Life defining games

[one-eyed]

What are some of your memorable personal memories that coincide with a particular game? Could be a birth, marriage, etc... anything that stood out. A footy equivalent of where were you when man landed on the moon.

ps. please post the round and outcome of the game if you can remember it, so we can locate it in our collective memories.

[1965]

1980 Grand Final Rich vs Collingwood.

We won by a then record margin.

I was there with my wife (an Essendon supporter) on the top deck of the old Olympic stand.

She was bored, said as much all the way through the match, and wanted to go home at 3/4 time.

I haven't been to another football match with her since.

'65

PS We're still happily married (after 31 years) but it would have been so nice if she had of been a Tigers supporter.

 

[1965]

and another one

1965 Richmond vs (I don't have a clue, I was 9 at the time)

I was born into a North Melbourne family, Dad even played for North back in '48.

I was dragged along to watch North at Arden street. We used to stand in the outer amid the drunks and the fights. Blokes used to pee in empty beer cans so they didn't lose their spot.  It was wet and muddy and I couldn't see a thing until I had collected enough of the old steel cans to make two pyramids to stand on.

It was my job to make sure my drunk father got home safely (we used to live in Errol st.)

I hated it and hated football and hated my Father. (God rest his soul)

Anyway a mate offered to take me to the football. We went to the MCG and watched the Tigers play. We sat up in the old southern stand and for the first time I could see, I was dry and not surrounded by drunks.

I changed clubs that day.

'65 (explains the 1965 tag as well)

[Penelope]

I was dragged along to watch North at Arden street. We used to stand in the outer amid the drunks and the fights. Blokes used to pee in empty beer cans so they didn't lose their spot.  It was wet and muddy and I couldn't see a thing until I had collected enough of the old steel cans to make two pyramids to stand on.

Ha! I had a mate who was a North supporter and told similar stories. He reckons he used stand on the cans to keep out of streams of pee running down the terraces at Arden street. He told how blokes used to put bicycle tubes down their trowser legs so they didnt have to move from their spot to relieve themselves.

Before we left Melbourne to travel the country the missus wanted to get engaged. She was smart enough to consult the draw to pick a Saturday Richmond were not playing for our engagement party. 

[Penelope]

I have a real bad memory for dates. I cant even remember what year it was we left Melbourne, but I do remember and associate where we were when we travelled with grand finals.

We left in November. The following year we were camping in the opal fields of south western Queensland at a place called Duck Creek. North Played Sydney in the grand final and we drove into the nearest town, Quilpie, to watch it. We had planned to stay in the pub that night, but there was a wedding on - every bed in the towns only pub and motel were booked. We spent the night at the railway station. It absolutely poured rain and we had the local  louts stone the roof until our dog scared them off. Due to the rain we got bogged sh#*less twice, heading back to Duck Creek  the next day.

The following year St Kilda played Adelaide. We were at Cairns and went to the Cazaly's sports club to watch the game. I won a wheel barrow full of goodies, mainly grog, in a raffle. There was an Adelaide jumper in the barrow so i put it on after the game. One bloke thinking I was an adelaide supporter was quite taken back when i told him I actually hated them. He wanted to buy the jumper off me but baulked at the price of $100 I put on it. it. A few hours later he came up with the notes in his hand. I couldn't get it off quick enough.

The next year was North V Adelaide. we were at a place called Kalumbaroo, an aboriginal community at the most northern point in WA.(amazing fishing) I was able to string up a wire between two trees to get reception on our Flying Doctors HF radio to suffer through Adelaide winning their second premiership.

[Damo]

1995 Semi v Essendon.

Was a special day. The Essendon family directly in front of us were beyond arrogant. When they missed the first 2 shots of the 3rd that would of buried us, the comments were "oh no, another miss, drag em. Oh hang on, its Richmond, who cares we will win anyhow".

Was magic when we hit the front.



Might I add, on a semi sour note. Very sad a semi final is my "life changing game". Lets win a stuffing flag.

[mat073]

July 3 1994 Adelaide vs Richmond Football Park

Richmond     4.2   5.3   11.6   13.12    90
Adelaide      5.3   7.8    9.9    12.11    83

I will always remember this fantastic match as it was the day after my 21st birthday celebration.Of course I had a massive hangover but luckily it was a twillight game and I just started to "come good" by the first bounce.

* it was the first time in 9 years we had won 4 games in a row
* it was the first time we had beaten Adelaide and won at Football Park.
* The win also put us in the 8 after rd 15......which was a big deal at the time.

I was also in a footy tipping comp at work .I got every game right that week and recieved $180.

[Hellenic Tiger]

For me in a bad sense was Richmond v Carlton 82 GF with my sister a Carlton fan giving it to me all night long as she was in love with the Dominator. Have vowed till my dying day to hate the Blues ever since that day and only wish them eternal misery and failure. Have never ever wanted them to win.

Non Tiger games for every wrong reason known to me and my wife was the Carlton v St Kilda game this season on the Friday night. I only hoped neither team would not win the flag this year after this night and was so glad to see the Cats get up.

Richmond games that defined me as a Tiger fan.
1980 Qualifying Final watching KB go bezerk against the Cheats and obviously the 1980 GF. Thinking as a five year old in Grade Prep I would be footy schoolyard bully until the Hawk kids starting ruling the roost a few years later. Games that defined me and sealed the deal with my love affair for this once feared footy club. How I wish to see days like that again as an adult.

1995 2nd semi against the Bombers. Can remember driving home on the SE arterial that day after the game and the RFC scarves and fans were everywhere. It was bedlam. Can remember that night still wearing the guernsey going out and running amuck.That nauseating happy feeling you have in your stomach just like when you know you something good is imminently going to happen to you............ Boy I wish I was 20 years old again.

2001 The rd 4 game against Collingwood. My wife who was my girlfriend at the time when pushed would say she was a Collingwood fan as she had no interest in footy but her cousin was a Skunk having convinced her from early in her life this was the team to go for. We went to the footy together that night with a group of my mates, All tiger fans of course in the knowledge that in all the times she had come to the footy with me in 2000 we had never won. I told her if we won she would have to call herself a Tiger fan. All was well at 3 quarter time with us 32 points up. At 3 qt time she asked me to swap seats as the bloke next to us was quite portly and was taking up part of the seat she was sitting in.Plus he was a Collingwood fan. I grudgingly did the right thing but being superstitious and never changing my seat I instantly knew it was the wrong thing. 15 minutes into the last quarter with the lead whittled down to a point I got up told my wife to grin and bear it and swapped seats just as Spud brought on Brodders with fresh legs who kicked the next two and only two goals of the match to get us home by 15 points and regain control of the contest. My wife became a Tiger that night kept her part of the deal and plus to live with me she had no other choice and she hasn't looked back. To this day she still has no interest in the footy and has only been to 3 other games with me since (All Wins) but I still remember that night like it was yesterday and the roller coaster ride we all rode. Much like the Bulldogs game at the Dome later in the year which my wife was also present at.

[yellowandback]

Tucker,please get your wife to more games, she sounds like the winning genie!

[TigerLand]

1995 Rich vs Ess Semi/Pre lim can't remember

My first ever final I was 9.

Sat in the Southern Stand with the sun in our eyes made everything look yellow and black cause of the glare. Sat with my old man and my best mate and his dad (Who is the worst Richmond supporter going around Mr Negative)

Remember seeing Matty Knight tear apart the MCG and Scotty Turner running though Gary ODonnell's soul. (Im pretty sure it was that game)

After the win we got so excited that my mate and I lost our Dads and snuck into the Richmond change rooms. We ducked and weaved through the mob of happy tigers fans and got through unnoticed and somehow got to the front to cheer on the tigers for a little while longer.

How we found our way back to our Dads I'll never know.

[WilliamPowell]

Mother's Day 1991 -v- Collingwood at the MCG. Hoggy kicked 9  I think it was and the Tigers won

It may have been Mum's day and Sunday Roast day but we were going to the footy no matter what. Ma Powell kept saying during the drive in that we would win. I kept saying she was "nuts".

As with many things in my life Ma Powell was right when I thought she was "nuts" and I was wrong 

[Fluffy Tiger]

Mother's Day 1991 -v- Collingwood at the MCG. Hoggy kicked 9  I think it was and the Tigers won

It may have been Mum's day and Sunday Roast day but we were going to the footy no matter what. Ma Powell kept saying during the drive in that we would win. I kept saying she was "nuts".

As with many things in my life Ma Powell was right when I thought she was "nuts" and I was wrong 

The Same game for me. I was living in Sydney with a wife that had never been to live AFL game or even realy watched it on the TV with me. We come down to Melbourne and took her to the G that day  with my old Melbourne flatmate (a collingwood suporter). I still have no idea how I convinced her to come on a mothers day but I did. What a great day, since then she has become a real Tiger supporter and made sure our duaghters are too. She is always up for going to a game if we have the chance (very rare). More of a truning point for my wife but has made my life as a Tiger supporter so much better.

Hoggys Nine I will never forget. 

Oh and sitting with the same flatmate in a pub and watching the 1980 GF is up there, and going with my dad to finals matches in the 60's and pinching Richmond parking signs for the bar after the GF in 1969. There are a few.

We Tiger supports love to complain about our recent years and some of our players but if you have been around for long enough we have some great memories too.

[Hellenic Tiger]

I am pretty certain Hoggy kicked 10 in the Mothers Day Massacre lads.
                    K M H ttl  G B      Age           
34 Hogg, Jeff 13 8 1 14 10 1      24y 209d 92 169

[Fluffy Tiger]

I am pretty certain Hoggy kicked 10 in the Mothers Day Massacre lads.

Well there were so many of them it was hard to count. It was great day either way.

[Hellenic Tiger]

Tucker,please get your wife to more games, she sounds like the winning genie!

She hates going to the footy full stop.

Her three wins for the record were

The Dogs rd 17 2001 Grudge Match at the Dome that we won by 2 points.
The Roos rd 21 2001 game we won by 4 points where Richo took about 18 marks but kicked seven straight points until he kicked the winner from 15 out straight in front.
The Hawks rd 6 2004 match we won by a point when Van Den Berg could not get a point from 40 out when Ray Hall marked on the line. It was only spur of the moment I was at the Royal Melbourne Hotel numbing myself on the crap I was about to see after our poor efforts since our round 1 win over Collingcrap earlier in the year, when she popped in to see me before she left town to go home and decided to stay for the night which was no problem as I continued my bourbon consumption and my wife had company as one of my mates girlfriend who she got along with well  was coming so she had no problem driving home so you could say it was a win win for me that night. Can remember going to the Tab with a Hawk mate who put 50 on the draw claiming both sides were as bad as each other. Technically he was right Hall played on going over the line and a point should have been awarded thus deeming the game a draw. Fun times. 
All heartstoppers. I don't think I'd reach 50 if she made a habit of coming my ticker would be overly stressed.