Is this Australia’s biggest footy fan?

FOR Isaac, football is more than just an 80-minute game. 

Dad cheering

FOR Isaac, football is more than just an 80-minute game. 

While his room is adorned with team flags, jerseys draped over his bed posts, stuffed toys and posters, his iPad is permanently glued to his hand as he reads up on the latest NRL news. It’s safe to say, Isaac’s day-to-day is consumed with his passion for the game, much to his mum’s dismay. “My mum just wishes I was as obsessed with school work as I am with footy,” he laughs.

Three weeks away from Game I in this year’s State of Origin series, we scoured the country to find some of Australia’s biggest footy fans, and in doing so, we found Isaac Ryan, a diehard Rabbitohs fan who knows more about sport than most sports journos. “I’m a passionate supporter,” Isaac says. “I cry when my team loses and I care about them so much.”

You only need to spend ten minutes with Isaac to realise he’s a walking encyclopedia of all things NRL - past, present and future. When he’s not glued to the TV, he’s catching up on games of yesteryear.  “I record and watch old-school highlights and games,” he adds. “I go on YouTube and watch Grand Final highlights too.”

His viewing habits can be likened to a science, as he not only watches the Rabbitohs play, he studies their competition too. “Obviously every round I watch the Rabbitohs, but when I can watch other teams, I look out for how they play and their skills,” Isaac adds, “I try and watch them and see if it’ll be a hard match when the Rabbitohs play this team.”

While we tend to support teams our parents do, Isaac made the decision to support South Sydney all on his own. “They are a well-mannered team and they are all good sports,” he says, “They don’t like playing dirty, it’s not in their culture.”

Unfortunately, for Isaac, his mates don’t share the same passion for the sport. “They’re definitely not obsessed with the sport, nowhere near what I am,” he adds. “I teach them a lot. They know a little bit about football, but there’s a lot to learn.”

Watching the sport isn’t enough for Isaac, who plays for his local club, the Leichhardt Wanderers. With over 250,000 kids playing rugby league in Australia each season, the league has not only fostered a sense of community on the field, but off it as well.

Advocates against bullying, violence, and discrimination, the organisation uses footy as a vehicle to promote and encourage social change and align the sport with family values. With initiatives like ‘Voice against Violence’ and ‘in league in Harmony’, the programmes aim to teach children life skills through a combination of theory and practical based activities.

Lucky for Isaac and families of Oz, the NRL is moving towards making the footy much more affordable to the masses. Initiatives like reduced Family Passes and Kids Eat Free are some of the many special offers enticing families to head out to the stadiums and get amongst the action, without having to worry about their wallets.

Among these initiatives, the NRL also plans to focus on game atmosphere. In recent years, crowd sizes have been scrutinised and compared to the mammoth number of attendees the AFL pulls each week. NRL Australia is putting grassroot fans first, scheduling more games at suburban grounds, making it easier to see your team play. Many teams in the NRL boast a long and rich history and fans are able to indulge in this tradition at local grounds like Leichhardt and Belmore Oval.

From your local under 10s right up to your representative teams, it’s pretty clear that footy is a huge component of Australia’s identity. With each new season kick off, fans like Isaac, are filled with hope and anticipation for their team to take it all the way, swapping their tech for a tumble, tackle and good ol’ fashioned football.

Originally published as Is this Australia’s biggest footy fan?