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What Would a Premiership Mean to You

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
73,538
Lot's of talk about Dad's in here.

Mine is holed up in a nursing home in Oatlands with my mum.
After several strokes, he has pretty severe dementia and is almost totally blind.
Therefore, he won't be "watching" the game but he will be sitting on the lounge next to my mum and "listening" to the tv coverage. He hasn't been able to "watch" an Eels game for over 5 years now, yet both he and mum have tuned into every game in that time frame.

My dad grew up in Bronte and played Under 23's for the Roosters. When him and mum married, they moved to Harris Park and dad became an Eels fan.
So, like many others here, my dad is the reason for me also being an Eels fan.
Whether we win or lose, I will indeed shed a tear for him and be thanking him for guiding me to support the best club in the NRL.
Nice. I always enjoyed going to the footy with my Dad and we shared that bond until he could no longer travel down from the central coast. I’ll be wearing his watch today.

A5B76080-49F9-4689-B951-46B4501D4F03.jpeg
 

strider

Post Whore
Messages
78,603
I spentmost my life thinking i was following the Eels with my dad.

We moved back to sydney, castle hill, when i was 6 after a short time in melbourne. Dad and I went for Parra. My mum grew up in the Canterbury area so her and my sister went for them. My dad was from NSW north coast.

Parra were obvioysly great from 77 for about a decade and we lived in the area, so it all made sense and was great.

Then in the 90s during the dark years, my Dad confessed to my then sister's fiance that he was actually a Norths fan. Coincidently, parra was shit and norths were good at the time ..... i dunno if he really was or whether was just a dirty rotten flip flopper .... i no longer live in the parra area, but no f**kin way you change teams, its just not on ffs
 

emjaycee

Coach
Messages
12,868
Lot's of talk about Dad's in here.

Mine is holed up in a nursing home in Oatlands with my mum.
After several strokes, he has pretty severe dementia and is almost totally blind.
Therefore, he won't be "watching" the game but he will be sitting on the lounge next to my mum and "listening" to the tv coverage. He hasn't been able to "watch" an Eels game for over 5 years now, yet both he and mum have tuned into every game in that time frame.

My dad grew up in Bronte and played Under 23's for the Roosters. When him and mum married, they moved to Harris Park and dad became an Eels fan.
So, like many others here, my dad is the reason for me also being an Eels fan.
Whether we win or lose, I will indeed shed a tear for him and be thanking him for guiding me to support the best club in the NRL.
My old man was a Roosters supporter, but here is something my wife posted on FB this morning:

1664671310714.png
 

hindy111

Post Whore
Messages
58,498
I spentmost my life thinking i was following the Eels with my dad.

We moved back to sydney, castle hill, when i was 6 after a short time in melbourne. Dad and I went for Parra. My mum grew up in the Canterbury area so her and my sister went for them. My dad was from NSW north coast.

Parra were obvioysly great from 77 for about a decade and we lived in the area, so it all made sense and was great.

Then in the 90s during the dark years, my Dad confessed to my then sister's fiance that he was actually a Norths fan. Coincidently, parra was shit and norths were good at the time ..... i dunno if he really was or whether was just a dirty rotten flip flopper .... i no longer live in the parra area, but no f**kin way you change teams, its just not on ffs

Mik has changed 3 times since I’ve known him. Depending on the era he goes for the winners. Done the same in EPL.


It's fun to say YES but us REAL supporters to wind the merkin up.
 

hindy111

Post Whore
Messages
58,498
My Dad is an Eel supporter
My uncles all Eels supporters
My cousins all on Dad side Eels supporters.

It is in our blood.

We are blue and gold.

Yes I have a soft spot for Penrith. I grew up close by. But they just aren't in my DNA.
 

strider

Post Whore
Messages
78,603
My Dad is an Eel supporter
My uncles all Eels supporters
My cousins all on Dad side Eels supporters.

It is in our blood.

We are blue and gold.

Yes I have a soft spot for Penrith. I grew up close by. But they just aren't in my DNA.
Will your dad give a few fist pumps if we win?
 

IFR33K

Coach
Messages
17,002
At this point I’m just trying to survive to watch it.

woke up as sick as a dog this morning. Smdh
 

IFR33K

Coach
Messages
17,002
My old man was a Roosters supporter, but here is something my wife posted on FB this morning:

View attachment 66903


I’ve got some family friends in the northern beaches that are die hard manly fans.

the elderly father is battling cancer, dementia, long covid and as of last week had a stroke.

he’s as passionate as they come, in his mid 80’s, and will talk rugby league at any given chance.

The past 6-7 weeks, as eels have found their mojo, his daughter has been making videos of him, and sending them to me.

he’s jumped on the eels bandwagon for the finals and his weekly videos are the highlight for me, on top of defying the odds and winning.

it’s amazing to think how much suffering he’s going thru, yet RL is one of the few things in life keeping him, keeping on.

His love for manly and RL is enormous. I even told his daughter I truly hope manly beat us, in the thick of the pride Jersey saga.

I have no doubt an eels victory to him would mean just as much to many of us here.

God bless our elderly!
 

lingard

Coach
Messages
11,135
I started following the Eels in '76. A youngin' from Lismore who had moved to Sydney in '69. Went to Macquarie Boys High, played sport on Cumberland Oval without knowing the significance of the Eels apart from the school sports uniform being blue and gold. Somehow I got into rugby league after I left school, watched the GF against Manly on TV and I was devastated by the result, but hooked. I started going to games at Parra along with other Parra games around the grounds. I was fortunate enough to watch the Eels at Cumberland Oval in '81 on their way to their first premiership. On 1981 GF ' day I took my girlfriend at the time (now my mrs) to Parra Leagues to watch the game in the auditorium. The energy flowed in the club once we'd won our first title - dancing on tables and beers flying everywhere. More joy was to follow between then and '86.
Fast forward to 2022 and I can say that I've seen it all along with many others on here. The good times, heartache and devastation won't ever leave me. I'm no longer that nervous leading up to a GF that the Eels are in, I'll leave that to those who've never experienced that gut-wrenching feeling. For me, if we win it will release the demons of 36 years on the roller coaster ride that is an Eels supporter. If we don't, then I will always have the forum to fall back on to share the pain.
I went to Macquarie Boys High from 68 to 73.
 

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,107
My late dad introduced me to the Eels.

Winning a Premiership would make me feel closer to him, because I would know the feeling of winning a title.

My dad would tell me stories of a lock forward who was a born winner, and would not stop for 80 minutes.

He would tell me about a mercurial 5/8 who just made things happen.

He would regale me with stories about a brilliant halfback that was always four steps ahead of the competition on the field.

He would describe in awe how a hippy-looking winger would scorch down the sideline, and score some incredible long-range tries.

Then we returned back to Australia after 11 years overseas, and I found out my entire family are Eels fans.

The first every game of rugby league I watched was in 2000 - I think we demolished Penrith that day.

I've been in love with the club ever since.

Though, admittedly, my passion was inexplicably waned somewhat in recent years.
 

lingard

Coach
Messages
11,135
I'm probably waaaaaay off base here...

But I'm quietly confident we will win tomorrow.

Nobody gives us a chance; we know how to beat them; and Jerome Luai flapping his gums probably lit a fuse under us.

Plus, we have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

For Penrith, they're expected to thrash us, so they do have something to lose, really.

LET'S GO, EELS!!!!

A few weeks ago I was just waiting for us to get flogged. In a way I wanted to be put out of my misery as a fan. I realise that things could go wrong tonight, but for some reason I'm also quietly (and peculiarly) confident.
 

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,107
A few weeks ago I was just waiting for us to get flogged. In a way I wanted to be put out of my misery as a fan. I realise that things could go wrong tonight, but for some reason I'm also quietly (and peculiarly) confident.

I'm with you.

I am probably very wrong, but I'm confident we will win.

I'm no sure why.

Maybe it's because everyone thinks it's basically a foregone conclusion that we will lose, and we have nothing to lose - nobody expects us to win, so there's no pressure, so go out there, and throw caution to the wind.

But I am eerily calm about the game.
 

the phantom menace

First Grade
Messages
8,418
Have really enjoyed reading this thread, and posts over the past day have tugged on the heartstrings... Thanks all for sharing.

My Dad followed Parra from his mid-60s (Parramatta) high school days, attending Cumberland Oval games with his mates in the Thornett era. He mainly played local union himself but preferred to watch rugby league - attending games through the 1970s with his dad, including the fabled 1976-1977 Fearnley-era grand finals. He was born in the same year as the club's first season, and since I was born and grew up locally too it was a no brainer for me to follow his footsteps as a Parra fan.

I was taken to my first Eels game as a kid in 1978 and while it was too noisy for me in the wooden grandstand the first time, we found spots on the hill/benches around the Oval that suited better for us to watch Parra home games. Dad went along to the 1981 Grand Final with his dad (my grandad), as I was deemed too young to go down early and queue for a squeezed in spot on the SCG - I still remember watching our first premiership win on TV at my grandma's house, and when they both eventually made it back with smiles from ear to ear.

My parents split that year, and so from 1982-1985 Dad and I would attend Eels games every fortnight, either at "home" (Belmore - on folding chairs,and that guy walking around selling "candy coated peanuts" from a shoulder bag?) or "away" (my first real taste of other areas of Sydney plus Canberra and Wollongong). We were able to see Eels grand final wins over Manly in 1982 and 1983 from the terrace in front of the Brewongle Stand, and (in probably my favourite footy memory) witnessing from seats in the Pat Hills Stand the most recent Eels premiership win in 1986 over Canterbury.

From 1986 it was all about Parra Stadium, and Dad and I kept up our season tickets there (as well as finals, and losing grand finals attendance) for over 30 years. I have really good memories of that ground and our seats in the Cronin Stand, and the years of rituals that went along with it - from pre-game champagne breakfasts on Sundays at the Club in the early years, through to the ham rolls he'd make and bring along for us to eat in the later years. We called time on our tickets in 2016 after the club's 70th season (and ahead of their move to Homebush), mainly due to the clash between night games, his older age and my changing life responsibilities (parenthood and moving away from Sydney).

Dad's declining health meant that he and I could only manage one more live Eels game together - that opening day win at our new Parra Stadium in 2019, played on his 72nd birthday. Dad held on to life for another two years (and 12 hospitalisations) until last year, dying after his 74th birthday. He had told me that he wanted (against the odds) to hold on and turn 75 - so maybe Dad had some sort of cosmic inkling that this season could bring an end to the Eels drought?

Those who've lost their footy-loving dad know how hard it hits, and those whose dads are sick and/or eldery can well imagine... but I'm lucky to have a daughter who attended her first live Eels games this year, and who is excited and all dressed up next to me watching today's grand finals at home. I'm feeling pretty ok with today's result whatever it might be - but glad that my daughter has a chance of (possibly) seeing her first Eels grand final win, or continues the line of feeling the pain of our extended Eels premiership drought!
 

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,107
I normally don't mind Penrith, but the arrogance of a lot of their fans (saying that they only have to play at 75%, and they'll thump us) has pissed me right off.
 
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