Avid Port Adelaide supporters Mia Balzan and Alana Tonellato get matching Port tattoos
With Port Adelaide heading toward a preliminary final this weekend, passionate Port fans have etched their love for the club in ink for all time.
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Avid Port Adelaide supporter Mia Balzan, 28, paid homage to the club by getting a matching tattoo with her mum, Alana Tonellato, 47, reading “True Believer”.
Ms Balzan said she got the tattoo in February 2021, after Port Adelaide fell just short in the 2020 season, falling to eventual premiers Richmond in the preliminary final.
“We came up with the design based on the Port Adelaide website and it’s the same font as the logo,” Ms Balzan said.
“We’re so passionate (and) just wanted something for ourselves. It just feels so special to have something as mother and daughter.”
The Klemzig local said she has “never, ever” regretted the tattoo and their family and friends were “shocked and thought it was dedication”.
“There are supporters that chop and change, but we’re one-eyed Port supporters that will never change, regardless of whether we’re successful or not,” Ms Balzan said.
She said the tattoo usually garners attention from fellow footy fans.
“We might be out and some people might see it from a distance and know that we’re Port supporters,” she said.
“It’s nice to be known with that identity.”
Ms Balzan and Ms Tonellato said their all time favourite players are Miles Bergman and Connor Rozee, with their entire family having supported the club through generations.
“It started off with my nonno, who followed Port for a long time. We just love them so much,” she said.
“Win or lose, we love to see effort and we love what the club stands for.
“Its just feels like we’re all one and there’s nothing like Port supporters coming together.”
Port Adelaide fanatic Ryan Creten, 29 of Parafield Garden said his permanent ink was a tribute to the club and his late grandfather Jack Creten, who passed away in 2009.
“My grampa and I watched all the Port games together,” Mr Creten said.
“In 2007, we were down at West Beach and we were the only caravan with a Port flag.
“That was one of the last games I watched with him.
“I always wanted to get a Port Adelaide tattoo, so this was the best way to incorporate both of them at once.”
Mr Creten said his grandfather was one of the oldest surviving triplets in our state, before his death in 2009, with his grandson describing his love for the football club.
“He was a Port supporter through and through,” Mr Creten said. “He was down there watching all the SANFL games. “He didn’t get to go to too many games but he would watch it on the TV and listen to his handheld radio.”
Mr Creten said his family and friends “loved” the tattoo because their “grandpa meant a lot to everyone”, so he continues the game watching tradition with his father.
“My nana was overwhelmed and my mum was very proud of it,” he recalled.
“Port was a big part of my family. I still go with my dad all the time. I talk to my grandma every week about football, it’s our way of keeping in touch and keeping the memory of grandpa going.”
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Originally published as Avid Port Adelaide supporters Mia Balzan and Alana Tonellato get matching Port tattoos
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