My Team! My Love! My Passion!

My family will always be my first love, but this is about my second.

If you know me well, you know what this post is about, if you have only just gotten to know, probably through Lisa’s blog, you could probably guess and if you don’t know me at all. Get ready.

This post is about my beloved Hawthorn Hawks, not that Tassie Hawks team that to me does not exist. I have been a die hard supporter for 33 years, which means from the ripe old age of 2 I have bled brown and gold. This is a journey with many ups, but just as many downs.

This is about me, how I feel about things, my beliefs, not everyone is the same, most aren’t like me, most would not want to be like me, But I do.

Let’s go back, way back. Growing up my life was concerned with three things that my life go round, football, Hawthorn and Peter Knights.

18 months - In my North Launceston jumper (state football was huge back then)

2 days after the 1975 Grand Final.

I used to love cricket as well, all Aussie kids did, but it was always football for me. No one in my family ever went for Hawthorn, how I started at a young age I don’t know, all I can think of is that a few of the teenage boys in our street supported the Hawks, but as a 2-3 year old I can’t see that would influence me, maybe it was pre-destined.

Here a few of my memories of my past that may paint a picture for you, Lisa would say a scary picture!!!!

I remember:

. . . yelling obscenities at the radio on Preliminary Final day 1982 at the age of 9. Carlton beat Hawthorn to advance to the Grand Final.

. . . Meeting Peter Knights at Fotheringhams Sport Store at Invermay, looking up at him as he signed my picture.

The autograph picture I got that day ( I was 5 or6)

. . . . taking part in a training session, I didn’t want to learn I just wanted to impress Knightsy.

. . . A bedroom where everything was brown and gold, bed, walls, football displays everywhere.

. . .Taking two cricket wickets, spacing them out and spending every afternoon, all afternoon kicking at goals!!!!

1981

. . . Football cards everywhere. I collected them every year, anything football was collected. I even use to make my own football cards, I still remember making a set of Victorian football team cards, Michael Tuck with the big V on his chest. I would even make the cards play games against each other.

. . . When I was little all we had was the radio to follow football. I remember crouching down close to the big speaker in the lounge trying to hear the Melbourne stations over the crackle.

. . . The Saturday Express being delivered in the evening with the football scores in it. Then recreating the game with a balloon in the lounge. This happened every week. I think Peter Knights always kicked 5-6 goals in my game!!!

. . . Grand Final days during the 80’s, there was some good ones, but also some bad one. Then the glossy cover of the herald newspaper on the Tuesday, this was before it amalgamated with the Sun, we were always a day behind Melbourne.

. . . Football books everywhere, it was all I ever read, magazines as well. It hasn’t changed much.

. . . We didn’t know who won the Brownlow, until the next morning and the only live game we would see was the one day in September.

. . . Jumping into my dad’s arms, when Gary Buckenara kicked the winning goal against the Dees to put us into the ’87 Grand Final. Unfortunately I also remember the next week also.

. . .The hurt as we waited outside the sports store to meet Dermott Brereton, who never turned up.

. . .The euphoria 12 years later when I finally got to meet him. The only person I have met that made me get goose bumps from meeting them.

Dermie & I

. . .The whole Merger crap. The tension during the ’96 finals game with Sydney, not knowing if it would be our last game. Then the love for Don Scott, who saved us!!

. . .Crimmo’s cup. Seeing the photo of the players with Peter Crimmins and the cup a few day’s later in the paper is still very clear in my mind.

. . .2001 finals. We had just found out about Noah’s condition and the emotions running through my body were at a lifetime high. I remember the night we had to play Port in Adelaide in the Semi-final and Noah was in hospital and when w won. I collapsed on the floor a cried. I cried again the next week, but only because the devils team, Essendon beat us and the emotions ran free again!!!!

There are soooo many memories that have lived with. I have had or have so many Hawthorn things that I couldn’t tell you where they came from, I have an autographed poster from the 1978 grand final, but I don’t know how that came about.

1978 Grand Final autographed poster

This team means so much to me that at times it is scary, but I have been this way since I was 2-3 so I don’t see, at times I get glimpses of it, but I am not going to change. This love is 33 years deep and since being a member, meeting and talking to players it has grown and grown

Jalen, Noah, Shane Crawford & I


Clarko, Noah & Jalen

Browny, Noah & Jalen

I am that loyal that the thought of wearing another teams colours, even if I had to or even for a joke, makes me feel dirty and sick, I just can’t do. It is a bit of a disease or addiction, but rehab is out of the question.

Being so passionate makes me protective of the club. If you are a part time fan or only relatively new to supporting the team and I seem stand offish or something like that, it is not personal, I just have seen many people jump on the bandwagon and then jump off, or stay and act like a fan and bag out the team, which to me is a sin. I can not stand it when supporters bag out our club, never!! I can’t play any better than what they can, so I am not going to criticize them, so neither should you!!!!!

So as I wrap this journey to my strange mind, just remember that to you it is just a game, to me it is not!!! I wish I could just watch the team play and relax, but I am consumed by it from Feb-Sept, my life revolves around it, just ask Lisa. She has had to put up with a lot of crap, because of my love affair with the Hawks, but she seems to understand now. I am lucky I have such a wonderful understanding wife; I love her so much it is not funny. I think she is starting to have fun watching the Hawks too.

After all this you probably think I am stranger than before you read it. As much fun as it has been watching games, going to trainings and all that it has been made so much more fun by having my boys and Lisa with me.

“Were a happy team at Hawthorn!!!!!”