Connection/attachment to the club

[tiger05premier]

I also have 2 granddaughters to my 23yo son

A 2 and a half year old who has been member since 2017 and 3 week old who I will buy a membership for 2020

We have competition for there support of the tigers though because even though my son and I buy them tigers gear my daughter in law follows the dragons

She has sent me the odd photos of the girls in dragons gear

Hopefully years of membership in tigers with no dragons membership ever will sway it our way as the girls grow up

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

Ex Balmain fan first game was 1988 sell out between tigers and penrith at LO the debut of the Black Pearl Ellery Hanley season tickets the next year 89 which is still a tough GF to watch back even now i was 10 at the time.

 

[Fitzy05]

Grew up in Balmain. Went to Birchgrove Primary. Played for Balmain Police Boys. Around the neighbourhood there was always games of footy going on. We’d even go to school early to get a game in before school started.

 

[rex2ce]

@Fitzy05 my father as a bush footballer trialled for Balmain Tigers in the ‘50 s, that influenced my choice of team.

 

[mike]

My mum and dad were born in country NSW, apple country. Absolutely die hard Western Suburbs Magpie fans, I never knew why. Sometime before I was born they moved to Sydney, Newtown vicinity. I went to primary school just up the road from Henson Park, it was my playground and I played early juniors in the district. Yet I followed my parents and follow the Western Suburbs Magpies.
My memory of this time is somewhat faded but the following is what I recall, rightly or wrongly.
I remember the great Wests vs St. George Grand Finals of the sixties, even though I was very young. I also remember many games at Pratten Park.
In 1966 the family moved to North Ryde. I became a Balmain junior, playing at Kent Rd, Birchgrove and of course Leichhardt. I very much have a soft spot for Balmain.
The day after Balmain won the 1969 grand final was our North Ryde Junior Rugby League presentation day at Lane Cove National Park. Most of the Grand Final players were there, a lot with very dark sunglasses from memory and looking somewhat seedy, no doubt from a big night. The club had obviously made these arrangements well before there was any chance of Balmain being in the Grand Final. I really respected them for honouring their agreement. I was presented with my Best and Fairest award, and being a Centre, from one of the 1969 Balmain Grand Final winning centres. Another of my other memories of that time was Arthur Beetson coming to one of our training sessions at Ryde Oval and letting 13 or so young teenagers tackle him. When Western Suburbs and Balmain were forced to merge the only scenario that made sense to me was them merging together, it was a no brainer.
We are born and bred Sydney who are now the Wests Tigers born out of the merger of these two great Sydney clubs.

 

[NT_Tiger]

@mike I'd 'like' your post but there's no 'like' button.

 

[fibrodreaming]

I was born in Ayr, just south of Townsville. My father was friends with Kel O'Shea who moved to Sydney to play for the Magpies. Our family moved to Sydney around the same time and, since we lived not far from Pratten Park, we went to every Wests home game, initially to see Kel play. We quickly became Magpie tragics.

I followed the Magpies all over Sydney until I left to live and work elsewhere.

The point about relocation for me is that I have followed/supported the Magpies/Tigers from a distance for so long now, that I think probably that relocation wouldn't change my enthusiasm for the team.

Also, given my Queensland roots (my father was from Nth QLD, while all my mother's family are from Ipswich) if we became the Ipswich Tigers, I'd be onboard.

Reading the comments of so many supporters on this site, it's obvious that many support the Tigers from a distance, as well as clubs from other sporting codes (eg Premier League). That suggest that if we did relocate many current supporters would continue to follow the team.

 

[NT_Tiger]

@fibrodreaming
Atherton Tigers would be good!

 

[LeichhardtTiger]

Grew up in Balmain Road, Leichhardt opposite the Fire Station in early 60's. But my family were from Bondi. Parents weren't well off and moved to Green Valley into Housing Comm in 66. Mum got me started on Tigers that year in 66 - she said she was sick of seeing St George win every year! Well, despite that loss 23-4 in 66 I felt a soft spot for the Underdog Tigers. 3 years later I was at my 1st GF. Mum arranged for a ticket to go to the game with her friends from the Green Valley Hotel - All South Sydney Supporters. I was 12 and all alone at the end of the game cos I was going to stay at My Nan's place in Bondi. I got the 380 Double Decker bus and when the Conductor came by to collect my 5 cent fare a bloke leaned over and said "You can't charge him! He supports The Premiers!" Wearing my Tigers Jersey save me a zac which I can never thank them enough! Watching lone Try Scorer Sid Williams on the Rex Mossop Club Show later that night was a Dream end to a wonderful Day.

 

[matchball]

Grew up in Balmain. Went to Birchgrove Primary. Played for Balmain Police Boys. Around the neighbourhood there was always games of footy going on. We’d even go to school early to get a game in before school started.

We have to know each other. That's basically me.

 

[Tigerlily]

@mike I'd 'like' your post but there's no 'like' button.

Hi NT you just need to refresh the page when that happens...It seems whenever someone edits their post the like thing disappears..

 

[jirskyr]

Jean and Red’s ashes were spread on the oval. My will says mine we will be there too

It's good that the council accommodates this, and even if they didn't, you could probably find a way to waltz in one day and do it yourself.

I know someone who used to work on the council and apparently they get requests to spread ashes very frequently, as another indicator of connection to the club and the ground.

 

[jirskyr]

Played for Balmain Police Boys

I played for Five Dock RSL, you sky blue bastards!

 

[BZN]

G'day @NT_Tiger: I have had the same problem with there being no like button on many posts. Thank you for bringing it up :relaxed:

 

[Tiger_Steve]

Played for Balmain Police Boys

I played for Five Dock RSL, you sky blue bastards!

I played for Holy Cross. You all suck!! (Which on reflection is quite ironic in light of recent historic findings)

 

[Tim Sheens]

Grew up in Ryde, rode my bike or caught a bus to LO as a boy. Have been hooked on the tigers ever since.

Caught a good few from the stop at the top of the arcade myself if my dad couldn't go.

 

[cochise]

Thanks everyone for these posts, I have really enjoyed reading them. It's so interesting how people connect to this club in so many different ways but all hold it so important in their lives.

 

[Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan]

Grew up in New Zealand in a place where league was non-existent. I didn't even know rugby league was a thing until 2006. One day in 2008, I came home, turned the TV on and a game was on (Parra vs Gold Coast). Had no idea what was going on, all I knew was I liked it.

I can't recall watching another game that year until the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. I watched the final cause guys at school were talking about it. At that point, the only player I knew was Billy Slater as a guy I sometimes sat next to would always talk about him. This Benji Marshall guy really caught my eye.

In 2009 I watched a few games here and there, but didn't see much. In 2010 I decided to watch quite a lot of NRL. It was off the back of Beau Ryan on the NRL Footy Show. Again, everybody at school was watching his videos on YouTube and laughing away.

And then there was that Benji Marshall guy again. He was doing things which blew my mind. I really liked the attacking style that Wests Tigers played. Guys like Chris Lawrence, Tim Moltzen, Robbie Farah, Lote Tuqiri, Andrew Fifita and Gareth Ellis were a joy to watch. Then there was one particular game which made me a fan of both rugby league and Wests Tigers for life. It was the 2010 qualifying final vs the Roosters. I rose for Dwyer's hit on Hargreaves, my mouth hung open when we lost the scrum with the feed, and it hurt when Kenny-Dowell took the intercept to win the game in the 100th game.

Been a fan ever since. Love this team, despite all its disappointment.

 

[happy_tiger]

First game of NSWRL I ever saw was the Wests v Easts Amco cup Final

Being a Wests supporter in the Brisbane RL I naturally went for Wests

Last thing we won for 28 years lol

Obviously hard supporting a side you rarely got to watch , almost got kicked out (like the Wests Panthers did ) and weren't successful

1999 was tough ...lots of floggings but when the mergers talk started at 1st the Dogs looked like they would be the club but fortunately people saw that was going to be very similar to the Saints Steelers takeover

Anyway we merged with Balmain and here we are now ...some great days ...some not so great

Hopefully we can become a consistently successful side in the future and make the finals more often than not making the finals

 

[TCL]

@formerguest we hide our bikes behind the old Masonic club and catch a bus. Buy a bag of lollies,hot chips or scollops, with as much free sauce or vinegar as we wanted for the bus ride. We would take a plastic football or a worn heavy latherball that was as hard as nails pretend we were our favourite players on the run down to the oval.