How Peter Wynn’s Score became Parramatta’s heartland
Ahead of Sunday’s NRL grand final, there is one place Parramatta fans are heading as they look to break a 36-year premiership drought.
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In the jubilation of last Friday’s historic preliminary final win against the North Queensland Cowboys, there was one place Parramatta Eels fans knew to go.
The long lines that have snaked outside Peter Wynn’s Score on Church Street in the buildup to Sunday’s NRL grand final have rivalled the pre-Christmas rush or Boxing Day crowds at any business across the country.
The store has been satisfying the sporting needs of the people of western Sydney for nearly 30 years, but there is a key reason why it holds such a special place in the heart of Eels fans.
Peter Wynn, a three-time Premiership star for Parramatta and member of the club‘s hall of fame, runs the shop.
Wynn wears many hats in the local community. He is an Eels legend, a local business owner who sells the club’s merchandise.
But come Sunday, he will be watching the game as a fan.
“Where I'm sitting is from the fans’ point of view, it’s just going to mean so much to the local area and the western suburbs of Sydney,” Wynn said.
“I haven‘t experienced a grand final win as a fan either. I can certainly put myself into their shoes and how they feel, just that anticipation and hope.”
It’s been 36 years long since Parramatta last tasted premiership success. Wynn was a part of that famous 1986 campaign as well as the 1982 and 1983 premierships.
He opened his store in 1988 while he was still playing, and the love he felt then from the fans then is still strong today.
Wynn feels “very fortunate” to hold such a significant place in the Parramatta community through his time as a player and due to his store.
“They don‘t forget you, through the tough times, the good times, they just treat them the same. They love the players,” Wynn said when talking about the fans.
“They express that at every opportunity when you meet them, when I’m in my business, when I’m in the street or wherever I am.”
Many of the Eels fans who Wynn has run into this week have never seen their beloved team win a premiership.
He said it was a testament to their passion for the club they were still so faithful.
“The Parramatta fans are so loyal, they’re prepared to show their colours,” he said.
“I’m so happy, when I speak to people they’ve just got a smile on their face.”
Adding to Sunday’s build-up is the team Parramatta is facing, the reigning premiers Penrith, who the Eels share western Sydney with.
While Peter Wynn’s Score is known as a heartland for Eels fans, the store stocks the merchandise of all NRL teams and also caters to other sports.
Wynn said the Panther fans who are also coming through his doors are helping him do massive business.
“Penrith played in the last two grand finals and I just know how busy we were on the back of a western Sydney team being in the grand final,” he said.
“Now you’ve got two western Sydney teams in the grand final, it’s like a double whammy.”
But he’s making sure there’s no fighting between warring tribes.
“They’re mixing well, there’s no hostility between the fans at the shop,” Wynn joked.
“We‘re very fortunate that they (Penrith fans) do travel from further out west in the Penrith and Blacktown area to my store. It’s been exciting to see that blend, that mixture of the teams’ colours.
“You see a little bit of rivalry between the family members which is really exciting. It just shows how important rugby league is in the whole district out here, it's just the core of rugby league in the world.”
A wave of blue and gold merchandise, as well as Penrith merchandise, has been streaming out of Wynn’s store in droves ahead of Sunday’s big game.
“The biggest seller this week has been the grand final shirts. It’s been huge actually, people are really getting behind it,” he said.
“Jerseys are always strong of course, supporter balls, the flags, the streamers.
“Anything that shows their team‘s colours, people are prepared to walk in and pick up.”
While an all-western Sydney NRL grand final would be significant at any point in time, it has given the community a much-needed boost in the aftermath of Covid.
Local businesses and sport were arguably two of the biggest sectors impacted by lockdown, but fans across Sydney have come alive now those restrictions have ended.
Wynn said the number of people coming to the area and supporting the local community had been the “biggest part” of grand final week for him.
“Covid and then the construction of the light rail has just completely destroyed business down Church St,” he said.
“To see the people back in the Church St precinct is amazing. And not just for my business, but for all those small businesses, the restaurants, the cafes.
“I’m so happy that you can just see the big turnaround in people who are coming into Parramatta … all the local businesses are certainly capitalising on it and having a bit of a windfall.”
Wynn will be like every other Parramatta fan on Sunday, hoping the club can break its 36-year premiership drought.
But there’s one thing he’s unsure if his beloved Eels get up: “I don‘t know how long the party will go on for.”
“Back in our day in ’81, ’82, ’83 and ’86 when we got back to the leagues club after playing in the grand finals … the cars, the blowing of horns, fans out on the streets,” Wynn reminisced.
“It’s in my mind, I can just picture every moment of what it was like … the fans just mobbed you.
“I know what it means to them (the fans) to win a grand final and I’m just hoping they get to experience what I was fortunate to have gone through.”
Originally published as How Peter Wynn’s Score became Parramatta’s heartland
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