A Little Boy Waits.
July 10th 1995, at Mt Smart stadium and I was there to cheer on Dean Bell and his Warriors against the Gold Coast Seagulls. I had my Warrior face painted on. The talented Warriors were demolishing the featherless Seagulls and I started to dream of the ultimate sporting triumph, when one day the mighty Auckland Warriors will lift the trophy every team strives to claim in recognition of being the best team in the toughest competition in the world.
A dream that seemed very possible that year with talent in the likes of Greg Alexander, Dean Bell, Phil Blake and rookie sensation Stacey Jones sparkling the field with their abundance of talent and league prowess. But a little boy dreams of what could be one day be the best experience in his life.
The Warriors winning the NRL.
It is now November 12th 2011 and I'm still that little boy 16 years on and still dreaming about premiership glory. What keeps my dream possible is the NRL doesn't have a Manchester United, winning premierships 9/10 times, so realistically any team can win the NRL Premiership based on how even the competition is and has become over the years.
Over the 16 years my support for the Auckland based side they have given me an early case of high blood pressure and frequent heart attack trials part in due to the lack of consistency.
An example of their erratic performances is characterized best when they can beat a full strength Brisbane team with Origin Stars one week and then in the next lose a ‘supposed easy game’ against an under strength Cowboys team with out 6 Maroons.
Yet I have been witness to plenty of special and spectacular moments of the Warriors, from the thrills of seeing Stacey Jones scoring outrageous solo tries, Brent Webb making line breaks and bamboozling defenders, to the likes of Francis Meli scoring 5 tries against the Bulldogs.
Unfortunately despite all their moments of brilliance in their play-making ability and rear-end passes through out the years there is still shiny bronzoe trophy to show for it.
For now, what gets me going is knowing a team like the Cronulla Sharks have been waiting for over 30 years to taste premiership glory. They too have suffered as I have and know the pain, even the Cowboys fans can relate as they too share a similar history to my team.
I also know in the English premier league some fans supporting various clubs have died not witnessing their favorite team miss out on winning any trophies and championships, even while supporting them for over 70 years.
Unlike them though I can almost guarantee I won't fall in that category, but at this point I'm sick of saying
'There is always next year"!
So with the Warriors falling short in their 2nd Grand Final I can only watch another season of unpredictability and hope.
Will next year be our year?
I’ve been asking myself this question every season and the answer is always; 'No'.
But when the answer is;
'Yes' then look out cause the little boy still dreaming won't have to dream anymore, and it will be the best day in his life seeing, the very moment Captain Mannering lifting the Telstra Premiership trophy.