west coast,freo,crow and port fans over 30 years old - did you switch?

[AFKAJR]

Turned 30 this year - use to watch "The Winners" every week on Sunday afternoon in Perth and just ended up following Geelong (don't know why?).

 

[Papa G]

Having spent time in SA and WA during he early 1980's it was clear many people followed the VFL before it became a national competition and supported certain teams, some even more so than the WAFL or SANFL. What has happened to these people? Did they SWITCH and begin following the newly created franchises (don't include port in this) or did they stick fat with the teams they claim to have supported?

You are delusional mate. To anyone over 30, growing up SANFL and I presume WAFL was the only game in town. You had a passing interest in VFL and that probably grew as more and more local lads were getting poached. I think the year the VFL really came on the radar was when Carlton drafted Craig Bradley, Stephen Kernahan, Peter Motley and Mark Naley in the one hit (no wonder they were so successful). I had a passing interest in Hawthorn, Carlton, Collingwood, St Kilda and even Freo but never really supported anyone. Always a Port man and if the PAFC weren't in the AFL I would stilll be a regular at the SANFL.

 

[sigur]

I'm in my late 30's grew up in adelaide & sydney. Didn't really follow any VFL team, certainly not with any passion.

VFL didn't really seem to have much presence in SA. Sure, they showed the winners on ABC (was it a one hour higlights package?), but they also showed the SANFL league AND the reserves on channel 7 and even the bloody mini-league. Picking a VFL team was a bit liking picking an EPL team for most of us - a bit random and probably based on whatever colours matched our sanfl team. When guys like bradley, motley & kernahan went to carlton then the (single) blues picked up quite a few sa fans but it was generally seen as a bit mercenary for a player to leave his SANFL club to head east for the $$$$.

I've got a few mates who still follow a VFL team in adelaide, but most of them now follow crows/port or stick to SANFL and it was a pretty easy choice.

 

[sydney eagle]

Being a Sydneysider I followed the Rugby League (South Sydney) but I liked to watch the Aussie Rules on television too ! I think it was seing some really good Western Australian players in the VFL(Polly Farmer, Barry Cable, Graham Moss etc ) and then seing Western Australia beat Victoria in an early State Of Origin game that got me interested in the West Australians. I liked the way that the Eagles played from day one and have supported them ever since.

 

[BWST]

I half heartedly decided to follow Essendon, after the Crows entered the AFL. They had players such as Gav Wanganeen, Che Cockatoo Collins and Greg Anderson, all from the Port Maggies.

1993 was a sweet year, my adopted team kicked the Crows out of the Premiership race, and went on to win the flag. I never really had my heart in it though. And followed the SANFL with much more interest.

When 1997 rolled around, i was stoked. I dropped the Bombers like a hot rock

I still watch them with interest, and don't mind them winning against any other team bar Port.

 

[Andre]

Never really interested in the VFL. I'm 34 and have been a PAFC boy since knee high to a grasshopper. Could never and still can't understand how followers of other SANFL clubs could abandon them (or at least relegate to a distant second) just because a new side was created in another league from the same state.

If the PAFC hadn't moved from the SANFL to AFL I'd still be supporting them there, even though it's now a much lesser competition. I follow my club passionately, not a league. They may have had to change some colours and their nickname, but they are still the same club I've loved for over a quarter of a century now. Never did, never have and never will have them take a back foot to another club, just because they are 'new and shiny and local in a different league'.

Taking that a step further, although they stayed put, they lost their colours and nickname, it didn't lessen my support. If they had also had to relocate at the same time I'd still have followed them. I can't understand supporters of a club that needs no mentioning preferring a slow painful death then my club continuing on for another 100 plus years just because I couldn't get to as many games. I live in Melbourne now, but I don't feel any less a Port supporter. If the situation had been reversed (me still in SA, Port to Vic. for some unknown reason) I'd still feel just as much a supporter.

 

[royals1922]

As a dyed in the wool East Perth fan, I have no particular favourite between the Eagles and Freo.

If pressed, I used to support North Melbourne in the days of the Snake, Briedis and the Gasometer.

Now they were AFL players.

 

[rogernumber10]

I have two teams. The Norwood FC (hence Rogernumber10 for the great Roger Woodcock) and the Geelong FC.Norwood was the team I got to watch most weekends as a kid and Geelong were the big boys on tv I got to see once every few years on a trip.Gotta admit, since I got older, and especially since I moved states, the Cats slid into number one by the late 80s, largely because I see Norwood so rarely now, but the Redlegs are still my only team in SA I care about.

 

[Eagle1/Syd]

Supported the Hawks as a child, then the Eagles came along and i was torn between both teams for ages.1991 came along and i knew i had to choose and the Eagles was my choice.I still have a soft spot for the Hawks though.My WAFL team is East Perth and i still support them.

 

[Stereophonic]

I have always supported WA's most successful and best side

(west coast btw)

 

[KUNG FU]

I'm not 30, but I used to follow the Demons in the VFL as much as you can as a kid in Adelaide. My sister lived in Melbourne for a while and bought me a few Demons items. But that was largely because they shared the same colours as Norwood, the kind of reasons you come with as a kid. Certainly, being quite young when the Crows came into the competition and with a number of ex-Norwood players in the team, it was easy to 'switch'. I would say I still have a soft spot for Melbourne, especially with the Vardy, but my allegiance to non-Crows teams usually depends on players. For example, right now I'd say I have a soft spot for the Hawks because of Buddy & Hodge, something I never would have thought possible in the Dermie era.

I'm first and foremost a fan of football, not of any team or league.

 

[ming65]

I'm first and foremost a fan of football, not of any team or league.

Amen to that....

 

[wal]

I have always supported WA's most successful and best side

(west coast btw)

28>3

Premiers

1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1943, 1945, 1946 (undefeated), 1957, 1965, 1974, 1979, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1998.



Runners-up

1899, 1901, 1905, 1907, 1912, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1934, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1997, 2000.

 

[High Voltage]

Port Adelaide - only - always have, always will.

Only other interest was in the Port Adelaide players that had gone onto the VFL/AFL - at one stage I reckon I was even getting the weekly VFL kicks-marks-handballs-goals from all the ex-Port Adelaide players and made up a pseudo team-listing to see how well they performed.

 

[Cap]

I still support the first team I ever supported as a child The Mighty Waikerie Magpies.

Growing up they were always no.1 especially being a country town, I have been told that as a youngster i followed Glenelg (cause my brother liked Port) and Hawthorn in the VFL (i suppose they were winning when i was under 10), but for as long as I can remember I followed Collingwood (Black and White) and did for a bit while the crows still existed (well i was only 10 when the Crows started) but the Crows have pretty much been No.1.
But I've been a Norwood fan since moving to Adelaide

 

[scotty13]

I think a lot of people in SA and WA probably more so follow a player not a team. Example when Blight went to North Melbourne, My dad and a lot of his mates started taking an interest in North not because they thought the club was good, but because their favourite player moved to North.

Im sure this is the case in a lot of people. So naturally they stay faithful to their own state.

 

[^BL|TZ^]

My old man barracked for Perth and played for Perth in the colts and as a result.....The Mighty demons was the team for me. Watched the winners and had a soft spot for Hawthorn as they were winning in the 80s. My old man had a soft spot for essendon due to having the same colours. When the eagles came along I was on them from day one and have never looked back. Still love my Demons but due to the lack of success since 1977 my love has wained a wee bit but the passion is still there.

 

[Moo]

You are delusional mate. To anyone over 30, growing up SANFL and I presume WAFL was the only game in town. You had a passing interest in VFL and that probably grew as more and more local lads were getting poached. I think the year the VFL really came on the radar was when Carlton drafted Craig Bradley, Stephen Kernahan, Peter Motley and Mark Naley in the one hit (no wonder they were so successful). I had a passing interest in Hawthorn, Carlton, Collingwood, St Kilda and even Freo but never really supported anyone. Always a Port man and if the PAFC weren't in the AFL I would stilll be a regular at the SANFL.

Spot on mate.

I have always supported WA's most successful and best side

(west coast btw)

Are you a Freagle?

West Coast are most successful and Freo are the best.

You should really make a choice mate ...answer this preference quiz -

(a) 6 bottles of Vasse Felix cab sav or a carton of crown?

(b) At the footabll do you like to yell for your sponsor or your team?

(c) Do you like your captain to make clever corporate and marketing decisions or would you rather they play for your club?

PM me your answers and I will have them sent off to our analysis lab (my mate Davo) and the response should be back faster than you can say 'Go S-G-I-O'

 

[crowm dome]

I like how the O.P. uses the word franchise for the newer teams.....will this still be applicable in 100 years?

Anyway, to answer your question I followed Melbourne in the VFL purely because they wear the same colours as my SANFL team. As soon as the Crows formed I started supporting them due to their affiliation with the city I live in.

 

[Upgrayedd]

28>3

Premiers

1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1943, 1945, 1946 (undefeated), 1957, 1965, 1974, 1979, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1998.



Runners-up

1899, 1901, 1905, 1907, 1912, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1934, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1997, 2000.

Whatever helps you sleep at night
Like everyone has said, most people loved the wafl so much more then the VFL, few people stuck with the VFL team, most went on the west coast bandwagon

 

[dockertor]

The OP suffers from the delusion that many Vics do, ie that the VFL meant anything in WA or SA before the AFL. The only coverage we had of VFL was a highlights package an the ABC which I rarely watched. The WAFL was the only comp I was interested in. In those days the WANFL would get 10K plus to each of its grounds each weekend.
If I was asked I would have said Nth Melb were my favoured team in the VFL merely because they wore blue and white the same as Easts, but to be honest I couldn't have told you wether they won or lost on any given weeked.
When WCE came into the comp I still followed the WAFL but would watch there games on TV but didn't really get attached to the club at all. But the interest in VFL/AFL grew. When It was announced that Freo would put in a side I started following them from the start but it still took a year or two before I went to more AFL games than WAFL. By this stage WAFL was basically dead. I still maintained East Fremantle membership for years (Babies and a single wage have caused some belt tightening since)

 

[theGav56]

Grew up in Adelaide supporting the Port Adelaide Magpies.

Lived in Geelong as a teenager and supported the Cats through the Ablett Snr years, and especially after moving to WA and those painful Grand final losses to WC, Hawthorn and the salary-cap-rorting Carlton. Still support them, but living in Fremantle became a member immediately they were formed, and been to most games. Currently living in Bali where I support The Bali Geckos, yet to be admitted to the AFL. Next year will be my first as an unpaid up supporter of Freo.

Nothing like going to games live.

 

[Mancey]

I followed West Perth fanatically, sorta followed Fitzroy with interest, wasn't a die hard. WAFL was everything in those days.

West Coast came and it wasn't a hard decision to switch.

 

[Geoff]

Over 30, Well over 30.
Born in North Freo, Brought up in East Freo, Went to Richmond Primary School in East Freo hence associated Richmond Primary and Richmond (VFL). West Coast offered nothing in terms of an identity so stayed a Richmond supporter. Once Freo joined the AFL it was a natural transition across to the Dockers.

 

[huggy_b]

Not quite 30, but a ****teenth away. Loved watching Plugger and Winmar on the TV, so i got a St Kilda jumper to wear to footy training in juniors. Didn't feel the need to swap teams when the Eagles formed, so I have been a Sainter ever since, and will til I take my last breath. My belief in the red, black and white was reinforced when we had David Hart take training one year and he mentioned I was wearing the wrong colours - told him I wouldn't ever support the Eagles. I vividly remember him going "hummm" and turning away - I took that as a win.

I get to see 2 games at Subi if the draw is kind to me, but I also get on the plane and try to get a couple of games in Melbourne every year. I love supporting the Saints at Subi in the minority - especially when you win - its amazing how many people say that the Saints are "my 2nd team".