So why are you a Cats fan?

[MontyMensch]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

My ending up a mad Cats supporter, really is for a very simple reason.

My Mum's favourite show as a tiny girl was "The Happy Hammond Show" (The guy in the cowboy hat that runs out with the team for the 1963 GF). Every show this guy told kids to support Geelong

So she went past my Grandpa's Dons, and prevented my dad from making me support Carlton by knitting me some hoops for me even before I was born.

The funniest thing is however, that my Grandfather (who was a footy journo) always refused to say he followed any team due to what he saw as "proper sporting journalism guidelines and integrity".

On meeting my mother just before he died and I was born, she became the first person he finally admitted his allegiance too.

And it was the CATS. In fact his great uncle Harry Craven captained the Cats in the 1920's.

 

[Cats_Paws]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Arrived in Melbourne - Australia in 1991 from India. You guessed it -- that was Gary Ablette senior's time and that great man is the reason I am Cats fan. Now my son and my wife love our Cats!

Go the Cats! The greatest team!

 

[mwt5150]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Moved from NRL-mad Newcastle as a young kid with no team and not much idea bout footy. By rights should have been snapped up as a Carlton fan as most family down here goes for them (the thought truly sickens me now.) Thought I'd watch some games and see who played the most entertaining brand. Malcolm Blight was coach and it was the late 80's. Bugger defence lets kick 20+ goals each week. A new hopeless devotee was born.....

 

[Rustin' Man]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

This is a great thread with a heap of interesting stories.

I became a Cats' fan by accident. I lived in a very small Gippsland hamlet (on a farm) when I was young and was nominally a Bulldogs' fan (my uncle was the proud owner of the club's mascot at the time) but my family moved to another farm outside a large Latrobe Valley town. My Mum supported the Bombers (but had followed the Cats a bit when younger) and my Dad didn't really follow a team - but he did play football when he was younger.

Changing schools was a bit of a drama for an eight year old from a tiny school going to a 'big' school and I wanted to make friends with some fellow classmates and I found out that one of them was a Geelong supporter. So, then and there I became a Cats' fan.

So the one legacy of moving schools and trying to fit in is that I have remained a Cats' fan to this day (I'm in my early 60s) and have followed them through thick and thin, living 30 years in Sin City watching from afar and suffered after coming down from Sydney to see them lose horribly to the Blues in the 1995 GF. I have thoroughly enjoyed following them week in week out since I moved to Melbourne 10 years ago. I remember the first match I went to when I got back was against the Magpies at Kardinia Park on a horrible, wet day and the Cats prevailed (I think it must have been the last time the Magpies ever played down at the Cattery).

So, for this Saturday, GO CATS, the greatest team of all!!

 

[madfootyfan]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

My parents migrated to Australia and settled in Essendon but luckily my Aunty and Uncle decided to live in Geelong. As a young tacker i was spending a lot of time at my Uncles who lives a stone throw from KP and i just fell in love with the club...
I also converted the wife from a Carlton supporter to a Cats supporter and also threatened the kids (when they were still in nappies) if they didn't follow suit, I can now say we are a family of 5 happy Cat fans..

I can just imagine one day my kids coming across a similar post and saying we had no choice, it was either barrack for the cats or the old man would have disowned us lol...

 

[Copernicus]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

I was lucky, I have to say. The old man is a big Geelong fan, since he arrived in 1964 from England, the year after our flag. He picked the Cats since they had been the champs the year before. Of course he wasn't to know the pain he was about to put himself through! But I've always supported the Cats, even though a fair chunk of the family is Collingwood. It was always going to be one or the other, and the Cats won out, probably because dad took me to the games and was a bit more into it than mum was.

Now I'm over in the US and can hardly watch games at all, let alone live at the ground, so I am well aware of what I am missing out on!

 

[ablett5]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

never seen a wooden spoon

 

[muffinman]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Was born on Grand Final day in '89, and my dad (a mad cats supporter) gave up tickets to the game to come and watch me be born. (Bad option if you ask me).

Anyway, once I'd gotten over the sickness that I had when I was born it was on straight away with a Cats bib and guernsey and it's been in my blood ever since.

 

[FoxC]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

It's great to learn about the diverse reasons and backgrounds that have made us all love the blue and white hoops.

Personally I came from a soccer background in Vietnam 22 years ago and had little interest in Aussie rules. As I began watching the game on TV and learning about all the teams, one incident alone involving the great man Gary Snr during the 1989 season converted me into a Geelong fan: his admission that he had struck Garry Lyon (source here), and the subsequent suspension despite the lack of video evidence, simply because he "wasn't prepared to lie about it or compromise the truth in [his] relationship with God" (source here).

I was totally inspired by his honesty which is still rare today as it was then. By the time I got to know more about Geelong (club history, team colours, club song and players) I realised there was no other VFL/AFL team for me. On-field success certainly helped but was by no means the deciding factor, although Malcolm Blight's legendary attacking footy made me proud to be Cats fan.

Like many of us, I have lived through the worst of heartaches (losing grand finals in 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995) and the best of satisfaction in 2007. Last year brought back painful memories but all that will be forgotten when Mark Thompson and Tom Harley lift the premiership cup this Saturday.

GO THE MIGHTY CATTERS!!!

 

[chicachow]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

I wonder if the Geelong Footy Club appreciates just how many people Gary Ablett Senior brought to the club. I suspect the same is happening with Junior. Boy I hope he has some sons!

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Just bumping this thread from last year's finals series if there are any newbies. Some great stories to read.

 

[Hybrid7]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

We used to spend a lot of our school holidays at a caravan park in ocean grove as a kid and I kind of just got engulfed in how the town came alive with cats support during the finals and it grew on me - Been a cats supporter ever since!!

One of my first memories of the Cats as a kid was going to the footy with dad, getting to KP really early and we got a seat right on the boundary on one of the old bench seats near what is now the reg hickey stand right on the 50m line - I watched Ablett boot 6 that day and even took one set shot on 50 right in front of us!!

I was actually raised as a Bombers supporter, but my old man didnt do a good enough job of brainwashing me....

I am not making the same mistake with my daughter, she just turned 2 a few weeks ago and every time I am reading the paper with a Geelong player on it she runs up, points and yells GO CATS without even prompting - I am so proud

 

[Shell]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

I was actually raised as a Bombers supporter, but my old man didnt do a good enough job of brainwashing me....
I am not making the same mistake with my daughter, she just turned 2 a few weeks ago and every time I am reading the paper with a Geelong player on it she runs up, points and yells GO CATS without even prompting - I am so proud

Same here, I could have easily been an Essendon supporter, but my dad didnt care enough to make me barrack for them. Also add to the fact I started following football in 1993!!!!!

Man how times have changed, am so glad not to be following that mess of a football team.

 

[Just do something]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Great stories, great reading. For me it was my brothers. i have 4 other brothers and a sister. 1 bro barracks for the pies, 1 for the dons and the other 2 for the cats. So when i was 5 or 6 it was GFC all the way. I was alot closer to my cats supporting brothers so they would always take me to games. I still remember my first tear as a cats fan when we lost to Collingwood in the 1980 prelim i was only 9 at the time but i was shattered.

I could have ended up a dons fan as Dad barracks for the bombers and my first gf was 84 which i think was the big punch on?? Anyway have to say with all the success in the last 4 years it bloddy great to be a geelong supporter.
After losing to Sydney like we did in 06 and smashing my first daughters baby pram after the loss in frustration i though it would be a bloody long time before we had the ultimate success.

Im now happy to say that i have 3 kids 2 girls and a boy ages 9,6, and 2 and they all support geelong. Took the girls to Kpark for the first time on saturday and they are well and truly converted. Actual had a tear in my eye when we all sang We are geelong after the win. Great family moment.

Oh i forgot to mention will never forget the day Gazza kicked 14 v Richmond from the wing h/forward the whole ground was clapping him. What a footballer.

 

[Shell]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

I could have ended up a dons fan as Dad barracks for the bombers and my first gf was 84 which i think was the big punch on?? .

LOL, I read that as "my first girlfriend was 84".

 

[i_need_a_pencil]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Well.... aside from the normal family indoctrination.

My grandfather played for Geelong, in the great early 50's team.

And thats been amplified by the fact that this current teams domination of the comp has coincided with my football maturation, as I'm now in my early 20's.

No going back now... and I wouldn't want TO!

 

[Just do something]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

LOL, I read that as "my first girlfriend was 84".

haha you should have seen her when she took her teeth out!!

 

[corio bay]

Re: So why are you Cats fan?

top thread

im a third generation cats fan. My grandad was involved with the club back in the 50's and one of my Dad's best memories is going to the 63 grand final.

We moved from Corio to Sydney in the early eighties and we went (and still go) to every cats v swans game. I think hocking and brownless where my favourite players back then.


My 14 month son is well on his way to being a crazed cats fan - here he is packed and ready to go on our last trip down to Geelong:

 

[Zephiah]

Re: So why are you Cats fan?

Well the story ive been told by my father (Geelong supporter) is that he and my grandmother (Hawthorn support) both were trying to sway me to support there team and got sick of arguing over it so they decided when i was 2-3 years old to both buy me a football jumper 1 Geelong and 1 Hawthorn and let me choose.

I picked the Geelong jumper and have loved them ever since. I do believe I still have the jumper aswell.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Re: So why are you Cats fan?

First game of footy I saw live I was 11 an it was a game between the Swans and the Cats at the SCG in '87 as part of a state wide Primary school championship football carnival weekend.

This was the time when Edison owned the Swan's and they would play a god awful song after every Swan goal, after early Swan's goals I thought stuff this I'm going for the Cats.

Funny thing was our seats just happened to be next to the Geelong cheer squad that day so they were pointing out which player was which so I quickly learnt the names Gazza, Excell, The Prez, Bewsy etc and I was hooked from that day on

 

[The rabbi]

Re: So why are you Cats fan?

I was born in Baxter House (Now Geelong Private Hospital).

Grew up in the town in a large family who were all Geelong supporters.
Dad grew up in Brunswick and supported Carlton, but dumped them like a hot scone when he moved to Geelong.

All the kids at school were mad on Geelong.

I grew up following Geelong all those years as a kid when the Cats were a constant source of heart break.
Kids today are spoiled.

 

[krisholio14]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

I started out as a Carlton supporter.

My dad used to play for them and he and his whole family were Carlton, and he'd even converted my mum across from Collingwood.

When Jezza left Carlton at the end of 79, I started to think about following another club. The fact my parents had split up by that stage also contributed.

Now even as a 7yo I was smart enough to know I didn't want to follow St Kilda. My favorite VFL players at the time were Jezza, Malcolm Blight and Peter Knights, so I considered following North or Hawthorn.

Then I found out Stephen Michael (another of my favorites) was contemplating heading to Geelong, I started to think about them.

Then this day came.....

[youtube]8Vdx_VqW-go[/youtube]

I had been to the corresponding game at Carlton earlier in the year, and was pretty keen to check this one out.

Both games had been close all day, and then, if you go to this video....

[youtube]pqo7o_tg10E[/youtube]

Go to the 3 minute mark and you see Terry Bright kick the winning goal.

From that moment on I was a Geelong supporter.

My dad thought I was just trying to give him the shits by changing teams, and I probably was to a small degree, but he thought i'd go back to Carlton soon enough, but even when they won the next two flags, I never did.

We played some pretty exciting footy in those first 18 months which made it easy to stick with my choice. Got my first jumper for my 11th birthday (from my dad ironically), and it is still hanging on my wall to this day.

And no, I absolutely have no regrets

 

[The rabbi]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

Got my first jumper for my 11th birthday (from my dad ironically), and it is still hanging on my wall to this day.

And no, I absolutely have no regrets

Did the jumper have a number?
Just interested in who your favorite player was.

 

[Geelongsince1984]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

When i was a baby my dad tried to get my first words to be tigers. Much to his disappointment they were go cats stuck ever since

 

[Sydney Cat]

Re: So why are you actually a cats fan?

In 2003 I joined the Defence Force and one of my fellow recruits was a mad Geelong fan, soon after talk turned to footy, there are questions about what code of footy and what teams you follow. I was born and bred in Sydney and basically grew up playing and supporting Rugby League (don’t hold it against me).
I had always enjoyed watching AFL and really respected the toughness and fitness of the players, at that stage I had only ever been to one live game, which was the Swans and St Kilda in 1999 yawn...anyway my mate asked me who I followed in the AFL and at that stage I didn’t really have a favourite team so my education on becoming a Cats fan started and I have never looked back, this year has been my first as a member and as a co sponsor of Travis and it will continue until the day I die.