First footy match

[mightytiges]

What was the first footy game you remember or saw?

[Fwoy3]

Well, no-one in my family barracks for the Tigers, so my earliest recollections of going to the footy was night games at Waverly between Essendon and Calton. I also played little league footy for both of those teams at Optarse Oval.

As for Richmond, my ealry times as a serious supporter (being '87 and '88) consisted of listening to games on the radio (not much TV coverage back then for us ). I would picture the game in my head as the Pickering brothers, Michael Roach and the Flea would lose week in, week out, and live on hope of a win. I would study the Herald form guide and wait patiently for the footy hero posters to feature a tiger.

By '89 I finally got to see us live...not that we were any good still. The first game I remember seeing was against Geelong at the MCG. Phil Egan played a fair bit on Ablett and he kicked 14 goals from memory. I had the flu, and the afternoon sun in my eyes was causing me to sneeze and subsequently weep. I remember being more concerned that people might think I was crying, rather than the actual result being so bad. 

[julzqld]

My grandfather took me to my first game - can't remember how old I was but I think Barry Richardson was the coach.  The game was against Melbourne and we won.  My grandfather told my grandmother and aunts he had more fun watching me and my reactions than the game.

[Fishfinger]

First memory is against the Skunks at the MCG, 1969 or 1970. I sat right at the fence near the player's race. I had a healthy disrespect for anything Collingwood even then because Wayne Richardson kicked the ball into John Northey, who was on the mark directly in front of me, and to this day I reckon it was on purpose to hurt him.

It was a close game all day with lots of lead changes. Late in the last quarter Paddy Guinane took a screamer in the goalsquare and lined up to put us in front and win the game. He strolled in from 10 yards out, kicked the ground missing the ball, Collingwood cleared and the siren went.

My dad was really good at handling defeat. On the way home he said it was my fault we lost because I kept asking every 2 minutes who was in front. I'm glad we used to win most of the time back then or the RFC might have banned me.

[Life goes on]

1966, We played Melb at the G.
Northey kicks heaps that day

[WilliamPowell]

First Tiger game was in 1978 at the MCG.

I think we played Melbourne. I went with a mate from school and we sat next to the players race. It isn't going to be the same when they build that new stand and we don't see teams running out from around there. But that's another story. 

My first game of VFL (as it was back then) footy was watching the Footscray and Geelong at the Western (later to become the Whitten) Oval. We lived within walking distance to the Western Oval and I had relatives who lived in Geelong and followed Geelong so it sort just worked out that my first game was Footscray and Geelong.

[om21]

Some corkers in here.....

My first game I remember.....(not the first game I saw)....1986 Moorabbin Vs tha Saints. I remember walking in with a crate, holding my dad's hand, I was 5. I dont know why I remember this game, might have something to do with it being my first official footy record. Ahhhhhh the days

[cub]

Can't really remember - Although I was draggin friends from high school to the footy from 13 14 years of age.

Dont really know how I picked the tiges as all my fathers side was essendon and ma didn't like footy.

But one of my earliest memories would be travelling out to the wetern oval - buying a bottle of cheap spumante probably about $2 in those days. sitiing under the bridge outside the ground getting peeed before we got in just in case thet would not serve us at the bar once we got in (even though they usually did) and being asleep before the 3rd qtr.

Jumping the fence at windy hill with a six pack and standing on the hill with the essendon ferals.

Jumping in on the collingwood barbie they used to have in the forward pocket  at vic park - and burning holes in their umbrellas with my smoke when it was raining.

Ohh and the red rattler to geelong was allways a classic trip even though we never won.

Ahhh sweet memories......

[WilliamPowell]

CUB - you've certainly bought back some memories with those old surburban grounds.

I remember going to Arden St and thinking this is the pits and this place should be condemmed. Eventually officialdom agreed with me and it was.

I remember being at Princes Park one day when one of the hot chip vendors little box thing caught on fire. that was a classic.

I remember going to Moorabbin and getting caked in mud just walking to the ground through the thing they called a car park.

The old grounds - the memories

[cub]

I remember being at Princes Park one day when one of the hot chip vendors little box thing caught on fire. that was a classic.

WP - Sure that wasn't arden st - the old memory is a bit foggy but I am sure I remember something similar there.

Oh and remember the walk from nth melb station and that very pleasant (not) odour down one of those streets 

[WilliamPowell]

I remember being at Princes Park one day when one of the hot chip vendors little box thing caught on fire. that was a classic.

WP - Sure that wasn't arden st - the old memory is a bit foggy but I am sure I remember something similar there.

Oh and remember the walk from nth melb station and that very pleasant (not) odour down one of those streets 

No I remember it was Princess Park - may not have been a tiger game.

I do vaguely remember the same thing happening at Arden St too CUB

I also remeber at Arden St, Whitten Oval, Windy Hill, Princess Park and maybe Victoria Park (what a hole that was) there was this bloke who walked around the boundary line - selling "Pea-nuts, Pea-nuts"

Does anyone else remember him?

[Fwoy3]

I remember being at Princes Park one day when one of the hot chip vendors little box thing caught on fire. that was a classic.

WP - Sure that wasn't arden st - the old memory is a bit foggy but I am sure I remember something similar there.

Oh and remember the walk from nth melb station and that very pleasant (not) odour down one of those streets 

No I remember it was Princess Park - may not have been a tiger game.

I do vaguely remember the same thing happening at Arden St too CUB

I also remeber at Arden St, Whitten Oval, Windy Hill, Princess Park and maybe Victoria Park (what a hole that was) there was this bloke who walked around the boundary line - selling "Pea-nuts, Pea-nuts"

Does anyone else remember him?

I remember the guy that did that at Princess Park.

[2JD]

I remember him WP he was short and round, not unlike a peanut himslef lol I used to love those peanuts, and it wasnt like dropping rubbish on the ground cos the shells just mingled in with the gravel. I used to love the MCG when we could follow Roach and Cloke from end to end with the quarter changes. I nearly had a fit when I went to my first game after a lengthy time of tiger cub breeding and saw the fences that had been put up!!!! ARRRGGGHHH! they turned my footy ground into a stadium!

[cub]

Classic - Peanut man , apparently he also worked in a porn shop or something like that we used to allways call out peanuts and porn.

Heard a while back he is no longer with us.

[mightytiges]

Victoria Park (what a hole that was)

Yup it was expect in the Collingwood club rooms especially their shrine ...I mean.. trophy room they had set up in the 80's  . lol at the time not finding anything post 1958 or in colour .

The Moorabbin Oval car park is mud free now WP thanks to the Tabaree. The local council is turning it into a residential apartment block surrounding the oval.

Although not a suburban ground VFL Park was the absolute pits. No decent public transport so it took bloody forever to get there (living in Footscray at the time) just to watch us get flogged most of the time in the coldest and rainiest zone in Melbourne in the worst stadium for atmosphere and you couldn't see what was going on at the other end of the ground.