Poll: How did you get into supporting North?

[Marstermind]

Picked North in the 1978 as a 6yo. Dad barracks for the Saints but I looked at the ladder on the TV one night and saw them at the bottom. I looked who was on top and it was North Melbourne. I thought "That's my team!" Dad thought I'd get over it until Mum went into town one day, bought me a North jumper, painted a 15 on a pillow slip and sewed in onto the back for Malcolm Blight. I was hooked, and right up to her dying day I don't think Dad ever forgave her.

 

[North Viking]

Mum and Dad arrived in Aust in 1970. Dad became a taxi driver around 1973 when I was born. He worked for Silver top taxis which were then headquartered in North Melbourne. I have vague recollections and memories of the area.

Dad started barracking for North around 1974 due to a few of the managers barracking for North. He later said to me he only had interest in the sport, he didn’t understand to get on the good side of management and get the premium taxi shifts. By 1975 he was hooked, and what a time to be. In 1977 he gained 2 grand final tickets as result of being their best employee. He took me as a 4 year old to that drawn GF. I have very vague recollections of that day but remember the sombreness at the end of the game

We started attending regularly in the late 70’s, and by the 80’s we were attending weekly. I remember the 80’s in their fullest and still to this day I am in awe of watching the Krakouer’s play. They were simply Magic!

Turning 18 in 1991 at the dawn of our dynasty was something special. Watching our greats live are memories I will take to the grave. Those 2 GF’s were so satisfying.

I have 3 girls who are rusted on supporters. They have had no choice. Years of indoctrination has sealed their fate. Albeit my wife thinks it now qualifies as child abuse due to our performance over the last 7 years. Lol
Incidentally, she moved down from Sydney and was a bandwagon Swans supporter. Not any more. She has been converted.

North is frustrating, though i wouldn’t change it for anything. The club has given me so much over the years that I will always stick fat. I can’t wait for us to turn this ship around and have my young daughters, 15, 9 and 7 see some wins and success.

 

[Hojuman]

Born in the early 50's it was family tradition to follow North, used to go on the train to Macauley station and walk to the game with Mum and my sister. I reckon the smell of the tannery is still in my nostrils Used to kick my plastic footy on the old dog track and I would be lucky if an errant kick ever hit anyone. Been through plenty of seasons when a single win in a season was cause for celebration, much like the last few seasons really. Family have been shareholders and have a paver at the ground. When success finally comes we will all forget the last few years

The Tannery was " Vary " Brothers. Mutts and l know that smell well !

4th generation here from a family of Hotham supporters that lived around the area. Moved into the Canning st. Housing Commission flats ( 250 metres from the ground ) newly built by the govt. on my birthday aged 2, in 1962.
Seen all the ups & downs and probably one of the few to remember our year at City Oval Coburg. Bertie22

Got a few more years hopefully to see 5, 6, & 7 & 8 seated next to a couple of you chaps

Some really great stories on here

 

[Masked Avenger]

There was this dashing kid who lived next door. He was all of 13/14 I reckon.

He was a few years older than me but I'd take every opportunity to kick a footy with him. Probably drove him silly tbh.

He was mad North. So was his family.

One day, he gave me his short sleeved jumper, pinstripes and all, with the number 27 on it. He outgrew it.

Within a year or two of that, he moved away but the jumper firmly remained, a premiership had been won (our first) and a life long passion followed.

It would be close to a lifetime before we saw each other again.

We shared a beer this year at the footy.

Regular posters might know that dashing teenager.

Hojuman!

Thanks Hojy.

 

[Bertie22]

There was this dashing kid who lived next door. He was all of 13/14 I reckon.

He was a few years older than me but I'd take every opportunity to kick a footy with him. Probably drove him silly tbh.

He was mad North. So was his family.

One day, he gave me his short sleeved jumper, pinstripes and all, with the number 27 on it. He outgrew it.

Within a year or two, he moved away but the jumper firmly remained, a premiership had been won (our first) and a life long passion followed.

It would be close to a lifetime before we saw each other again.

We shared a beer this year at the footy.

Regular posters might know that dashing teenager.

Hojuman!

Thanks Hojy.

Wow, "Hoj" and "dashing" are two words I am having trouble combining

 

[LETSGOKANGAS]

I hate to tell you this, but the club threw that statue and all the members names on it out. This occurred when they knocked down the old building and did the new development we now have.

Supposedly someone at the club didn't think it was important enough to the members or the club in general, to save it and incorporate it into the new development.

Nothing new. Club has been throwing out my hopes and dreams for decades now.

 

[Masked Avenger]

Wow, "Hoj" and "dashing" are two words I am having trouble combining

Bertie, think David Cassidy crossed with Barry Ryan.

He needed a stick.

 

[hcd199]

I've told it on here before, although the specific timeline is a bit hazy - parents and family all Collingwood supporters, I was 5 years old and had just started to watch some of the games when they happened to be on TV, and I distinctly remember seeing a scoreboard one afternoon showing
KAN 100
COLL 100
and thinking it was interesting to see both teams with the same score, and exactly 100 too. When we eventually won, the choice seemed pretty clear: obviously this Kangaroos team was better than my parents team, so they'd be my team (and, being both a stubborn kid and one who took the "you don't just get to change teams all the time" stuff seriously, that choice stuck very fast, despite repeated overtures/bribes/etc. to switch to Collingwood).

It just so happened that the year in question was 1999...

 

[Friday Night Lights]

Pop started heading to Arden St for games in the 50’s with my grandmother. They loved it and started indoctrinating friends and neighbours, even dragging them down to Geelong for away games. They started taking my dad as a youngster who fell in love with it and was lucky enough to see the 70’s flags as a young man. He in turn started dragging me along in the late 80’s. I can picture Kanga Kennedy striding back to the coaches box in his trench coat. My earliest memory of a specific game I was at was against the Dogs at the G in ‘88. I was 6 and bawled my eyes out as Footscray kicked 9 last quarter goals to come from behind and beat us.

The 90’s were just a special time to go to the footy as a North fan and I absolutely took it for granted being a teen for our most successful part of it. Friday nights were our night. Loved getting home in time to rewatch the last quarter as 7 showed the game in a Melbourne on delay at that time.

My dad passed away in ‘98 and I got to attend the ‘99 granny with Pop which will always be special to us.

I’ve got a young daughter who will be a 4th gen supporter if the brainwashing takes. Can’t wait to take her to her first game.

 

[Roonescape]

I migrated to Australia when I was about 11, to NSW. Because I grew up around the Central Coast, I never really had any exposure to the AFL outside maybe hearing it mentioned every once in a while (usually when I'd hear it get called "GayFL" in school), and we'd only ever really have Wests Tigers games on at home.

I never really was a sporty person, even though I played rugby as a kid. It's probably something to do with the fact that NRL always seemed to bore me out of my mind whenever I watched it. But a few years ago, I started getting more into American sports, eventually sucking me into sports culture proper.

Once the 2023 NFL season ended, and my Steelers failed to win a playoff game again, I was really looking for a sport to hold me over until the start of the next season. A co-worker of mine, a pretty casual GWS fan, mentioned the AFL which I decided I'd check out. Being from NSW, I decided to watch a Swans game (Sydney vs. West Coast, R4), and afterwards, I was absolutely hooked on the game. I still didn't know all the rules, but I wanted to watch more.

The Swans kept on winning, and I went to my first actual game in person in R13, when they faced off against Geelong, it was a great game, but I got to a point where I felt like I was just hopping on a bandwagon because Sydney were doing good, I didn't want to be a fair-weather fan. Around the same time, I started watching more games in general on Kayo, and I decided I'd watch Melbourne vs North in R15, rooting for the Roos as they were last on the ladder at this point.

It was heartbreaking, I actually believed, and I was fully invested, more than I had been in a Swans game since the start of the season. So I kept watching. I watched when we won against the Suns after the bye, and I went to the SCG and watched along with the rest of the Roos supporters there when we got absolutely smashed. I fell in love with the club, the culture, the players, just everything about it.

I ended up taking the train down from Sydney to Melbourne just to watch us play the Western Bulldogs near the end of the season, and even though we lost damn badly, finally being able to see the club in person really just reinforced my love for them.

I'm fully on board with North now, some people might call it stupid, but there's something different about this club and I couldn't see myself going for any other team.

 

[ApplecrossWC]

Fitzroy died

 

[Hojuman]

Fitzroy died

More like murdered.

 

[Friday Night Lights]

I migrated to Australia when I was about 11, to NSW. Because I grew up around the Central Coast, I never really had any exposure to the AFL outside maybe hearing it mentioned every once in a while (usually when I'd hear it get called "GayFL" in school), and we'd only ever really have Wests Tigers games on at home.

I never really was a sporty person, even though I played rugby as a kid. It's probably something to do with the fact that NRL always seemed to bore me out of my mind whenever I watched it. But a few years ago, I started getting more into American sports, eventually sucking me into sports culture proper.

Once the 2023 NFL season ended, and my Steelers failed to win a playoff game again, I was really looking for a sport to hold me over until the start of the next season. A co-worker of mine, a pretty casual GWS fan, mentioned the AFL which I decided I'd check out. Being from NSW, I decided to watch a Swans game (Sydney vs. West Coast, R4), and afterwards, I was absolutely hooked on the game. I still didn't know all the rules, but I wanted to watch more.

The Swans kept on winning, and I went to my first actual game in person in R13, when they faced off against Geelong, it was a great game, but I got to a point where I felt like I was just hopping on a bandwagon because Sydney were doing good, I didn't want to be a fair-weather fan. Around the same time, I started watching more games in general on Kayo, and I decided I'd watch Melbourne vs North in R15, rooting for the Roos as they were last on the ladder at this point.

It was heartbreaking, I actually believed, and I was fully invested, more than I had been in a Swans game since the start of the season. So I kept watching. I watched when we won against the Suns after the bye, and I went to the SCG and watched along with the rest of the Roos supporters there when we got absolutely smashed. I fell in love with the club, the culture, the players, just everything about it.

I ended up taking the train down from Sydney to Melbourne just to watch us play the Western Bulldogs near the end of the season, and even though we lost damn badly, finally being able to see the club in person really just reinforced my love for them.

I'm fully on board with North now, some people might call it stupid, but there's something different about this club and I couldn't see myself going for any other team.

Falling in love with North now is true sicko behaviour. I love it.

 

[astrovic]

1980. Parents were Melbourne (who were rubbish) and Essendon (even as a kid I knew better).

Choices were two blonde high flyers - Blight and Knights. Blight kicked goals, Knights mostly played at CHB. The choice was obvious.

 

[Roo096]

Came to Perth in 1979 started supporting East Perth,was a huge Barry Cable fan.Can still remember crying when he had the tractor accident.So when Cable went back to North i started following them.

 

[Northern Exposure]

My grandfather grew up in Kensington and played cricket for North on Arden Street. His young family grew up in Church St. He always referred to us as the Shinboners. Dad had no choice in who he followed as my twin brother and I. I grew up with players like the Schimma, Greig, Glendinning, Blight, Krakouer brothers then hit my teens through those fantastic 90s. What a time to be alive for a North supporter. I now live in North Syria (Qld) and follow from afar but I did get to go to two games this year - the first Hawthorn game and then the Gold Coast game with my 15 year old son, who was absolutely hooked.
That roar at the end of the game was immense. The last few years have been tough on all of us - if there was no North I would give AFL away and continue my support of the NQ Cowboys in the NRL but until that happens I will continue to sign up year after year.

The photo in profile is my son doing a puzzle with Loose McMahon at his first chemo session at the Royal Childrens hospital. The club were fantastic through that tough time, will never forget it. He is now a strapping young 15 year old about to grow taller than his old man (6'2").

 

[Twangler]

I grew up a Geelong supporter (family) but didn’t like Gary Ablett Snr so made the switch when I was about 7-8 to the Roos. What a fateful decision that turned out to be!

I wouldn’t have it any other way though but it would be nice to see a win or two at some point.

 

[ferball]

My grandfather grew up in Kensington and played cricket for North on Arden Street. His young family grew up in Church St. He always referred to us as the Shinboners. Dad had no choice in who he followed as my twin brother and I. I grew up with players like the Schimma, Greig, Glendinning, Blight, Krakouer brothers then hit my teens through those fantastic 90s. What a time to be alive for a North supporter. I now live in North Syria (Qld) and follow from afar but I did get to go to two games this year - the first Hawthorn game and then the Gold Coast game with my 15 year old son, who was absolutely hooked.
That roar at the end of the game was immense. The last few years have been tough on all of us - if there was no North I would give AFL away and continue my support of the NQ Cowboys in the NRL but until that happens I will continue to sign up year after year.

The photo in profile is my son doing a puzzle with Loose McMahon at his first chemo session at the Royal Childrens hospital. The club were fantastic through that tough time, will never forget it. He is now a strapping young 15 year old about to grow taller than his old man (6'2").

Fantastic.

 

[viccles]

Moved to Melbourne from QLD in 96 and followed Carlton because my mum’s friends were big Carlton fans. When to high school in 97 and met my best friend who supported North. Later that year we went to camp and I lost my Carlton in the sea, took it as a sign and supported North after that

 

[Shagga is all Class]

August 1974 - Parents moved us to Hobart, originally from the USA.

North were the only team not to have one a premiership at the time.

If you count the ABC, there were 2 channels in Hobart, so you watch whatever was on .

By the time we moved to Melbourne was already hooked. So, to go to the GF in 96 was the best day of my life.

Going tomorrow but to see Ross, the Fitzroy killer, have to hand the Gold cup over to us in 96 still makes me smile, given we beat Brisbane and the Swans on the way.

 

[Allan2027]

My parents lived in Moorabbin hands where St Kilda nuts. We used to go and see them play. I was a primary school kid and only semi interested in footy. In the early 70s we went to see St Kilda play North and there was this guy who was a cut above and it was the first time I can say I was drawn in to what was happening. This guy was everywhere and doing everything. The guy was Keith Greg and I've been North ever since that day.

 

[KingNorth23]

How I barracked for North was in 2006 when my father introduced to the GOAT Wayne Carey. The whole family was Collingwood but my family friend who was born 6 years before me was a North fan and introduced it to me when I was around 6-7. Just loved the colours and started growing in for the club.

 

[Gasometer]

Picked North in the 1978 as a 6yo. Dad barracks for the Saints but I looked at the ladder on the TV one night and saw them at the bottom. I looked who was on top and it was North Melbourne. I thought "That's my team!" Dad thought I'd get over it until Mum went into town one day, bought me a North jumper, painted a 15 on a pillow slip and sewed in onto the back for Malcolm Blight. I was hooked, and right up to her dying day I don't think Dad ever forgave her.

Big 50?

 

[Marstermind]

Big 50?

My age? Yes plus 2. 2024-1978+6=52

 

[Gasometer]

My age? Yes plus 2. 2024-1978+6=52

I was never good at Maffs