Opinion: Adelaide ex-pat on being a Crows fan in Melbourne ahead of finals clash with Collingwood
An Adelaide expat living in Melbourne discovers what it means to wear Crows colours in enemy territory during finals season.
September means AFL finals and while you won’t find me sleeping outside the local Ticketek or Ticketmaster, I’ve lived in Melbourne long enough to be swept up in footy fever.
I’ve also been invited to my fair share of footy functions including a fancy affair at Portsea Golf Club last week.
I thought donning the Crows bought from the ‘G at the big dance in ‘97 would be an ice breaker.
Sure it marked me as an out-of-towner, but it’s not like we’re facing the D’s in the first qualifying final.
Who knew there’d be so many members swapping their polo shirts for prison bars on winter weekends?
Cue a well-heeled version of the same conversation I’ve had too many times to count over the past 25 years.
Yes, I was lucky to get a Victorian visa.
Actually, we’ve had electricity in Adelaide for some time now.
No, thank you. I’d rather not talk about Izak Rankine.
The surroundings, and expensive dental work, made it difficult to use the trusty come backs I’ve relied on in the past.
And to make it worse, my sideline sledging is a bit rusty.
I support the team, but I’m nowhere near a Tex Walker on the bedroom ceiling level fan.
As soccer mum duties have taken over I’ve started relying on my husband for updates.
“You know the Crows are on top of the ladder don’t you?
“They could go all the way this season.”
Wow. Better dust off the scarf that was stuffed in a drawer after the disgrace of the 2017 Granny.
Shortly after relocating to Melbourne from the City of Churches at the end of the 90s it was all so different.
Back-to-back premierships, Darren Jarman’s “greatest quarter ever”, Tony Modra kicking goals for fun, first team to win four finals on the way to the 1997 flag, then winning it from fifth a year later.
The Victorians weren’t quite so willing to humour my tricoloured scarf in that era as Adelaide ruled the game.
But after nine unsuccessful finals appearances and almost a decade without making the top eight we’re back!
And so is my scarf.
At least until Thursday.