Universal Love Share your Tasmanian story. Intro

[Truetiger]

We would to know your Tasmanian story.

- How did you become a Tasmania supporter? Both the New clubs and local

- are you from a mixed team family?

- if you have kids who do they support and how did that come about, will they support the new Devils.


Anything else related to the how and why you're a Devil

I'm sure there are some great stories out there. Which I am looking forward to sharing and reading.

 

[Kid Presentable]

Tassie bred and educated (ODFA + Old Scholars hardened lol), buggered off to Melbourne to get a job.

Lived very close to the G for 13 years where I watched the end of Rev Danihers dees and the entirety of dean Bailey and Mark neelds reign of error.

Moved to NYC for work 10 years ago and got to finally taste a flag a very long way away. As soon as the license was granted I was in, just add the shady dees injury and culture attitude so I've decided to leave the dees to enjoy footy for a few years as a neutral until the devs get in.

Got my mappa and love it. My missus hates the green colour, much to my delight and chagrin

 

[MooreDaicos]

Born in Tassie, lived in Melbourne for 10 years as a child, came back to Tassie, left 6 years later to join the Army, ended up in QLD for 10 years, came back to Tassie in 2021, been here ever since. It's the best place to live.

When I came back to Tassie from Melbourne, I said to my brother, "I'll barrack for Glenochy FC" and my brother said, "YOU BLOODY WILL NOT! You'll barrack for Claremont FC, dad played for them". So my team here in Tas was all sorted.

I couldn't watch footy (VFL at the time) on tv down here, which didn't impress me much, not sure why so I was out of touch with the footy world, mostly.

One night, a few months after I returned to Tassie in 2021, I woke up to my cat sitting on top of the lounge chair in my room looking down at a Tassie Devil trying to get her, it followed my cat in through the cat flap. My parents, who I woke, didn't believe me, would you? haha
Dad got it out but not before it ran under my bed rubbing his stinky fur on the timber frame. The stench of these animals, when wet, is repulsive.
Welcome back home Jen

This little adventure just proves I'm definitely destined to be a founding member and member for future years.
It's about time the AFL granted us a team after snubbing us for decades.
#Go#godevils

 

[nobbyiscool]

Grew up in Launceston. My footy lineage is in the old NEFU, although that was family more than me, I have an ankle that just never held up to footy, and there were other winter sports I was much better at and were less physically taxing.

Like so many I left for work after uni, and I settled in Melbourne about 9 years ago.

I've waited my whole life for this team. I remember first hearing the idea after The Map beat the Big V when I was about 6 or 7, and Adelaide was about to make the comp uneven. So I've literally dreamt of this for 34 years. Bought the membership and all the merch as soon as it was humanly possible, and will be a member til I die. There's every chance I become a full on nuffy when it comes to Melbourne games/supporter groups. I think it'll be a fun way to connect with other displaced Tasmanians.

I don't have a lot of connections left to Tasmania... but I think for someone like me, it's just classic nostalgia. It'll end up being a permanent reminder of much happier, simpler times. Can't wait to be at the first game, regardless of where it is, and I can't wait to see the club and local council/Tas government go apeshit with activations. Every Friday and Saturday night game in Hobart should have like a mini-Taste of Tasmania running from Salamanca to Mac Point, it'll be incredible, and it'll be great for local businesses.

 

[Gibbke]

Dad's side of the family are mostly swampies from Invermay, so if you know what that means you'll understand they all barrack for North Launceston and that's a big thing in this family! However, Mum's isn't, and somehow a few of us slipped through the cracks and became East Launceston supporters, with one also City-South. My uncle was also on the board at Woodville straight after being on the board at East and then moving his family to SA. My cousin Michael got the call up to play for the NTFA on the same day as his wedding, and after refusing the invite he was on the outer with the selection panel forevermore, despite a couple of years up top of the league goalkicking and retiring later as East's all-time leading goalscorer.

1986 is my favourite all-time footy season, not only because the Hawks won, but because Tasmanian footy went through some huge changes, and the national league was all the rage. East (inexplicably) got into the newly formed state league, and the notion that we'd have an AFL team soon had our interest. So I was covered...and around this time I'd gotten right into sporting stats. This being pre internet, it was all VFL and cricket - I have every Richie Benaud yearbook, plus a pretty decent library. I bought Footystats, which is a media release AFL book in 1999, and then got the idea to do this for Tassie, and that's where it's gone ever since.

I moved to Qld in 1996, and pretty much my entire social circle had moved there at the same time...we're all musicians, and had this notion that we'd surf by day and gig at night for the rest of our lives...most of us moved back and became working plebs again! I stayed and joined Education Qld, which moved me from the Coast to Brisbane and then a decade ago Mission Beach, just down the road from Cairns. All the way through, I've always been marooned and not Maroon, never a Qlder, just a displaced Tasmanian. When the Devils were announced, an old mate reminded me of a conversation from around 2006, where I said I wanted a home grown team and not a relocation, and would drop the Hawks as my team once they joined...thanks for the memories, but it's not a marriage, I was a member when it was hard and before they got good again, and I totally get the dilemma WA and SA supporters would have felt in 1987 and 1991 respectively.

Still a musician, and I'm about to launch my bid for the Devils club song...not mucking around here, I've got a score and the necessary musos and facilities and now all I need to do is put together a slick presentation and get them to fund it...if they like it of course...which they will...! And me and the wife want to go back to Tassie...