I was a massive Carlton fan all my life, but this drugs thing that past few years has really drawn me in.
My mum's side of the family were all Fitzroy, and very keen. My dad was born into a family of Carlton supporters but always wanted to run his own race, and so decided to go for Essendon. At the time he was living in Strathmore and would go to Windy Hill for every home game.
By the time I came along I pretty well had the choice between Fitzroy and Essendon, and though i had a soft spot for the Roys there was never any real doubt who i would follow. I reckon for about 15 years from when I was about 5 I went to the footy with my dad most weekends. Great memories, and very vivid stuff for the kid I was.
Yep, was only 8 and had NFI about AFL. Dad's friend was over and demanded that we switch on the footy. It waa the GF. Started watching and got very excited with the skill, toughness and loud roar the crowd made every time there was a goal.2000 bandwagon
Promised myself I'd support the winner.
Dad's friend then informed me that THAT team also nearly went undefeated in the 2000 season. Went out and begged my parents to buy the DVD. Almost like I never missed the season :lol:
Dads family emigrated from the Uk and ended up north melbourne supporters. Mum didn't really give a toss about football so if she had to pick it was richmond.
I on the other hand loved footy as a kid can't remember ■■■■ but I knew it was a toss up between richmond, north and Essendon. Essendon came about because my parents worked a lot as a kid I had to be minded by someone two days a week, who happened to be the mother of my sisters best friend. Now they were bombers mad, and I was given bombers memberships as a kid fairly often for christmas from them. But ultimately it came down to red being my favourite colour and Essendon had the red sash.
My mum's side of the family were all Fitzroy, and very keen. My dad was born into a family of Carlton supporters but always wanted to run his own race, and so decided to go for Essendon. At the time he was living in Strathmore and would go to Windy Hill for every home game.
By the time I came along I pretty well had the choice between Fitzroy and Essendon, and though i had a soft spot for the Roys there was never any real doubt who i would follow. I reckon for about 15 years from when I was about 5 I went to the footy with my dad most weekends. Great memories, and very vivid stuff for the kid I was.
So much comes down to circumstance, but would really have loved to experience going to Windy Hill and other suburban grounds to watch footy. By the time I moved to Melbourne we had already moved to the MCG. Remember visiting Windy Hill during a schoolboys (U15) football trip though, would have been 89 or so - was a good experience. Very welcoming and friendly club compared to the others we visited on that trip - Collingwood and Carlton.
Chick i liked in primary school went for the Dons.
That's actually how I started following South Melbourne Hellas. Had a thing for Greek girls in those days.
All my mates went for the Dons and we were awesome back in 2000. No regrets.
My parents are both from NSW, Dad got lucky (premierships wise) by choosing FARK HAWTHORN in 1973 when he arrived in Melbourne.
I haven’t identified a key moment but I was definitely on board come the Fitzpatrick game. Possibly jumped on board during our surprise 16 game winning streak in 1981.
Thanks Unca Sheeds.
I started liking football at the end of 1993. Essendon had just won the flag, and i liked salmon so i went for the bombers, plus i had always like ren and black.Nobody in my whole family goes for them. Mum follows them now to support me. Dad and my brother have always been carlton supporters.
Prelim 1999 was not a fun day at all. Dad couldn’t care less about footy these days ( too corporate for him now, hates the way the game has changed). My brother goes occasionally but isn’t a die hard like me.
My mum was allowed to go to the footy at Essendon because her friend had seats in the grandstand.
Her father and all his family were Footscray supporters, with two of mum's uncles having served on their board.
She would go and watch some bloke called Coleman kick a lot of goals. Apparently he was so good my Footscray supporting pop would let his only daughter go and watch him.
When I came along it was Essendon or Footscray.
I was nominated a Footscray supporter until I got to primary school.
By the time I got to Grade 1 I was pretty much off the Dogs and onto the Bombers, but my Grade 1 teacher Mrs Rosemary Fletcher was married to the Essendon captain, and that cemented my decision.
Great thread. Enjoying the stories a lot!
Uncles bought me a membership upon birth back in 1980. Been the Bombers ever since. I've passed that legacy on to my 3 year old, and soon to be 2nd child..
All my mates went for the Dons and we were awesome back in 2000. No regrets.
How old does that make you , and what were you before that?
All my mates went for the Dons and we were awesome back in 2000. No regrets.
How old does that make you , and what were you before that?
I was in primary school back then, and my rents don't follow footy. I was lucky one of my best mates in primary school went for the Dons and I loved watching Hird play and pretending to be Lloyd in the playground by pulling out grass and tossing it in the air before having a shot on goal. Like I said, no regrets!
Local club has the same jumper.
Cousins took me to the local footy for the first time as a five year old. Next day I saw my “local club” on TV. From that day I was hooked.
Peer group pressure (friends) at Primary school converted me from being a Collingwood supporter in grade 1. I consider it brainwashing when an adult does it to you, but not when your peer group does it to you.
No family history of interest in the sport (or any sport actually), so I had NFI idea for a long time about the sport or the league. Didn't follow it, wasn't all that interested, but would nominate essendon as my team.
Slept through 2000, didn't give much of a ■■■■ when Brisbane beat us in 2001. Started getting really into it in 2003/2004 and been obsessing over everything essendon ever since.
Lived in Mulwala over the river from Yarrawonga . Girl in my class Glenda ? Coleman had a big brother called John who went to live in Melbourne. Used to listen to the football from Melbourne and all they could talk about was this bloke Coleman who kicked a heap of goals. Put 2 and 2 together and started following the Bombers. Didn't know until I moved to Melbourne that the real one came from Hastings. Locked in ! First game I attended was at Punt Rd.in 1957. We got thrashed as I remember.
My mum's side of the family were all Fitzroy, and very keen. My dad was born into a family of Carlton supporters but always wanted to run his own race, and so decided to go for Essendon. At the time he was living in Strathmore and would go to Windy Hill for every home game.
By the time I came along I pretty well had the choice between Fitzroy and Essendon, and though i had a soft spot for the Roys there was never any real doubt who i would follow. I reckon for about 15 years from when I was about 5 I went to the footy with my dad most weekends. Great memories, and very vivid stuff for the kid I was.
So much comes down to circumstance, but would really have loved to experience going to Windy Hill and other suburban grounds to watch footy. By the time I moved to Melbourne we had already moved to the MCG. Remember visiting Windy Hill during a schoolboys (U15) football trip though, would have been 89 or so - was a good experience. Very welcoming and friendly club compared to the others we visited on that trip - Collingwood and Carlton.
I could tell a million stories about watching footy from the outer, and especially Windy Hill. Totally different experience to what it is now. We had reserved seats when I was a kid and I thrill to this day remembering how whenever we got a run-on the stand would thunder to feet rhythmically stamping on the wooden floor as we all chanted in unison "Ess-en-don, thump - thump -thump..."
I used to listen to the three guys in the seat in front of ours, 30 year old blokes who loved the Bombers and would reel off the one liners all day. I thought they were so cool. Later on, when I was older, remember just standing in the outer watching and cracking up every so often at the wit in the crowd.
All my mates went for the Dons and we were awesome back in 2000. No regrets.
How old does that make you , and what were you before that?
I was in primary school back then, and my rents don't follow footy. I was lucky one of my best mates in primary school went for the Dons and I loved watching Hird play and pretending to be Lloyd in the playground by pulling out grass and tossing it in the air before having a shot on goal. Like I said, no regrets!
nice one. I did the same thing, yell out LLOYYYYYYD!! when attempting a screamer.. did the grass thing.. before Lloyd I'd be bananna kicking everything Boris style.. even short kicks to mates.
I was born into a large, multi-supporter, footy-loving family, and I'm the youngest of the lot by a fair bit. When I came into footy watching age, I was like a highly sought after free agent. Everybody was buying me a jumper.
I had in my cupboard, an Essendon Jumper (mum), a Collingwood jumper (Dad), a Swans Jumper (Brother in-law), A Kangaroos jumper (other brother in-law) and a Stkilda jumper (Uncle).
Dad pounced first, kitting me up in Pies colours and taking me to my first few games. For about 3 weeks there at the age of 6, I was a Pies supporter. But there was a problem. I was (and still am) a Mummy's boy, and I couldn't convince her to change to Collingwood. But she did, in fact, put forward a very good case as to why I should change to Essendon, with the clincher being her talking me through her John Coleman scrapbook. She took me to an Essendon game a few weeks later, and the rest is history.
Remember kids... always listen to your mum.