Have you ever attended a Grand Final that your team was in? How was a) The week leading up to the game b) The day of the game c) The game itself and d) After the game, for you?
I've been to a number of Grand Finals in my time, but only the one for my team - Newcastle. I've been to the 1997, 2000, 2003, & 2005 Grand Finals.
I'll go into my experiences of the 1997 Grand Final here. Not only because it was the one I've been to that the Knights were in, but because it was my first GF. I was 16, and it was an awesome experience for me.
The week leading up to the game: When Newcastle defeated North Sydney, I was initially over the moon because WE WERE IN THE GRAND FINAL! Within a few minutes, I realised that I wouldn't be going, nor would I be able to see the game for a week afterwards. This was -as we all know- the year of SuperLeague, and Perth did not show any ARL games at all except the State Of Origin series. My grandfather all year had been taping the Knights games and sending them across so Dad & I could watch them. Once the Knights had made the GF, I phoned up Ch9 to see if they would show the ARL GF. They gave me a firm 'no' (which incidentally, turned out to be wrong as they changed their mind later in the week). I was gutted.
On the Monday, I got home from school to the news that Mum & Dad had borrowed money from some family members and it (only just) allowed Dad, myself, and my sister to fly to NSW for the GF (my sister wasn't going to the game though). My cousin had slept outside one of the ticketing outlets in Newcastle and gotten tickets for us. All of a sudden, I was going to the GF!
A few regular days passed, and on the Thursday night, we flew to Sydney, and trained it up to Newcastle on the Friday morning. As soon as we reached the outskirts of Newcastle, there was this electricity. A vibe. That night I went with my cousin to the Legends Of League match at Marathon Stadium.
The day of the game: Was tense, but exciting. All week, despite the 'My heart says Newcastle, but my head says Manly' comments I was constantly hearing, I was confident we would win it. There was a few moments of gut-wrenching doubt when I thought 'What if we lose?'. We -myself, my dad, grandfather, grandmother, and cousin- got ready and headed to Broadmeadow Station, where we boarded the train which was all decorated in red and blue and nicknamed 'The Knight Rider'!
We got to the stadium and sat in our seats -behind the corner where John Hopoate scored in the 1st half. 70% of the crowd were supporting the Knights that day, however when Manly ran onto the field, their supporters were loud! It surprised me. The Knights ran out and by this time, I had nearly lost my voice with all the cheering (and booing of Manly!). Julie Anthony sung the national anthem (best rendition I have heard to this day), and it was game on!
The game itself: Fast. Very fast. At halftime I sat there feeling it had only been 20mins or so since kickoff! I remember laughing at the large Manly supporter in front of me when Toovey was stumbling around after nearly knocking himself out (not the MacDougall-Toovey incident). I remember the Matty Johns attempted field goal in the last 4mins when it was 16-all. I can still see the ball go up and look for certain like it was going in. I went up, only to hear the massive disappointed sigh of about 30,000 people at once. It hit the upright and bounced away. Bugger! The following few minutes were the most intense I have ever had. Strangely, all I can remember of 'that' try of Darren Albert's is a still image, not a moving picture. I see the defensive line on the 10m line, and I see a red-&-blue streak (which I later learn to be Alby) on the other side (my side as I was behind the dead-ball line). I don't remember him putting the ball down, nor the celebrations of the Knights, except Matthew Johns waving his jersey around over his head -using the corner post I think. I was up on my seat jumping and cheering and yahooing. That was the most emotional moment of my life (and still is), and it was the most incredible feeling I have ever experienced. I never believed in people crying because they were so happy prior to this day, but I changed my beliefs when I was doing it! I couldn't help it!
After the game: I remember walking out of the SFS after the victory lap had passed us. We were heading to our bus to take us back to Central train station. There were people trying to play tennis in the courts beside the stadium, but they were just standing there watching all these red-and-blue maniacs going absolutely ballistic, shouting NEW-CAS-TLE NEW-CAS-TLE and singing 'We're Here Because We're Here ..' (Knights fans about my age and older will know what this is all about). We got back to Newcastle and headed out to Newcastle Road (not too far a walk from where we were staying with family) and waited for the Knights team bus to pass us. It eventually crawled passed us at about 11:30pm I think. I would've liked to have headed into the Newcastle Workers Club where the party was really at (when the Knights eventually got there, I mean!), but I was 16, very tired, on top of the world, and couldn't wait for whatever the following day brought. I think I eventually got to sleep at about 2am.
Holy sh*t, I've just realised I've typed a lot more than I thought I had! I apologise for the length of my reply.
I don't think I will ever have such an experience again in my life, so I am so lucky I had this opportunity. I have actually got a few things I'm supposed to do tonight, but I will now be watching the '97 Grand Final instead!
![[FKN-SIK]](/data/avatars/m/13/13251.jpg?1239671989){kind=avatar}
