Mum's Navy Blues Legacy

I would like to say that we have some connection to a famous sporting icon but that would be stretching the truth. As children my brother and I didn't play much sport, especially team sport, but the one thing that has stuck with me is being a spectator.

I am referring to going with my Mum to watch her football team, the mighty Carlton Blues. She was a very fervent fan! My Dad on the other hand hates sport, so the first time we went to a game (my Mum and Dad, my brother and myself) my Dad read the newspaper during the whole game. Of course Mum and I were right into supporting the boys and were cheering at the top of our lungs. Dad kept saying "be quiet, your going to get in a fight". I think we were embarrassing him, but truly, what could be more embarrassing than reading the paper at a football game!!

My brother is 4 years younger than me, so he was only concerned with finding the names of the players in the football program and kept saying "who kicked that" everytime we touched the ball.  

After that Mum and I went to the games by ourselves, though it was only a couple of times as Carlton played Sydney at the SCG only once per year, around Mother's Day. The last thing Dad said to us when we were going to the game was "Behave yourselves and don't get into trouble".

I recall David Rhys-Jones was originally a Sydney Swans player who was a bit of a scrapper. Sydney fans used to hang a banner over the edge of the railing saying "Hit 'em Rhys". Well the next time we went to the game Rhys-Jones was then a Blue, and we were sitting right in the middle of the Sydney fans, and yelling out "Hit em Rhys!!". It is a wonder that we survived but I guess our tiny voices were probably drowned out by all the red and white and no one cared :)

Mum got to see her beloved Blues win numerous premierships in 1968, 70, 72, 79, 81 and 82 before she passed in 1985. They were always a prominent team. When she passed, I sent a letter to the club with a copy of her obituary which proclaimed her lifetime love of the Blues. David Parkin sent a very caring letter from the club, a memory which I will cherish, though I don’t have the letter any longer. There was a period of time when I followed on my own but it was a bit sad.

Then I found a friend, David, who was a Hawthorn supporter and we got to share some game moments together. Unfortunately, in July of 1987, 2 days after the anniversary of my Mum's passing, he was on his way to my home when he was involved in a fatal motorbike accident. That year Hawthorn and Carlton played in the grandfinal and Carlton had a bittersweet victory. I had asked David's parents if I might have his Hawthorn scarf but he was wearing it when he died. He took it with him.

After that my enthusiam for the game diminished, I just didn't have the heart for it. When I met my second husband, Paul, he was Victorian and happily also a Carlton supporter, but I guess many “mexicans” pick a team because it is a “thing” down there, but some aren't that invested - Paul it seemed was one such Victorian, so still my passion lay relatively dormant.

It stayed that way until 2023. Early in the season, my youngest daughter, Alicia came to me and asked if we could watch the game together. It was like she put a match to a bonfire and I was instantly alight with reignited passion. We quickly learned the names and numbers of all the current players and I reminisced in my own head about the players that had been before...Alex Marcou was Mum's favourite back in the day.

The boys were going through a slump which was hard to watch, but you always back your boys so we joined the club at their lowest point. We were distressed by the boys copping abuse from so-called fans, so I wrote a letter of support to the club. I never did hear anything back from them, which was a bit disappointing, but my support never wavered. 

Amazingly, the boys turned things around and started winning, and winning and winning again. Alicia and I had visited Melbourne to attend a few of the games, and during a visit to the club, I was lucky enough to see the great David Parkin. I would have loved to tell him what that letter had meant to me but I was too shy to approach him. We also had the opportunity to meet Ed Curnow, which was quite a thrill. The kids got to have their photo taken with him, and I will love him forever for recognising that I was the Mum and not the Nana.

Our boys went on to play in three finals that year, and we were there at every finals game. We thought it was the best ever to beat Sydney at the MCG, and flew back down the following weekend for the Melbourne game, the highlight of my football life to date.   

I will be able to describe that game to my great-grandchildren. The last 2 minutes of the game we were 5 points down, we needed a goal. The crowd on their feet, the noise in the stands reverberating around the ground as the final play unfolded - the opposition (Viney) kicking the ball straight to Jacob Weitering, Weitering to Ollie Hollands (my fave and in his very 1st year), to Sam Docherty (who had dislocated his shoulder earlier in the game) and from Doc to the bruised and battered Blake Acres...he turns and snaps....goal...goal...goal!!!!! The roar of the crowd was deafening. With 56 seconds left on the clock, you could feel the crowd collectively holding their breath waiting for the final siren!! We had to hold on to that lead - and we did! 

At the siren, there was screaming and crying and people hugging strangers...I know I did! The song blared, DA DA DA DA DAH and the fans sang loud and proud. The stands shook with people jumping up and down, so much so I thought it might collapse! WOW, what a feeling! I have never felt anything like that before or since...but I hope to again….one day soon. 

After the game we had to descend from the top seats via the concrete spiral driveway, every call of Da Da Da Da Dah, was met with a fresh round of singing the Carlton song! It echoed and reverberated down that spiral. There was no technology that could capture that buzz. It kept going on our walk all the way back to the station! There were people dancing and standing on top of car roofs singing. It was the best experience, worth every cent, and I was so lucky to be able to share that experience with my daughter.

Alicia lives in Melbourne now, and getting to experience more of the games and carry the Navy Blue torch for both of us on game day. I fill the gap in my life by watching the game on TV, and holding on to that feeling of connection across three generations. (Now two of my daughters have memberships). Thank you to my dear Mum who gave me this love of her team as a wonderful family legacy that I hope will span further generations. How wonderful is it to pass down such a binding love of something bigger than ourselves.

Thank you to all at the club, especially Vossy and the players I love so dearly, for carrying us all forward with you. I hope one day at least one of you will get to read this and know the impact of what you do, at least in the heart of this “blue-eyed” lady. Forever a blue bagger!

Go Blues!

Watch below and you may understand a tiny bit about my Mum’s legacy. 

https://youtu.be/oTwITJc5vxY?si=aiSHy3qhwpJYmCdQ