30 year wait to see his team play in hometown Grand Final
A 97-year-old footy fanatic has jumped at the chance to see his team play the Grand Final in the state he’s called home for more than 30 years.
QLD News
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He may have lived through more AFL grand finals than most, but 97-year-old Joseph Robinson’s Geelong Cats spirit is good as new.
Jumping at the chance to see his team play the Grand Final in the state he’s called home for more than 30 years, the footy fanatic said it had been a while since he’d been at the stadium for a big game.
“It’s a long time since I’ve been to a grand final. The last time was years ago when I was in Geelong and I’ve been up here over 30 years,” he said.
Three generations of Mr Robinson’s family would be attending the big game at the Gabba tonight, with his children and grandchildren set to accompany him.
The Gold Coast local said he supported the team because he grew up in Geelong.
“I used to play football, I didn’t see games then and then when I got married I gave up playing football, I started following them,” he said.
“I was about 23 then, so I’ve been following the Cats ever since.”
Mr Robinson’s daughter Dianne Wilson said the family were such big fans of the team that when her father’s wedding fell on a preliminary final almost 70 years ago they weren’t happy with him.
“Mum and Dad were married on the 15th of September 1951,” she said.
“They were married on a preliminary final between the Cats and Collingwood and the Cats won so they were not very popular with the family for getting married that day.
“My husband and I were married on Grand Final day on the 24th of September, 1983, but the Cats didn’t make the final, thank goodness, otherwise we would have had nobody turn up.
“You think we would have learnt.”