Dragon David
First Grade
- Messages
- 9,138
62 years for me!
Only 55 years?The only one? I bet not. Perhaps sometimes my passion for the RedV gets in the way of reason.
A question who here has been supporting the Dragons for 55 years.. like moir.
No not 55yrs. I've been a Dragons supporter since 1958....the day I pulled on a Peakhurst primary Jersey.The only one? I bet not. Perhaps sometimes my passion for the RedV gets in the way of reason.
A question who here has been supporting the Dragons for 55 years.. like moir.
Yes, huge crowds at local grounds and teams that really represented their area, made the game a powerful, generational, cultural experience. I remember men, women and children coming from all directions to Jubilee to cheer-on all three grades on game day. I went to Marist Brothers Kogarah, where the real religion was rugby league. We lived and breathed the game and, notably I think, we genuinely celebrated good sportsmanship, above all.I'm impressed ... not just that we are all so rusted on to the Dragons , but moreso that we are still capable of using this modern technology.
For the life of me though, I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had had smartphones and all this social media access back then .
Dragons history might have been significantly different
I was / am a "blow-in" , lol.Yes, huge crowds at local grounds and teams that really represented their area, made the game a powerful, generational, cultural experience. I remember men, women and children coming from all directions to Jubilee to cheer-on all three grades on game day. I went to Marist Brothers Kogarah, where the real religion was rugby league. We lived and breathed the game and, notably I think, we genuinely celebrated good sportsmanship, above all.,
I was / am a "blow-in" , lol.
I played my first game as a 5 year old in 1960 , for Guildford in the Parramatta district.
That weekend Balmain - my parents' team because my uncle Ron Battye played for them in the early 50's- played St George . It was the first game I listened to on the radio , and as all children do , I barracked for the opposite team .... and that was how it all began .
First games I remember going to was as a 10 year old ...me and a couple of kids from my footy team jumped onto the train from Guildford into the city , then up the hill to the SCG for the match of the day - which 9 times out of 10 involved the mighty Dragons - to sit on the upper level of the Noble stand with many other Dragons fans who similarly came from all over Sydney .
10 year olds could actually do that kind of trip reasonably safely back then .
I made my first of MANY trips to Kogarah a few years later and continued to do so until well into my 20's when life , sport and work started to limit my opportunities to go to games.
I married into a large , rabid family of Parramatta supporters, and despite their massive obvious deficiencies , have managed to survive that now for 34 years . The secret is that they know how rusted on I am , so gave up many years ago trying to get me to "convert" to Parramatta .
Sadly , neither of my adult children have any interest in league , so I will have to wait for grand kids to pass on the passion for the Dragons .
Can't wait to watch these young guys go round this year !!!!
The only one? I bet not. Perhaps sometimes my passion for the RedV gets in the way of reason.
A question who here has been supporting the Dragons for 55 years.. like moir.