5 years ago...

[Big Al]

2005 - what a year.

The Swans and Tigers winning the premiership in the same year was rather surreal. It's also 5 years to the day where Wests defeated St George to make the GF. Hopefully history does repeat itself.

[Yuri H]

I'd just discovered AFL the month before - so the 05 Final was actually the first complete game I think I saw. A big chilly dockside club in San Francisco would be rented each year by the Australian-American Business League or some such name, and expats would flood in and watch on big screens. I remember thinking well, I'm moving to Sydney in a year or so, I've picked the Swans as my team, and just watched and hoped. I remember sitting next to a Geelong supporter who sort of walked me through all the new (to me) rules and stuff - and suddenly there was That Mark, and a siren, and cheering, and he turned to me, drunkenly shook my hand, and said "well, congratulations; welcome to the game."

I think my level of fanaticism has increased enough that now, I wouldn't calmly be shaking hands and thinking I sure picked a cool team. I'd be incoherent and overwrought and being stepped over by a fleeing Geelong fan ("good gawd, he's mad - mad I tell you! save yourselves!").

[dimelb]

Great story Yuri!