I was 13 and seated in the lower section of the old Northern stand. Ray Gabelich took his three bounces right in front of me.

I'd joined the cheer squad 2 years earlier. Great memories with MT as president. Some of us  were responsible for the banners. Mine was The Never Say Die Demons.

I'd get the first train (4:15am) from Parkdale, or sleep at the ground. We never slept at Vic Park or Windy Hill (too dangerous).

When the Saints moved to Linton Street we made a bonfire from some of the pickets we pulled off the new fence.

The Saints cheer squad invited us to join them for the night in the St Johns Ambulance room. Quite an eyeopener for a young boy with the stretchers getting quite a workout with Saints and Dees supporters fraternising.

Hassa Mann was my favourite player and I had a banner with his name on it.

Great memories.

PS a shout out to Dobbo and Ken Saw

Edited August 23, 20214 yr by M_9

I was 6 years old, but was not at the game.

20 minutes ago, Deesprate said:

What this post show is many of our supporters are post 50 like me. One of the great things about this Dees team is it will hopefully regenerate our supporter base. Young people especially like winners it hard to imagine how bad our membership would be if we had seen the Neeld era extended. Whilst this team is great the foundations were built with the Roos era. What it shows is there is no short term fixes it all hard yards which make success so much sweeter.

I am sure if we dip in the finals the nay sayers will jump out of the shadows but the foundations for an era of success are well in place. 

So true 

The boy (man) is nearly 30 and as he was starting to get into footy, he was the only Auskicker donning the Dees' colours

Plenty of Pies, Tiges, Blues, Bombers and Hawks, with the odd sprinkling of Saints and Roos - but the only Demon!

I think there's a shift as plenty of his friends are Dees' supporters and the rest will follow, methinks

PS - how good is my apostrophe use 

Minus 29, but my old man was 2 so really, he's never seen a flag.

I'll be ecstatic for him if we make it happen this year, which will be the cherry on top of my own uncontrollable excitement.

33 minutes ago, old dee said:

I was 15, started going with my dad in 1960. After the win in 64 ( stood all day in forward pocket Richmond end) thought how good is this following Melbourne we will continue the tradition forever  Ha ha! There have been plenty of years when I wished my dad had barracked for Hawthorn. But once you have the start I had changing is not an option.   Go Dees. 

Looks like I'll have to call you young dee now I know you are 2 years younger than me. I was standing at the pocket at the other end - maybe why I've subsequently been at the other end of the pessimism/optimism scale to you. (Not really but it seemed a good line...)

I was 8.  We lived in the northern suburbs back then.  It was Collingwood heartland, with a sprinkling of Essendon and Carlton supporters.  My 4 older brothers all barracked for Collingwood, but I followed my dad, who was born in Sydney, but when he moved to Melbourne he chose the Dees after the name of his adopted city.  In his day, living in Fitzroy, he was pressured by his peers to choose either Collingwood, Carlton or Fitzroy.  But no, my old man was a stubborn bugger.

I don't know he did it, but he got tickets to the '64 granny.  In those days, beer was consumed out of cans; steel cans.  As a kid, I was more interested in collecting the empty cans, than watching the game, so I could stand on them.  My most vivid memories are of the 2 famous moments that occurred in the last quarter.  I wouldn't say dad was a wowser, but he would not tolerate bad language anywhere.  While I was foraging on the ground for cans, I heard my dad say Geezus F@#$ing Christ.  I looked up in horror and even as a child, I detected his embarrassment knowing his young son had heard him utter such words.  Of course, that was as a result of Gabelich's clumsy run along the members side flank to finally kick a goal, which put Collingwood in front.

A few minutes later, I found myself flat on my back.  My dad jumped in the air and as he came down, he knocked me over.  That was after Neil Froggy Crompton followed his man from the back pocket into the forward line and kicked the winning goal.  The irony was, that Froggy broke one of Norm Smith's cardinal rules in doing so.

The only other memory I have is seeing Barass on the dais, holding the premiership cup aloft and from that moment I was a rusted on Dees supporter.  I live in hope that I may get to see big Maxy doing the same.

1 hour ago, chook fowler said:

75 - refuse to die until we win one.

You were 75 in 1964? That means you’re 132 years old. That’s gotta be a record!!! 😆

12 minutes ago, I'va Worn Smith said:

I was 8.  We lived in the northern suburbs back then.  It was Collingwood heartland, with a sprinkling of Essendon and Carlton supporters.  My 4 older brothers all barracked for Collingwood, but I followed my dad, who was born in Sydney, but when he moved to Melbourne he chose the Dees after the name of his adopted city.  In his day, living in Fitzroy, he was pressured by his peers to choose either Collingwood, Carlton or Fitzroy.  But no, my old man was a stubborn bugger.

I don't know he did it, but he got tickets to the '64 granny.  In those days, beer was consumed out of cans; steel cans.  As a kid, I was more interested in collecting the empty cans, than watching the game, so I could stand on them.  My most vivid memories are of the 2 famous moments that occurred in the last quarter.  I wouldn't say dad was a wowser, but he would not tolerate bad language anywhere.  While I was foraging on the ground for cans, I heard my dad say Geezus F@#$ing Christ.  I looked up in horror and even as a child, I detected his embarrassment knowing his young son had heard him utter such words.  Of course, that was as a result of Gabelich's clumsy run along the members side flank to finally kick a goal, which put Collingwood in front.

A few minutes later, I found myself flat on my back.  My dad jumped in the air and as he came down, he knocked me over.  That was after Neil Froggy Crompton followed his man from the back pocket into the forward line and kicked the winning goal.  The irony was, that Froggy broke one of Norm Smith's cardinal rules in doing so.

The only other memory I have is seeing Barass on the dais, holding the premiership cup aloft and from that moment I was a rusted on Dees supporter.  I live in hope that I may get to see big Maxy doing the same.

Beautiful memories. Thank you for sharing this. ❤️💙

I was a pre-embryonic zygote, from possibly days old to a couple of weeks. Ah, I remember it well…..

14. I was at Cricket Practice for the Sunshine Cricket Club.

25 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

You were 75 in 1964? That means you’re 132 years old. That’s gotta be a record!!! 😆

cryogenics

10 minutes ago, Webber said:

I was a pre-embryonic zygote, from possibly days old to a couple of weeks. Ah, I remember it well…..

1 minute ago, TRIGON said:

Presumably how I felt at the time, TRIGON. Still do, mostly. 

I was 15 months old..

So i am ready for 30 years of Demon Domination 

9 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I was 15 months old..

So i am ready for 30 years of Demon Domination 

I will be happy with 10

Just now, old dee said:

I will be happy with 10

You’re older than me

i want at least 30….

3 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

You’re older than me

i want at least 30….

After 10 you can take my spot as I  will be in the ground or in an urn! 

6 minutes ago, old dee said:

After 10 you can take my spot as I  will be in the ground or in an urn! 

Not a chance. You will still be vertical 

Negative 38

I was only seven, living in a country town and more interested in the weekly ritual of the Saturday afternoon matinee than football and it was at the cinema where they showed cartoons (yay!) and Cinesound newsreels (boring) before the movie that one day featured some colour film footage of Melbourne v Collingwood that so enchanted me that I immediately fell in love with our magnificent jumper and my allegiance was founded.

We didn't even have a TV in the house and, alas, I don't remember the Premiership and I have no memory of Ron Barassi playing for Melbourne.  I started following the Demons in earnest in 1965 with Hassa Mann as my hero and it was his number 29 that I had my mother sew onto the back of my first Melbourne footy jumper.   

1 hour ago, Webber said:

I was a pre-embryonic zygote, from possibly days old to a couple of weeks. Ah, I remember it well…..

10 minutes ago, Hopeful Demon said:

Negative 38

You weren’t even born in the same century!! Nor the same millennium!!!!

After signing up to Demonland in 2009, TasJohnsonFanClub's twelve-year data harvesting and identity theft plan targeted at the misty-eyed senior citizens of this site finally comes to fruition . . . 

2 hours ago, chook fowler said:

75 - refuse to die until we win one.

Hang in there Chook. Me too.

Was not born.