What led you to follow your Footy team?

[Rickee]

This moment.

 

[Power Raid]

Port just dominated South Australian footy

and Freo as they are my adopted "port" side here in the West

 

[mattpolo8]

I grew up in Newcastle.

In high school 2 boys moved to the town from Melbourne via Dalby. They were Hawthorn fans. Our friendship group were historically rugby league fans but they slowly worked us over. They had a sherrin at school every day which was pretty unfamiliar back then. Swans at the time were going pretty well and found themselves in grand finals (05/06) and it didn't take much to convert us all. Since then, I've been a member for the better part of 15 years, have been to 3 grand finals and absolutely call myself a tragic.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

I grew up in a single parent household with a mother that hated sport so I had no family indoctrination.

One day, one of the local Scout leaders decided to treat a couple of the "povvo" kids to the footy - you know, the kids who borrowed a second hand uniform and whose parents couldn't pay for the usual camps and excursions.

Scout leader was a mad Saints guy so took us to a Saints game. I was in awe - I'd never been in a crowd near that size before and never been in a sporting stadium bigger than "school sports day".

We sat down near the ground in an area I later learned to be 'the pocket'. I looked out at the field and audibly laughed at 'the opposition'. The Saints guy (one of many we were hearing about from scout leader) was big, muscly and undoubtedly an athlete. The 'other guy' was balding, fat and wearing an ugly jumper. I couldn't believe this fat guy that looked older than my friend's dads was a sportsman.

Then the ball came in their direction and the fat guy exploded with a burst of pace faster than I'd ever seen. He caught the ball down at his shoe laces and proceeded to kick the ball perfectly through the middle from wht seemed like a mile out (he was on the 50, near the boundary).

I've been a Hawthorn supporter ever since and Dunstall is still the best player I've seen (with Carey the other I'll concede to have been as good).

 

[RAPPA]

I had an affinity with brown paper bags as a child. So it made sense.

 

[estibador]

My parents were both Poms and cricket was the only sport my Dad liked so that was all I watched as a kid. Saying I was obsessed with cricket as a kid would be an understatement. My parents had photos of me sitting cross-legged on the floor a metre away from the tv as I watched every minute of every Test every summer.

But in my early teens I started broadening my horizons and trying out other sports. This happened to coincide with Freo entering the comp so I thought it would be cool to follow a team right from their inception. At the time I thought I'd be a casual supporter but I watched their first couple of games and was instantly hooked on what a fantastic sport Aussie Rules was.

I've now watched every minute of every game Freo have ever played, and though I still love my cricket, there's no doubt Aussie Rules is my favourite sport by a long, long way.

 

[JennyTaylor]

I was 5 years old in 1986 when the talk of a WA team entering the VFL started. For my dad the thought of taking on big Victorian clubs meant much more than watching Swan Districts running around against a handful of suburban perth footy sides. I didnt even know any players in the wafl in 1986. But at the end of 1987 i knew the Eagles full lineup as well as plenty of players from Sydney because Capper made them fun to watch.

Some of the 1987 Eagles games werent even broadcast that first year and we laid on the carpet listening to the games on the radio in the other room while my mum and brother watched TV in the main living area.

 

[Swanks McSwankserton]

Parents have dragged me to richmond games for as long as I remember. I liked waving the flag when everyone around us went crazy but otherwise never really got into it, just seemed to be a bunch of guys running around with a ball causing my dad a lot of stress. There's a much loved photo of me reading a book while at a game. Then in 2017 everyone around the house was a bit different, there was a sort of hushed excitement. I finally sat down and really watched a game of footy in rd 5 and loved it, it was so exciting, so many amazing stories. Watched every game since.

 

[Istina]

Divine providence.

Coming from SA to Victoria I had Nth. Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton and Footscray supporting friends and I gotta to say I almost went for Nth, but for some reason, I don't know why, I went to Richmond vs Melbourne game at the G and saw Maurice Rioli playing (in my opinion the best of all time), and ever since I've been Richmond.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I decided to barrack for Essendon at around 4 years old, simply because my best friend was an Essendon supporter.

My entire family are Geelong supporters and up until I was about 13 my family tried bribing me non stop with some pretty large sums of money ( for my age ) and merchandise. It has been real rough due to the large success of Geelong.

 

[t_94]

I only support winners; naturally St.Kilda was the best fit.

 

[Plugger35]

 

[freddy mercury]

When I used to barrack for a team based at Tullamarine who has had the same list manager for the same amount of time since they last won a final but keeps his job whilst countless others have lost theirs. I started to follow them because when I was 2 my grandpa bought me a pillow with their jet logo in the early 90s.

 

[blueiris]

A merger with the Bears which actually was quite easy I loved the Bears as a kid

 

[DEVO]

September 1976 and my parents brought a colour TV a few months beforehand to watch the Olympics, I was watching the Grand Final and decided to go for the Royal Blue and Whites because the Hawthorn jersey looked ghastly, it reminded my of my baby sister soiled nappies. 45+ years later and I still think the Hawthorn jersey looks ghastly.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

Everybody on my Dads side of the family has supported the Doggies since the late 1800's. Little choice

 

[Jen2310]

Its how I was born.

Never knew any differently.

 

[Kavliaris69]

When I was 5 in the late 70s I was surrounded by Collingwood supporters in Northcote. I used to collect footy cards and played colours and flicks in the school playground trying to get more.

That year I had the whole set and finally able to put them all together for the jigsaw photo on the back. It was Peter Knights taking a huge mark. I was enthralled and captivated.

I started to watch Hawks games to see more of him and fell in love with Scott, Matthews, Tuck, etc.
Never looked back and my brother and dad became fans also. Much to the dismay of our plentiful Pies fan relatives. 10 flags and 45 years later I’m still smiling. Go Hawks.

 

[Kavliaris69]

September 1976 and my parents brought a colour TV a few months beforehand to watch the Olympics, I was watching the Grand Final and decided to go for the Royal Blue and Whites because the Hawthorn jersey looked ghastly, it reminded my of my baby sister soiled nappies. 45+ years later and I still think the Hawthorn jersey looks ghastly.

That was one of the next 11 flags that we would go on to win. Wrong choice there my friend. Funny story though.

 

[Dee Train]

My Dad. He grew up in Toorak Gardens so followed Norwood. Went for the Dees because of the colours. Until last year I was very much not thanking him for it

 

[Murraj1966]

Like many here it was my Dad.

He worked at the ABC in the 80's after moving from SA and while my Uncle tried to convince him to support the Bombers after they pinched a few Glenelg players he just couldn't get into supporting one of the biggest teams in the league. His mates at the ABC however all regularly went to Moorabbin to watch the Saints stink it up while Plugger was kicking bags and dad immediately knew he'd found his underdog to follow.

I was then born in the 90's, was brought into the St Kilda way of life and provided a lifetime of lessons about pain, humility and never getting your hopes up. Dad passed in 2015 and the club changed his membership card to read "In Memory of (name)" which I thought was a great touch and I still have both of our reserved seats waiting for the day I can bring another little one into the cult that is St Kilda.

 

[Sky]

First experience in footy was going for the loser of the 04 qualifying final in a room full of Port (and Carlton) supporters. What really cemented it was going to my first game the following year at AAMI and winning by less than a goal. The glorious 119 a couple years later by age 10 and I chose right.

Coming from a Carlton Blues and Port Magpies family, I used to prefer Port to the Blues till my old man passed so hopefully during a year where the Cats don’t get up the Blues can do it.
I spent the last 15 years listening to my Uncle on how great the Blues are and how theyll make the 8 every year and it took underlying health conditions/covid to take him before this season started for them to finally come good. Me and my cousin think that’s funny in a sad way.

 

[footyfan1978]

I cannot consciously remember picking my team, but before I was aware of it Alex Jesaulenko was a star and such a cool name (Ukrainian Sporting Hall of Famer), I think it must have been combination of the Carlton jumper and Jezza that just had strong appeal to me. Bit like a kid picking a favourite colour. You do not remember picking a favourite colour but you know one appeals more than others. I can remember consciously watching my first football game on tv and it was the 1977 grand final and it was a draw. I was hooked onto the sport from then on.

Over that summer I had an affinity for North Melbourne under legend coach Ron Barassi. So I probably come close to consciously picking them over that summer. Remember loving David Dench, Snake Baker and the like for North but when it came around to next March and my first full season to watch, I was following Carlton and always have from that point onwards. I think round one we lost by 13 goals so quite an introduction to following my team for first time. The coach was gone by about round 7 or 8 of season and we were down near bottom before my childhood hero Jezza took over as playing coach. From that point of season it was like a magic mystery ride, watching my team climb the ladder and even make the finals. Treasure that first season of following my club as experienced all the highs and lows of following a football in the one season, of big losses, club in crisis, new coach, climb the ladder and even win a final. Crazy, some poor Essendon sod in his late 20's probably not even seen his team win a final and here I was not even a teenager and we won a final in my first season.

 

[Dangas]

Old man and his family were Bloods supporters and as a kid I followed suit (or should I say he bought me merch). I was alive when they were South Melb. but it did not take me long to understand the history. The other choice in the household was Collingwood so...

 

[M Malice]

I was a Brisbane Broncos member in the late 1990's, the Lions started getting some news coverage so I went along to a few games and loved it, not sure if this was the first I went to but this goal from Vossy is a particularly strong memory, I was hooked and have been a Lions/AFL devotee ever since.