THE first thing you notice when walking into Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night is the names of rugby league legends Mick Cronin and Ken Thornett missing from their grandstands.
They're covered up on both sides of the field with giant banners that say Welcome to Wanderland. It's a sign of the times in Sydney's west. This night is all about the Western Sydney Wanderers and a group of fanatical fans called RBB - the Red and Black Bloc. Rugby league history doesn't matter. It's become their own fortress since the Parramatta Eels finished up last season. As one official said: "If we had our way we'd cover up the Ray Price statue too." Can you imagine the drama if the AFL or the Sydney Swans tried the same thing and got rid of Clive Churchill's name or the sign on the Bill O'Reilly stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground?
Here, it's just accepted.
On Saturday night, in Sydney's foul weather, I stood, sang, cheered and clapped with the Bloc for the match against Perth Glory. They started with a group of just 30 fans at the first trial game back in June. They've grown to more than 1500 members, who booked out every seat on the northern terrace of the stadium. It's a wonderful mixture of nationalities and cultures, a couple of lawyers, a doctor and a retired school headmistress, 69 years of age. A few converted Parramatta Eels fans and even some old North Sydney Bears fans who love wearing the red and black jersey again. In their leadership group is an Aussie, a Croatian, a Serbian, a Dutchman and a bloke from Chile.
The fans are generally well behaved. Half a dozen were banned for loutish behaviour and letting off flares earlier in the season. There's some choice language and a few stray beers. But they're here for a good time. There are a couple of bad eggs as you find in any sporting crowd. Like the charming one who tweeted: "@BuzzRothfield journos don't belong in the rrb F ... off and don't come back and return your jersey while u at it #shirescum"
He's quickly put into place by other RBB members on Twitter. I'm given a song sheet and a list of instructions before I arrive at the stadium. No umbrella (it's a sign of being soft). No notebook (they don't like the media). Remain standing for the entire game. Mix in and don't stop singing or you will be asked
to leave. Turn your back on the game, put your arm around the person next to you in the 80th minute, and jump up and down. It's called the Poznan and done to signify the first game of football in Sydney's west back in 1880. It's full on, and by the end, you feel like you've done a session in the gym.
The rain arrives at half-time and I'm offered the comfort of a corporate suite for the second half. No thanks. I'm loving the atmosphere. And as the song goes:
"We're from the streets of western Sydney - home of the mighty RBB"
The Wanderers score early in the second half, right in front of us. The entire terrace area just explodes. You've never heard noise or seen madness quite like it. Super Bowl, Shark Park, the old Lang Park - or anywhere. This group are a wonderful backdrop to what has become Australia's most remarkable sporting story. The Wanderers are gaining momentum all the time. They've now won seven straight. New members are still signing up and coming on board with only two home games to go. On Saturday night the weather was awful. Watching at home on the couch in front of the plasma has never been more appealing.
Yet nearly 12,000 turned up. A fabulous crowd considering the torrential conditions and the fact Perth brought less than 50 fans with them. Up the road at Penrith only 4000-odd turned up to watch the Eels play the Panthers in the NRL trial.
Who would have thought the round-ball game could attract three times the crowd of a rugby league match on the same night at the same time in Sydney's west? Inside the dressing room, the players belt out the team victory song after the game. They're no match for the Bloc but the camaraderie they've built in such a short space of time is a lesson for every club and every code. You think back to just 12 months ago and they weren't even in this competition.
Only Clive Palmer's diabolical effort on the Gold Coast and their subsequent removal from the A-League opened the door and gave the Wanderers this opportunity. The irony of it all is that Lyall Gorman is steering the ship as CEO, the former A-League boss who Palmer, Nathan Tinkler and the other big owners didn't rate and wanted to get rid of. They launched just eight months ago with nothing but a dream. Shaun Mielekamp is the marketing boss who was poached from the Panthers. He's a whiz-bang operator behind the scenes who works closely with the RBB.
You compare this club to the AFL and the $150 million Andrew Demetriou is pouring into the GWS Giants only to watch them get annihilated almost every week. Next weekend the Wanderers are off to Gosford to play the Central Coast Mariners in the blockbuster of the season. The winner will be outright competition leader. As I'm leaving, I think back to the first person I bumped into as I walked into the stadium - the old emperor of Parramatta, Denis Fitzgerald. He now loves his A-League and attends all Wanderers home games.
Fitzgerald was actually a decade ahead of his time when he introduced Parramatta Power to the then National Soccer League. "It's a sensational atmosphere that outdoes rugby league," Fitzgerald says, "The Bloc, the singing, the cheering and the clapping I really enjoy it. It's something rugby league can learn from."
Check out the photo of Buzz on the terrace.
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