What made us 'Collingwood people'? - Add your story

[HAL]

Tell me more about your father.

[wood duck]

My father migrated to Australia in the early 1950's and settled in Shepparton, a Melbourne FC stronghold and it seems that it pissed him off at the time, that everyone followed Melbourne..... so to be different he thought he would follow the Pies, when I was 5 we moved to Melbourne and I started school and some of my clasmates asked me who I followed, to which which I replied I don't know, that night I asked the old man who he followed and he told me Collingwood, so I thought if its good enough for the old man its good enough for me.
Over the years I've never regretted my decision and yes the grand final losses were devasting, however I could never follow or support anyone else.
My older sister has 2 boys and when they were born and grew up, I bought them the jumpers, scarves and beanies of the magpies...... one now supports the Saints and the other the Hawks.
My wife and I have a daughter and son of our own and when they were growing up it coincided with me running a business, which left me with little time for anything else, however my kids are now both rabid Collingwood supporters without any real prompting from me.
All which leads me to believe that Collingwood supporters are born not made.
Go Pies!!!!!!!

[Magpiefan3]

What made me become a collingwood supprter was that i come from an italian background and when my Dad was living in Italy he had a passion for soccer and loved soccer and so he was following the soccer team Juventus at the time. When he had came to Australia to live here he had missed the soccer a lot, and when my Dad saw AFL and he saw a team with black and white called Collingwood, thats the AFL team he wanted to go. So ever since i was born in 1989 i always gone for Collingwood and always will. I did get brain wash when i was little to go for Melbourne by my cousins and i said no way. So ever since i always being a Collingwood supporter, i look back in the photo album in 1990 when i was only 1 yrs old i could myself little dressed up as a baby with collingwood stuff....
I will always be a Collingwood supporter no matter what.

[marooncity]

Born in Sydney. The only link I had with Rules football was through my grandfather who was born and bred in Footscray and followed the doggies - but not very avidly by the time I was around, (and now, as he has lived in NSW for the greater part of his life, and they're not even called Footscray anymore, he follows Sydney). Still, we used to watch the footy together, whatever match was on.

Then when I was about 15 my school started up a Rules team to play in a local comp.... it was a district comp, we got flogged every week, but I still loved to play.... I was a fullback so was probably one of the busiest team members. Everyone else went for Sydney more or less and were jumping on the Lockett bandwagon. Something about the way they all jumped straight off it in bad patches, hardly ever went to matches, couldn't name players etc etc turned me right off supporting my local team. Winning is a bonus, losing hurts, but, in the end, if you properly follow a team, you stick with it through thick and thin - and you MAKE SOME BLOODY NOISE doing it, which is more than what I saw from Swans fans. And then a mate of mine had his membership rejected for reasons we could only put down to him looking a bit too dodgy to sit in the members stand as well.... maybe the SCG paddington types didn't appreciate that they might have to sit next to someone who didn't want to talk property throughout the game, I don't know, but if there was any chance of me ever following Sydney, it ended then.

So I was still without a team. I carried a soft spot for the Doggies but with Fitzroy being booted out and the name changes, the turning back and rejecting the history.... it really didn't appeal to me at all. I just watched matches on the telly like I used to, usually barracking for the underdogs, whoever they were (unless they were sydney).

And then I met the mrs.... it was just after the wooden spoon season.... no-one she knew had much of an idea about footy at all, and she was a mad pies supporter alone in Sydney. We'd watch the games, and the more I found out about it the more it was inevitable - the more it was a match. The history - the club everyone hates, born out of one of the slummiest areas of melbourne..... the way they were bottom of the table but still had the most vocal support..... within a few months of the next season starting I was screaming at the television holding my head in my hands.

And of course, within my first few years I already knew the pain of those grand final losses.

Best thing about it living in Sydney is the noise and crowds the annual fixture generates - that silent venue which only starts to get a bit noisy in the red and white sections when its close - at all other times its collingwood you can hear.

[HAL]

I think I'm lost

[jeff corfe]

WOW way back in 2001
What a great topic it was and still is!

[jeff corfe]

I think I'm lost

You've got too much time on your hands Tin head

[Lorelei]

I reckon this nearly goes down as one of the best threads on Nick's ever. It would be great to have all the posts copied onto actual webpages so they are never lost - gosh how time flies!!

[favourites 2008]

The fact that I fall more and more in love with this club as the days move on is no coincidence.

EDIT - im happy to copy all posts into a word document and re upload if people are interested.

[larrylj]

I grew up in Wangaratta and the great Bob Rose coached our local team. He was (still is) my hero, so when I moved to Melbourne in 1971 it seemed appropriate to follow "Bob's team", hence Collingwood.

Collingwood is my life (second, maybe, to my kids.)

When I have taken mates to Lexus centre before games they are overawed by the family passion shown by our supporters.
Someone asked me one day, who would I follow if Collingwood died (merged, taken over, went broke, etc,--AS IF) My reply is that I would give up following AFL footy. There is no team other than the Pies to follow.
I hate summer as there is no games to attend and I get depressed because I can't see our boys every week.
Go Pies!

[Hiss]

What makes a true Collingwood fan? Well I proudly recall the day in the seventies after a Carlton game at Victoria Park when I was pushed by a Carlton fan outside the ground which caused me (I am still not sure why) to turn around and give him a tap that Robbie Muir would have been proud of. He landed straight on his gutless arse. Other Carlton fans seemed shocked. To be honest. I had 19 full strength cans that day. That defined me as a true Collingwood fan. Should have seen me after the 1981 GF. Coming home on the tram that same night a woman innocently pushed me to get past. I asked whether she was a Carlton fan to which she responded no a Collingwood fan. I offered to help her off and carry her bag. She politely declined offering to help me instead 'soba up' or she would drop me. She is now my wife.

[Kingswood]

What makes a true Collingwood fan? Well I proudly recall the day in the seventies after a Carlton game at Victoria Park when I was pushed by a Carlton fan outside the ground which caused me (I am still not sure why) to turn around and give him a tap that Robbie Muir would have been proud of. He landed straight on his gutless arse. Other Carlton fans seemed shocked. To be honest. I had 19 full strength cans that day. That defined me as a true Collingwood fan. Should have seen me after the 1981 GF. Coming home on the tram that same night a woman innocently pushed me to get past. I asked whether she was a Carlton fan to which she responded no a Collingwood fan. I offered to help her off and carry her bag. She politely declined offering to help me instead 'soba up' or she would drop me. She is now my wife.

lol

[mel_kay39]

Well, I was born into a Collingwood family in the northern suburbs of Geelong, and in the middle of so many rabid Cats fans I barracked for Hawthorn during the '89 Grand Final. Boy did I cop some abuse! So, knowing what pure hatred felt like, I changed my stripes in '92 when Gary Ayres, my favourite Hawthorn player, retired, and realised my lifelong passion was in fact Collingwood. Years of subtle brainwashing did the trick and I'm just as one-eyed as the next person. I love that other clubs supporters hate us because I know they're jealous of the passion we have and the history our club has; with it's blue collar roots and brilliant colour scheme. Cos let's face it, black and white goes with absolutely everything. And could you get a more blokey club?!
There's no pretty-boys at Collingwood!

[skaman]

What makes a true Collingwood fan? Well I proudly recall the day in the seventies after a Carlton game at Victoria Park when I was pushed by a Carlton fan outside the ground which caused me (I am still not sure why) to turn around and give him a tap that Robbie Muir would have been proud of. He landed straight on his gutless arse. Other Carlton fans seemed shocked. To be honest. I had 19 full strength cans that day. That defined me as a true Collingwood fan. Should have seen me after the 1981 GF. Coming home on the tram that same night a woman innocently pushed me to get past. I asked whether she was a Carlton fan to which she responded no a Collingwood fan. I offered to help her off and carry her bag. She politely declined offering to help me instead 'soba up' or she would drop me. She is now my wife.

Thats one classy lady Hiss. Hows the pool boy by the way?

[bwphantom]

I can speak on behalf of Northern Pie and myself here as we are both brothers.

Collingwood supporters in my family go back the early 1900's. As far as i know my great grandfather on my mothers side supported Collingwood along with all the members of the family.

My father came from WA and he did'nt really follow teams in the VIC league. When he asked for my mothers hand in marriage he was asked' Who do you barrack for' . His reply
' Subiaco'... "well" my grandma said 'if you wanna marry my daughter you need to barrack for Collingwood'. 'Fair enough' my dad replied.

I remember we had Collingwood embedded into us right from thr time we were really young. I remember watching grand final's where we lost and the whole family wept. iI knew the Collingwood theme song before i went to school. It is a tradition in my family. Once unbeknown to me I said to my Dad 'I don't follow Collingwood anymore, I go for Fitzroy'.
My Dad packed a few clothes and food and told me i could not live in this house unless i support the Pies. Needles to say I supported Collingwood again.

NP and I love Collingwood. We were excited about promoting the Pies more in Qld and decided to build a website. We are not one eyed, we just don't give a s##t about any other team.

Go Pies!!!!!

How things have changed. I was the B&W phantom. But then I just shortened it too BWPhantom.

Love the Pies. Can remeber watching games while I was still in diapers. Sometimes i would cheer when we kicked a goal, and my Dad would yell 'North Melbourne kicked that goal Silly' That was the greatness of black'n'white TV.