it was against Footscray at KP. I remember cheering because Chris Grant kicked a point and I didn't think a point was worth anything.

Also remember Daryl Somers sitting up behind us. That was exciting as.

But other than that I don't remember much.

My next game I remember a bit better because I was older and we lived on a dairy farm, so we didn't get a lot of spare time to go...cows always have to be milked.

 

[SJ]

I don't remember my first game, would have only been a final quarter at Kardinia Park in 1991 or 1992 most likely. Think I went to my first full game in 1993 or so - I could check if I was at home, I have a footy record from every match I've ever been to (bar those first few last quarters).

This may have been the first full match I saw:

http://finalsiren.com/MatchDetails.asp?GameID=2282&Code=01c5011d471308b93dd65ef77e678c51

1993 Round 12, Geelong v Fitzroy, Kardinia Park

Geelong was up by 8 goals at half time and fell over the line by 7 points, I remember sitting in the old Hickey stand behind the goals watching Ablett and his opponent in the muddy goalsquare looking up the field.

 

[winty]

This may have been the first full match I saw:

http://finalsiren.com/MatchDetails.asp?GameID=2282&Code=01c5011d471308b93dd65ef77e678c51

1993 Round 12, Geelong v Fitzroy, Kardinia Park

Geelong was up by 8 goals at half time and fell over the line by 7 points, I remember sitting in the old Hickey stand behind the goals watching Ablett and his opponent in the muddy goalsquare looking up the field.

Looking at the stats for that game on that link, looks like the umpires were only there to bounce the ball. No free kicks?

 

[geelong_boy]

1988, Geelong v Hawthorn at KP.

Stood in the outer on the wing on a sunny Sunday and saw the Hawks win by a lazy 10 or so goals. Can't remember too much about the game other than the words "who's on him?!", ie. so many loose Hawthorn players around as the match went on.

Also, watching the replay, I got to see myself on TV for the first time.