Why do YOU support the Swans?

**Blood Fever** · 12 July 2017, 08:51 PM

Originally posted by goswannies

In most threads on REO there seems to be the odd negative post or a little bickering (or worse I guess). I'm hoping that this thread will be full of positivity and fond memories.

So, what stared you off as a Swans supporter? When did you first start barracking for our great club? What are your early memories of your time supporting the Swans

I have a friend whose young son is a 5th generation Swan supporter. It's in his very DNA. For me it was literally random chance.

I grew up in rural Victoria. Dad wasn't a footy fan. No influence there. My favourite color has always been red. Not really sure why. But as an 8 year old your favourite color is an important thing. Anyway, in 1980 I bought my first packet of Scanlens football cards as I shuffled through the cards, I came across this one.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1978[/ATTACH]

The guy looked friendly and most importantly for an impressionable youngster, the team's jumper had red in it. Thank goodness I didn't pull Tim Watson, Kelvin Templeton, Robbie Flower, Bernie Quinlan or, Heaven forbid, Trevor Barker!!

From that day and that card "Digger" Round has always had a soft spot in my heart and I've been a Swans supporter ever since.

I feel I am now pretty well versed in the relocation saga (and the Swans history in general - I own and have read many books that detail the club pre-dating my support - I have a passion for all things Swans especially our history) but at the time of the move, I had been supporting South for 2 years and as I lived in rural Victoria, I never attended a game. Dad worked every weekend so travelling to Mebourne to watch the footy was never an option. In fact, at the time dad wasn't a footy fan at all (he is now and his allegiance is to the Swans - in fact the very first game we attended together was on September 24, 2005).

From memory, prior to the 1982 season, footy matches were only televised in the country as the match of the day. South rarely got that, so my Swans viewing was limited to channel 7 Sunday Sports highlights and ABC highlights (so proud when Wayne Carroll was awarded the ABC Mark of the Year!). I think the night series might also have been televised around that time (or perhaps the year the Swans moved in 1982?).

I remember having to sit in the hallway with the transistor radio, in front of the heater, wearing my Swans beanie and scarf and jumper (I still have all of them - though he shorts and socks of the time are long gone) listening to the Swans matches with crackly static. In the country we didn't get every game broadcast on the radio either, so sometimes I even had to listen to other matches waiting for them to go "around the grounds" for a score update. Worse still, all too often I would finish the broadcast in tears because my beloved Swans had lost - and I expected a thorough taunting at school the next day! Hard as the only Swans supporter in a small country town.
So my memory of the relocation was that, suddenly my team was on TV every second week! We had a first up win against Melbourne. We had a night premiership soon after. So at that time, the trauma endured by hardcore South diehards was a blessing for a young boy. Now I feel deeply for the South supporters, players and the club and what it had to endure and overcome. But the relocation probably heightened my bond and love for the club which means so much to me today.

To me Sydney and South Melbourne are truly one team. Almost every team has moved at some stage of their existence. Mine just moved a little further.

I'm sure there are many wonderful stories out there of how RWO members came to support our club. Please share

At least 3rd generation bloods fan. Dad and brother both played in the ones although not that many games. Spent a lot of time at the old lake oval as a kid with seniors and Under 19s. Wore number 3 on my jumper (Brian McGowan) as well as number 11(Max Papley and Peter Bedford). Gee we lost a lot. Last 20 or so years have been fabulous. Live in Albert Park and there are still a number of old South supporters around as well as a few newer ones. Worth the wait for our successful era.

**barry** · 12 July 2017, 08:55 PM

I live in Sydney.

**RogueSwan** · 12 July 2017, 09:12 PM

I moved to the eastern suburbs in the mid 90s. I had a pretty strong dislike of NRL. A mate took me to a game against the Pies and I just loved it from the beginning. It helps that pretty much the whole stadium goes for the one team.
That atmosphere when your team is firing is intoxicating.
I learnt about the whole history of South Melbourne/Sydney Swans afterwards which just reinforced that I had chosen the right team.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

**Nico** · 12 July 2017, 09:13 PM

Because we wear red and white.

**dejavoodoo44** · 12 July 2017, 09:55 PM

Nice thread, GS. I've actually been meaning to start a pretty well identical thread, but I've been a bit time poor of late. But hey, the second half of the State of Origin looks like being a bit too Queenslander! for my liking, so I'll spend the time writing here instead.
I guess that the main reason why I was going to start a similar thread, was that I'm interested in how a wide range of individuals, despite their different upbringings, heritages and personalities, can get together and form something of an unified tribe, that's driven by a fairly arbitrary sporting allegiance. And I think that with the Swans, that it may even be more diverse, as it is both a traditional club and an expansion club.
With me, I come from the expansion club side of things. That is, I had a childhood in Sydney, at a time prior to the Swans arrival. It was a time when Aussie Rules was largely considered to be a strange game that was played south of the border, and there was no option to play it at my school, nor as far as I knew, no local competition. So, while I quite liked the look of the game, when it was televised on Channel 7, I was keen Rugby League supporter. Though I wasn't quite following in the family footsteps. Me and my brother both went for Manly, as they were the local team. This was despite my father once playing a bit of grade for Norths, a long family history in the North Sydney area and the rest of the extended family being Norths supporters.
So, it wasn't really till I moved South Australia in the late eighties, that I started to take more of an interest in Aussie Rules. When I first moved there, the handiest ground to get to was the Parade, so I became a Norwood supporter. It didn't take me long to realise, that I really did enjoy going to the Parade, more than I used to enjoy going to Brookvale Oval. I also decided that it was actually the superior code.
After I moved back to Sydney in the early 90s, I spent more time watching Aussie Rules, but I hadn't really formed an allegiance to any side. The Edelsten era of the eighties had lessened the chances of me supporting the Swans, while none of the Melbourne sides really appealed to me. If anyone had of asked me at the time, I would of said that I was a Crows supporter, but they were hardly ever on TV and I knew nobody else that was a Crows supporter; so I strong bond never really formed. However, a bond started to form with the Swans during the dark days of total ineptitude, when we went on our long losing run. Each week the Swans would be televised (if I remember rightly), each week the Swans would lose and most weeks, I would be watching, hoping that they would win. Then one week during the losing run, they played the Crows. Even though I still probably considered myself to be a Crows supporter, I spent most of the game hoping that the Swans would break their losing streak, and of course, being disappointed that they didn't. It was then that I knew that I was a Swans supporter.
I suspect that there was a possible underlying psychological reason, or two, for that bonding. Probably the chief one, was some sort of low level guilt for becoming a Manly supporter, in an era where they enjoyed great success, while the rest of the family continued to follow Norths, while they continued to be waiver between crap and almost a contender. So, I think there was some sort of need, to experience what it was like, to follow a football team that was relentlessly no good at playing football.
Luckily for me, we soon embarked on an era of not being crap. And with a bit of symmetry to your story, GS, after Norths were kicked out of the NRL, my old man decided that he was no longer really interested in Rugby League and he became a keen Swans supporter, too.

**dejavoodoo44** · 12 July 2017, 10:01 PM

Originally posted by Blood Fever

At least 3rd generation bloods fan. Dad and brother both played in the ones although not that many games. Spent a lot of time at the old lake oval as a kid with seniors and Under 19s. Wore number 3 on my jumper (Brian McGowan) as well as number 11(Max Papley and Peter Bedford). Gee we lost a lot. Last 20 or so years have been fabulous. Live in Albert Park and there are still a number of old South supporters around as well as a few newer ones. Worth the wait for our successful era.

Just out of idle curiosity, do you have any enduring memories of the first or earliest games that you went to? The excitement? The strange new world? A particular player or character?

**Blood Fever** · 12 July 2017, 10:28 PM

Originally posted by dejavoodoo44

Just out of idle curiosity, do you have any enduring memories of the first or earliest games that you went to? The excitement? The strange new world? A particular player or character?

Bobby Skilton stood out and was almost a one man team. Enormously skilled and unbelievably courageous. Winning was huge because it didn't happen all that much. Interestingly , I remember we had one of the very few Indigenous players, a ruckman called Elkin Reilly, who was a pretty handy player. I remember we often started the year ok but faded out of the finals race. I reckon I saw my first game around 1960. Ron Clegg had come back to play although my memory might be playing tricks.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally posted by aardvark

My Granny and Dad were born in Sth Melbourne. Dad played thirds before enlisting for WW 2 at 17. He never played again but our family were always rabid Swans supporters as are my kids. I was angry at the relocation and lost interest for a few years but still loved footy and couldn't bring myself to support anyone else.

Same with our family. Knew some old South fans who switched out of anger but couldn't bring ourselves to change colours

**aardvark** · 12 July 2017, 10:30 PM

15th June 1970 was one of the best days of my life. We beat Collingwood by a point after kicking 4 goals in time on. The following Monday at school was pretty special too.

**Blood Fever** · 12 July 2017, 10:36 PM

Now you mention it, remember it well. Norm Smith was coach. We hardly ever beat Collingwood. Also we thumped them at Victoria Park in 1977. Teasdale had a picnic. I was at the game on cloud 9. Ian Stewart was coach. 1970 and 1977 were the first two times we made the finals since the war!

**Beerman** · 12 July 2017, 11:07 PM

tl;dr. Same as Barry - I live in Sydney.

I didn't really get serious about following AFL until about 2003 at that time they were my local team and was easy for me to get to the SCG so they were a natural choice. I grew up in country NSW and my dad was South Australian at a time when only the VFL was televised to us, so there was no pre-existing loyalty there.

I like the Swans as a club - they have integrity and a "no fuss" attitude about them. Being a member of a club and following them adds a bit to my enjoyment of AFL generally. I enjoy being part of the club and feeling like part of the Swans community. I enjoy being invested in Swans games and caring about whether we win or lose.

Having said all that, the club is not my family and I don't mind if other clubs do well, and I think that a person can support and follow more than one club.

**stevoswan** · 12 July 2017, 11:36 PM

Originally posted by aardvark

15th June 1970 was one of the best days of my life. We beat Collingwood by a point after kicking 4 goals in time on. The following Monday at school was pretty special too.

I remember that game well. My Swans obsessed Dad was there that day sitting next to none other than the great Gordon Coventry.......and with minutes to go and the Swans still needing three goals to win, Gordon leant over to Dad and whispered "South are going to win this" and my Dad said "You're kidding aren't you Gordon?". Gordon replied with a smile, "Just keep watching.".......Stevie Hoffman went crazy, Gordon was right and my Dad was euphoric....his best day at the footy ever! Great thread by the way and therein that last story lies the reason I barrack for the Swans, my Dad. Mum barracked for the Cats, so I've always had a soft spot for the Catters....which I'm comfortable with as I see Geelong as a sort of Victorian version of our great club, ethical, proud, respectful and whose teams play the game as it should be played.

**Mark26** · 13 July 2017, 12:09 AM

As a kid I was heavily involved in two sports. I played real football (according to my father) which we call soccer in Australia, but avidly watched Rugby League.

Fast forward to 1996. I don't know why this day was different, but I remember sitting down to watch my first game on telly. I didn't understand any AFL rules, but I remember this big bloke the commentators were calling Plugger. We all know the story. One glorious point after the siren which propelled the Swans into their first GF in a long time. And there was one convert made that day ... me.

1997. The birth of Super League. The attempt to eradicate traditional teams was enough. My love for league was eroding as my love for AFL and the Swans was growing.

The rest is history.

2017. Game three of the State of Origin has just finished and I could not tell you who won. I truly do not care.

Go Swans!

**Matty10** · 13 July 2017, 01:55 AM

Originally posted by goswannies

So, what stared you off as a Swans supporter? When did you first start barracking for our great club? What are your early memories of your time supporting the Swans

I am sure there was an introductory thread somewhere that included all this sort of great stuff in it - I just did a quick search to find my contribution but to no avail.

My story sounds quite similar to yours goswannies.

I grew up on a farm in south-western NSW (same community as Jamie Lawson, Heath James and Ben McGlynn - there were other AFL players from the district also , but they went to other teams - it was a Richmond zoned location originally). My father didn't have any strong allegiance (Richmond, Essendon and Geelong - the country team - did get some affection). Although he did say that Williamstown was our team (due to our surname) - which was actually pretty cool when beloved ex-Swan Barry Round (and even Ackerly for a brief stint) came to play for them. Wentworth, our local team, would probably have gotten precedence, but even that was secondary to work.

I don't really know why I started supporting the Swans (as South Melbourne). I used to say that it was the colours (something about them must have struck a chord - perhaps I had romanticised the red and white of the St. George cross from all the movies about knights and the crusades that I had watched as a kid on a Saturday afternoon and this rubbed off somehow).

I later learned at my grandfather's funeral that he had been a keen Swans supporter his whole life (whereas I thought he only started following them because I did), so he may have been an influence also (although he did live in Wagga Wagga so I did not see him more than twice a year).

As a child, I also coveted a South Melbourne patch that was for sale at our local newsagent. Again, something about it just resonated with me - perhaps it was the Latin phrase "Aut Vincere Aut Mori" that was stitched at the top. It was there for years until I eventually bought it. I was the only Swans supporter in my primary school, but I stuck fat - even during the dark days.

I was saddened when they left South (and sympathised with the KSAS group), but at the same time I got to watch them every second week and my love for the team seemingly grew. The night premiership in 82 was a highlight. David Rhys-Jones was my favourite player - I was gutted when he left.

When I finished high school I went to the University of Sydney, in large part because I wanted to see the Swans play (even though they barely won a game) - Adelaide was easily the closest capital city, followed by Melbourne. Only one other student from my school went to Sydney. I almost felt obliged to go. My priorities were perhaps a little myopic at the time.

I was living in Point Lonsdale during 1996 and would hitchhike to Geelong to catch the train to Melbourne (and then to whichever ground we were playing). I always loved watching both the reserves and the seniors play. I would go by myself to most games, but would usually find another tragic that was keen to have a chat. They were long days but I loved every bit of them. I spent a lot of that time reading up on the Swans history - and meeting some of the old players (such as Billy Williams) was a big highlight. When my boss wouldn't give me the day off for the grand final, I happily quit my job to attend. We didn't win, but there has been a lot of joy since then.

I now get to spend my weekends barracking with my eldest son (5). My youngest boy (2) doesn't yet have the patience to watch a full game, but he does sing the club song with gusto. This year has been awesome - lots of lows and a now a series of highs. My restrained and pragmatic optimism has been paying off with my son. Auskick at South Melbourne Districts in Albert Park each Saturday morning also adds to the flavour and nostalgia of supporting this wonderful club.

**Sandridge** · 13 July 2017, 08:00 AM

Fantastic thread! Thanks for starting goswannies!

Dad started taking me to South Melbourne games in 1961 when I was 4. Dad had been born in Port Melbourne, raised in South Melbourne and had met and married my mum in South Melbourne. While we were still South Melbourne, Dad would take my sister, brother and I every week to see the Bloods with the family of another RWOer, baskin. I have such beautiful memories of going to watch our club, even though most trips ended up in losses. Of the hundreds of games I saw in that era, 2 stand out for me. The 1970 game at the Lake Oval against Collingwood which has already been mentioned by other posters. I can remember Stevie Hoffman kicking the goal that put us in front like it was yesterday! The other stand out game for me was Round 14, 1973 when we ended a 29 game losing streak by beating Geelong at the Lake Oval. It really was like winning a Grand Final and I vividly remember an elderly man jumping up and down and crying after the game.

My Dad had taught me loyalty and the importance of "sticking" with family, friends and footy clubs, especially when the chips are down. Therefore, when the club moved to Sydney - even though we didn't like it - there was never a chance that my family would dump the Bloods. In fact, the "hardship" of having our club move interstate increased the desire to "stick" and my family's love of the Swans has never waned. I know many South Melbourne Swans and the vast majority had no trouble continuing to love a club that was now based 1000km away. And haven't we been rewarded!

Just love my club and when I'm carried out in a box, there'll be a Swans scarf draped on it and it'll be to the tune of the Notre Dame victory march!

Go the mighty Bloods!

Why do YOU support the Swans?

Why do YOU support the Swans?

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