EVERYONE - When did you decide to support the Eels?

[bartman]

Family and location. My Dad and Grandad were Parra fans, and I was Parra born and bred. It was pretty much a no brainer, and I'm lucky to have grown up during the club's most successful era, and being able to see those 80s legends play.

Was taken to my first Eels game age 5 at Henson park in 1978. I believe we won, and the parra fans made more noise than the Jets fans. At half time we had to move from the wooden stand to the hill, because the vibrations from people stomping the wooden floorboards in the Par-ra *clap clap clap* chant were upsetting my young ears.

Have been going to games regularly with my Dad ever since. Did the trip to Belmore for home games 1982-1985, and have held season tickets at the Stadium in the same seats for the last 24 years.

 

[lewiscook]

My Dad played golf with sterlo and a few other Parra players in his young days back in the 80s. He like me was born into a footy mad family and ever sicne i was born have been supporting the eels with my dad.

PS: my dad went to school with Gus gould haha.

 

[Fee]

I was born an Eels supporter. My parents were Eels supporters(even though my Dad now follows the Broncos, trader) .My husband follows the Eels and I have 4 kids who are Eels supporters. I remember watching Parra win all 4 of their Premierships in the 80's, Price, Grothe, Cronin, Kenny, Sterling ,Ella, what more can I say, always have been always will be an Eel!

 

[ROCCOE3]

I moved down from Newcastle to the Eastern Suburbs in the 80's and Parra won the comp that year... I didn't even know what Rugby League was at the time but I just remember the Mighty EELS won the comp and there was a lot of buzz at the time and ever since then I have been a loyal fan.

I now have 4 children living in the Bulldogs area and we are all Parra Fans!

Go Parra!

There are so many hard core 80's Parra fans passing on the dream to friends and family but this will only last for so long with the younger generation... We need Parra to win a comp so we get a huge wave of new generation supporters jumping on the bandwagon

 

[Ron Jeremy]

A family tradition, dating back to when my fathers and grand parents imigrated from Germany back in the 50's, from the 70's onwards it intensified. My first ever memory of Parramatta i'm pretty sure was the 86 GF - but not sure now, the one definate first memory I have of Parra was when we played the Roosters in 87? at Parra stadium where the Roosters won.

Growing up in Georges Hall also made me hate Canterbury, poofs.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I was a Bulldogs supporter up until after the 1986 GF, my whole family are Eels supporters and i went for the Dogs out of spite.

I was at the 1986 GF (i was 7 at the time) and i remember the absolute HELL my cousin put me through after the Dogs lost, i cried for hours after and then decided to join the Eels........

nice person

 

[hindy111]

My dad and his brothers grew up in seven hills and supported them-Ray price did the concreting i think or tiling at my dads place-Dad used to take me to footy each sunday.So ever since 1987.Yeah i was 7-And i missed the grand finals-I remember school days-Just to be happy not finihsing last-Was a tough 10 yrs hey....
ps-that and most maltese follow parra : )

 

[hindy111]

My dad and his brothers grew up in seven hills and supported them-Ray price did the concreting i think or tiling at my dads place-Dad used to take me to footy each sunday.So ever since 1987.Yeah i was 7-And i missed the grand finals-I remember school days-Just to be happy not finihsing last-Was a tough 10 yrs hey....
ps-that and most maltese follow parra : ) I wonder if its cause of parramatta power-which used to be parramater melita before the racail thigns changed-Not sure

 

[Craig Johnston]

auburn! represent! my passion for hating the dogs grew when my folks forced us to move to yagoona and i went to birrong.

 

[dazeely]

On a windy September grandfinal day back in 1981 at the age of 10. QUOTE]


Similar. As a ten year old on a family holiday in Sydney I was caught up in the middle of grand final week (1981). Can remember things like blue and gold sausages at the butchers and bread at a bakery. I was so excited with the hype that comes with making a grand final. Dad brought me my first eels team shirt and have never looked back. Bleed blue and gold.

 

[parraeelz]

first nrl game i watched was state of origin n saw hindy play
fkn inspired sh*t outta me...supported parra eva since

 

[andrew057]

the bears were awesome, did you know mark soden held the world record for sit ups in 1997

I didnt know that. My old man worked with Soden's father though, he got me a heap of memorabilia when I was a kid.

 

[sammygee]

1986 .. I was 11 years old. Had only been in Australia for 4 years and had no idea what footy was. Some kid in the playground asked me which team I went for and I said "I dunno.. who do you go for?". He said Easts so to be different I said Wests (not even knowing whether there was a Wests team). Then everyone started laughing at me (rightly) so I went home and watched my first footy game that weekend, trying to figure out what team to follow.

Then a strange coincidence occured. My two favourite colours just happened to be blue and yellow at the time, and the Eels were romping it. I ended up watching the comp that year, growing to love the Eels and remember feeling sad when the legends retired in the Grand Final. Over the years I grew to idolise Sterlo and Kenny and have been obsessed since!

 

[Mickyd39]

i have always been a PARRA supporter.

my mum and dad are from PARRA and its all i've ever know since i was a kid.

its always been PARRA for me.

i used to be called a mini Ray Higgs.

My brother played lower grades for Manly and Norths. whenever Parra played either of those teams we always wanted him to play well but my family always wanted PARRA to smash them.

i have also converted my girlfriend to PARRA. she now understands the highs and lows of supporting this great club. hopefully more highs over the next few years starting with this weekend.

GO PARRA

 

[salvy71]

Born in Parramatta in 1971 , lived in Westmead until 83 ...right next to Parramatta Park and only a few minutes stroll to Cumberland Oval in the late 70's ...........I could never have been anything other than a Parra supporter .......

 

[Fathead]

First game in 1963 at cumberland.
The old man is a great fan.
we used to go to the football EVERY weekend, no matter where they played.
It was easier back then because they only played in Sydney.

Used to sit in the Grandstand as a kid and scream "lolly legs" when the opposition goal kicker came in to have a shot - AND it worked.
Loved rocking the grandstand with my feet - Parra STOMP STOMP STOMP Parra ...
Hell that old stand used to rock.
Loved lining up outside and the old man saying hello to the other regulars there as they had been going to the footy for years.
Loved watching the players arriving and walking past the crowd on the hill.

We lived Eastlakes so I had to go through the South Jnrs system.
All the players were always stoked when the Souths legends visited the team but I was always hanging out to meet the Parra Players.
GREAT MEMORIES ..........

 

[Angry_eel]

Angry, why the Eels??

I was in yr 8 in a school at Blacktown. Everytime someone would ask me "What team do you follow?" I would say "Umm I like cricket". The usual answer would be "Cricket is gay man...who do you follow in NRL". Usually I would have no answer.

I asked my cousin about this as i was quite new. He said why not support the locals(Penrith). We lived in St Marys at the time. I said ok i'll check them out. So one weekend i sat down to check the ladder. Panthers were quite sh*t then. So i looked at the closest team which was the best. Parra it was. :lol:

It helped for a while. The eels bandwagon was on at the time. All the kids were supporting them. In the next couple of years, most kids got off the bandwagon. I stayed on it.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

Badullvich.

(Is that right, Nix?)

 

[cgee221]

Since I was 5 years old, in 1995 watched my first game at a friend's house, became instantly addicted haha. My parents followed Parramatta all be it briefly because they were the local team, they were interested in their results but didn't watch every game....my dad was still mourning the loss of Newtown in 1983 (big Jets/Bluebags supporter) and my mum was Balmain supporter but since that time I have converted everyone into massive Eels fans and we all love it!

 

[Runaround Man]

Grew up in the Eastern Suburbs in the 1970's, my brother was a mad Roosters supporter. When John Peard (invented the bomb) went from the Roosters to Parra in '76 I started to take notice.

Mick Cronin was my hero as a 10 year old. When Parra lost to the Dragons in '77 I felt so disappointed. It was then that I knew I supported Parra.

Followed them very closely ever since, all the greats of the late 70s Ray Higgs, Oling, Bear O'Reilly, Pricey and then the new brigade - Kenny, Sterling, Ella and Grothe.

What a sight, Grothe storming down the touch line at a packed and dusty cumberland oval......

Oh the memory of a sunny afternoon at cumberland oval - every second dude smoking their lungs out and downing a can of beer with the other hand.

And if it rained..you got wet...very wet...there was nowhere to run....