gringo wrote:samuraisaint wrote:standing behind the goals at the Frankston end, get the whiff of a comeback and the stand behind you would really get rocking. remember the kids in the cheer squad standing up on the wooden seats behind the goals and jumping up and down on them. I remember some great games where we really surprised some teams. My favourite years at Moorabbin were 1978, 1987 because we were finally competitive again, and 1990 when we started to beat sides we hadn't beaten in years like Hawthorn.
Oh, and in the very late 1970s when the old man would buy me a Lucky Burger if I whinged long enough. Moorabbin and that stretch of the Nepean hwy, South Rd and surrounds has lost it's mojo now.
I was pretty young but I still remember the crowds rolling in down the skinny little suburban streets and the slightly sick in you guts nerves as you rocked up dragged along in the crowds. It was cold, wet and uncomfortable but it had some serious atmosphere. I remember going along to buy merchandise in 1997 and meeting Barry Hall in the car park in his hot rod HR holden, a family friend who worked in the beer caravan near the main gate who would hand me cans for about 50cents and the sore calves from standing on your toes for hours straight.
Great post Gringo. All those little details that made the footy a great ritual. I can still clearly remember the smell of the men's dunnies at Moorabbin. Standing on cans. Used to balance on my bike helmet once I got my licence. The whole ritual of the day. Packing my bag, the train, walking along to the ground, buying a record, watching the scores from the other games at the end of each quarter - and the never ending optimism that we would - in most cases as underdog - cause an upset.
Used to go to the Saints on Saturday and Waverley in the VFA on a Sunday. I remember standing around the 3/4 time huddle in the VFA getting up close to the players and listening to the coach. Can clearly remember Lance Styles the Waverley ruckman, chain smoking two fags at 3/4 time as he listened to the coach.