Why do YOU support the Swans?

[Chilcott]

I started barracking for the swans as a young boy in the late 70's as my father did. We became members in about 78 and went to all home games at the Lake oval. A close mate of mine barracked for the Tigers and it was easy to converts him to a swan as well. We also use to go to most away games, except for Geelong games. I remember my Auntie use to drive us to most games so dad could drink from steel cans, which was handy as they made for a decent viewing platform. Luckily dad use to drink enough cans to make a platform for me and my mate. Funny thing is my Aunties car was a few years old but still had plastic on the door panels and the back seat. She also used to smoke in the car, which made for a chilly drive to the ground from the outer eastern suburbs. Don't remember too many games at the Lake oval, but I do remember the John Roberts screamer. I think he took it in 79 or 80. Fave players were Barry Round, Teaser, Jamie Lawson and of course, Arthur Chilcott. I was devastated when we first moved to Sydney, but soon got over it and have been thankful ever since.

[dejavoodoo44]

[QUOTE=Blood Fever;731930]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.

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Yes, would've liked to see Skilton play, but he was a bit before my time. The first Swans player that became my favourite player was Paul Kelly. I think that it was because of the huge effort that he was obviously putting in to every game, an effort that early on his career, was very rarely rewarded with a win. But he just kept on putting in. I also came to really enjoy how he used to arrive at a contest, to often be outnumbered by two or three opposition players, and invariably emerge with the ball.
A display of Bloods spirit, before Roosy rescued the concept of Bloods spirit.

[BRISWAN]

The generations?..my Grandfather..to my uncle..to me..to my son (dec)..and now my Grandson.

My parents were Geelong??????

1st game I saw was at the Lake oval in 1955

Work opportunity moved me to Brisbane in 1990

The Bloods are in our Blood for now and ever more.

Footnote?QUEENSLANDER !!!

[moocher]

I lived in Melbourne during the 1960's and followed Geelong. Polly Farmer was my hero. I moved back to Sydney and slowly after the Swans move I was won over. Paul Kelly and his attitude was the turning point. I was just so impressed with the re-development of the 'Bloods Culture'. The Swans are just a really well run club. Great culture of commitment and effort. Nothing too flashy just hard work as a team. When Buddy came I had my doubts about him fitting in. How wrong I was. Epitome of a team player.
When a player is lost I just have confidence that the club will cover the loss through shrewd recruitment and planning. I welcome Tom Harley as Andrew Irelands replacement when he retires. As a player he played well above his skill levels but was so smart and had great leadership qualities, all attributes valued by the Swans.

[Blood Fever]

[QUOTE=dejavoodoo44;731958]

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.

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Yes, would've liked to see Skilton play, but he was a bit before my time. The first Swans player that became my favourite player was Paul Kelly. I think that it was because of the huge effort that he was obviously putting in to every game, an effort that early on his career, was very rarely rewarded with a win. But he just kept on putting in. I also came to really enjoy how he used to arrive at a contest, to often be outnumbered by two or three opposition players, and invariably emerge with the ball.
A display of Bloods spirit, before Roosy rescued the concept of Bloods spirit.

Although Skilts was enormously skilled - he was naturally left footed but could kick equally well on his right, including drop kicks, Kelly and him both had the same incredible courage.

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I lived in Melbourne during the 1960's and followed Geelong. Polly Farmer was my hero. I moved back to Sydney and slowly after the Swans move I was won over. Paul Kelly and his attitude was the turning point. I was just so impressed with the re-development of the 'Bloods Culture'. The Swans are just a really well run club. Great culture of commitment and effort. Nothing too flashy just hard work as a team. When Buddy came I had my doubts about him fitting in. How wrong I was. Epitome of a team player.
When a player is lost I just have confidence that the club will cover the loss through shrewd recruitment and planning. I welcome Tom Harley as Andrew Irelands replacement when he retires. As a player he played well above his skill levels but was so smart and had great leadership qualities, all attributes valued by the Swans.

Spot on Moocher

[Swanny40519]

I lived in Adelaide but always followed St Kilda. I always used to watch the Sunday games of AFL which usually were Sydney and I had them as my second team. Then in the early 80's moved to Sydney and went to a few games at the SGC and became hooked as a Swans supporter.

Unfortunately around that time Sydney struck a rough patch but I believed in what they were trying to do. I became a member when crowds were very small as I wanted to show my support for the Red and Whites. I recall going to Darling Harbour one Sunday afternoon and donating money in a plastic bucket they were handing around. The Swans were broke and on the verge of folding up.

Then in the 90's when they recruited Roos and Plugger, got a few decent coaches, Sydney finally discovered AFL and the club entered into the big time and started to become a powerhouse team it is today.

Over the years I have seen some memorable games - 1996 Prelim, 2005 GF, 2006 GF, 2012 GF, Pluggers goal kicking record and some great names - Kelly, Lockett, Roos, Maxfield, Bolton, Kennedy, Hall, Goodes, O'Loughlin etc, etc,

I am Red and White to the core and I hope to see a few more premierships in the years to come.

[Blood Fever]

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.

My son played juniors at South Districts around 20 years ago when they struggled to get numbers for one team in each age group. How times have changed. Still wear the old South jumper and sing the Swans theme song when they win. Historical link to the Bloods of old. Great stuff Matty.

[grarmy]

I lived in Adelaide but always followed St Kilda. I always used to watch the Sunday games of AFL which usually were Sydney and I had them as my second team. Then in the early 80's moved to Sydney and went to a few games at the SGC and became hooked as a Swans supporter.

Unfortunately around that time Sydney struck a rough patch but I believed in what they were trying to do. I became a member when crowds were very small as I wanted to show my support for the Red and Whites. I recall going to Darling Harbour one Sunday afternoon and donating money in a plastic bucket they were handing around. The Swans were broke and on the verge of folding up.

Then in the 90's when they recruited Roos and Plugger, got a few decent coaches, Sydney finally discovered AFL and the club entered into the big time and started to become a powerhouse team it is today.

Over the years I have seen some memorable games - 1996 Prelim, 2005 GF, 2006 GF, 2012 GF, Pluggers goal kicking record and some great names - Kelly, Lockett, Roos, Maxfield, Bolton, Kennedy, Hall, Goodes, O'Loughlin etc, etc,

I am Red and White to the core and I hope to see a few more premierships in the years to come.

My story is exactly the same. Passionate Saints supporter from childhood. Followed Plugger to the Swans and it clicked. A few years earlier I used to leave work at about 12.30 pm on a Saturday, drive to the SCG, park outside the entrance in Driver Avenue, stroll in, sit anywhere and see the stars - Gary Ablett etc. A bad time to be a Swans supporter though. BTW, I did see Bobby Skilton play against The Saints in what was always billed as the battle of Albert Park.

[Mel]

My dad played Aussie Rules as a junior in the Sydney competition for Penshurst so he started following the Swans when they moved up to Sydney in 1982 and started taking me and my eldest brother to the games. I remember the Hill/Doug Walters stand clearest and kicking the ball around with my dad and brother right there in the stands during breaks. There was nobody around so it didn't bother anybody. I remember the Swanettes vaguely as being big-haired, old women (hey, I was only five when I started going to the games) and asking dad why the women only got to dance while the men got to play footy. I remember all the ground invasions when Lockett passed 100 each year (my memory makes it seem like it happened more than i probably did), 'that' point in 1996 and the disappointment in realising that my idiot brother ruined any chance of me going to the GF that year by getting married the following weekend.

I still go to games with my dad all these years later. My extended family has had up to 7 adult and 2 child memberships a year at times, but over the years it's whittled down to mum, dad and me with a few kids tagging along; my own and nieces/nephews. Dad missed the 2005 GF due to work committments so it was fantastic to see 2012 with him I hope we get to do it again sometime soon

[goswannies]

I remember the Swanettes vaguely as being big-haired, old women (hey, I was only five when I started going to the games) and asking dad why the women only got to dance while the men got to play footy.

I have a poster of the Swannettes, massive frizzy hairdos, pre-printed signatures (such celebs), team fixture at the bottom. Might be worth a pretty penny now

[ScottH]

There was one of these threads from a long time ago on RWO.
Can't find it ATM. Will keep looking.

I grew up in Sydney, and went to my first games at the SCG in the early/mid 80's.

[CureTheSane]

I was coaxed into supporting St.Kilda by my grandparents/father at a young age.
Still young, my mother convinced me to swap to Essendon.
Then in 1975 I selected North Melb because my best friend convinced me, and they had just won the flag. I was 7 at this point.
Soon after I chose South Melbourne as my team.
I have no idea why - probably killed off those brain cells, but it was my choice for the first time.
Went through the relocation to Sydney, which I always supported (even though the AFL promised Vic fans that every Sydney game would be broadcast live into Vic and that didn't last long)
Went to the 2005 GF, which was amazing, especially after following them through the cellar dweller days.

[dejavoodoo44]

I have a poster of the Swannettes, massive frizzy hairdos, pre-printed signatures (such celebs), team fixture at the bottom. Might be worth a pretty penny now

I'm not sure if they would get past Occupational Health and Safety now? You'd think that a swinging stiletto could do some serious damage to the inattentive. Or perhaps to the too attentive?

swanettes.jpg

[Nico]

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.

IIRC we beat both Carlton and Geelong by big margins at the Lake Oval in 1970. Exciting stuff for fans starved of success.

[goswannies]

I'm not sure if they would get past Occupational Health and Safety now? You'd think that a swinging stiletto could do some serious damage to the inattentive. Or perhaps to the too attentive?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1979[/ATTACH]

Take a look a the kid in the Swans jumper just beyond the last Swannette, & the look awe (or is it horror) on the fave of the person above the last Swannette's thigh