A Footballing Love Story

Dear Freo,

As long as I can remember, my whole life has lived in tandem with you. I experienced great highs with your success in 2013. And equally experienced debilitating lows with your subsequent fall in 2016. For 7 years, we Freo fans have lived with patience, waiting for a moment like this to come. We conquered the first hurdle, but the dream finished abruptly at the 2nd leg.

Despite everything you have put me through, my heart will always belong to you. You are a part of me. You are within me. You are everything to me.

I have never loved anything more than I have loved this club. My greatest memories have been your greatest triumphs. I can remember vividly the Stephen Hill miracle in 2013. The minor premiership in 2015. And even recently, that famous Elimination Final.

But just as clearly, I can remember the heartbreak. The Hayden Ballantyne poster. The Chris Mayne poster. The Jack Newnes goal. The final siren of season 2013. And that Tommy Sheridan drop.

Some may say it’s sad how one can get so attached to sport. It’s just a game they say. It’s not that important they say. But in the life of a Fremantle fan, especially one like me, it means so much more.

Tonight, was rough. We were brutally beaten. It was Mundy’s last game. And our 2022 dream is over. But something about this club tells me we’ll be back. And we won’t just be back. We’ll be victorious. Greater, and stronger than ever before.

A great man once said, “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how times I fell down and got back up again.”. That man was Nelson Mandela.

Although Nelson Mandela wasn’t Australian and knew nothing about AFL football, something tells me the legacy of this Freo team 10 years down the track will be exactly that.

A team that got knocked down. A team that got back up. And a team that won the greatest gift there is to be won.

The drought will end soon. The summit is in sight. Flagmantle must not be forgotten.

God, I love this club!