How did you become a Wests Tigers fan?

[wtfl1981]

Born into a magpies family and followed them since day one. Also played in the balmain junior league as a kid. Wests Tigers are a good fit to me!
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[shane2801]

First game I went to was the 77 Amco Cup final. Been a magpie ever since. I hated Balmain. Still do. It's been the fairest merger though.

 

[BrissieTiger67]

I grew up in Lennox Head NSW hardly rugbly league heart land lol, but i moved over from scoltand so no one in my family was a nrl fan. I loved watching the game in primary school and then when my teacher the Eels nutter asked me which team i followed i said Wests Tigers after watching them for a year and really loving the way they played. He laughed at me for saying the tigers. The year was 2005 and ive been riding the roller coaster and pulling out my hair ever since. love the tigers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1_4_chicken_chips]

I grew up in the shire and played for Cronulla/Caringbah who played in a Black with two white vees just like the Maggies,so it kind of stuck.Tommy was my favorite player.
On to 1999.
I was nearly lost to the game when the talk was a merge with Canterbury Bulldogs(remember the Western Bulldogs talk) Then at the 11th hour Balmain kindly saved us from extinction and the rest is history.

 

[Duffy_P]

Grew up in the Inner West in the Balmain District. Loved Leichhardt, still do.

 

[Snake]

Born and raised in Lidcombe in a Fibro house so obviously grew up at Lidcombe oval and when old enough drank to much at the Railway hotel plenty of stories there with Big Dallas Donnelly and friends .The rest is history always thought Balmain were OK so the show fitted.

 

[Jazza]

I'd been watching league since I was about 3 or 4 but I didnt go for anyone in particular at first besides NSW in state of origin. I remember watching the great Canberra sides of the early to mid 90s so I guess I followed them with some interest… Not knowing at the time they beat Balmain in the 89 Grand Final.

I became a Tigers fan about 2 years before the merger when I was about 8 or 9 because my dad was a Balmain fan. I remember the game that got me hooked on the Tigers was when Balmain drew 10 all at Leichhardt against Brisbane in 1998, Brisbane were I team I hated as a kid because most of their players played for QLD.

When the merger occurred, as a 10 year old who didn't know about the history or tradition of the game, I was happy! Because I live in Campbelltown I thought how good is it that the team I go for has merged with my local team.

I did know enough at the time that the merger had to happen for Wests, results were very poor and I remember in primary school there would be free tickets handed out to the class and no one would take them. So kids were being lost in the area and I knew at the time that the merger was the right thing for the future.

 

[Duffy_P]

I'd been watching league since I was about 3 or 4 but I didnt go for anyone in particular at first besides NSW in state of origin. I remember watching the great Canberra sides of the early to mid 90s so I guess I followed them with some interest… Not knowing at the time they beat Balmain in the 89 Grand Final.

**I became a Tigers fan about 2 years before the merger when I was about 8 or 9 because my dad was a Balmain fan. I remember the game that got me hooked on the Tigers was when Balmain drew 10 all at Leichhardt against Brisbane in 1998, Brisbane were I team I hated as a kid because most of their players played for QLD.**
When the merger occurred, as a 10 year old who didn't know about the history or tradition of the game, I was happy! Because I live in Campbelltown I thought how good is it that the team I go for has merged with my local team.

That game was for Adam. Shane Walker had his best ever game.

 

[macman]

My earliest memory was the Amco cup final where Lockwood flicked passed to Neil Pringle
Loved the tigers from that time on
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[balmainbenny]

Grew up in Bulldogs area in the sixties, Now live on the sunshine coast. Played schoolboy footy, The 69 G/F was on and everyone was asking one and other who ya going for, It seemed most were going for the rabbits, So i said ill go for the tigers, Been a staunch tiger ever since, The funny thing is my parents divorced when I was very young and growing up with mums side never knew my father actually played reggies for souths in the fifties early sixties, He is in his seventies and still a staunch rabbits supporter ,Years later he tried to sway me over to the bunnies , but to no avail, We have a laugh about it now, Also living in mad crazy broncos area my mother inlaw really worked hard to get my 5 year old son to follow the broncos even buying him broncs jumper and shorts, Proud to say he is 25 now and a staunch tigers tragic, The tigosterone proudly runs through our veins passed from father to son .

 

[happy_tiger]

Lived in Ipswich ,Qld growing up .Huge Brisbane Wests fan (RIP)
First game of football I watched on TV (NSW) was the AMCO cup final in 76/77 and picked Wests
Been a Magpies supporter ever since
And obviously made the chane to the Tigers at merger stage
Would not of supported us if we merged with Bulldogs
What a great mix Tigers and Magpies
TIGER Til I DIE
Both my young uns are Tigers supporters as well
Despite their grandparents trying to switch them to the dark side (Broncos)

 

[kill_em_all_tigers]

other than smeg's belanglo forest story and our scottish friend i think im the only one without some sort of decent connection.

my family were big union folk (dad played for the all blacks) and i grew up in gosford. so nothing there to draw me in but i did find some sort of connection.

as i was born in july im a leo and as a 5 year old i realised that the lion is pretty close to a tiger, so it was inevitable really. im pretty sure the orange jersey grabbed me too.

i know it had nothing to do with picking a winning team (like most of us) as i tried to jump on the eels during the early 80's desperate to experience that winning feeling. thankfully the tigosterone had set in as it only lasted for two weeks before i realised where my heart truly lay.

 

[Defiant]

I played for Leichardt wanders u8's :slight_smile: and in my later years a few games for Belfield which was a Magpies area back then. Whilst originally being a Wests supporter the merged entity was a pretty good fit. :slight_smile:

My grandfather was also a mad supporter of the Tigers until his doctor made him give them up. Heart attack material back then… some things never change.

 

[tigergirlz]

Balmain fan from the start because my lovely dad followed them. This were the days when you supported the local team. I think he got the tape measure out and we lived 2 inches closer to Leichhardt than North Sydney. Remember getting 20c to spend at the local shop, buying lollies, and settling down to watch the Sunday games live in good old black and white. 1969 a great highlight. 1989 - still can't watch a replay. Sis and I fell madly in love with numerous players during our teens - I remember wanting to marry Gerry Crowe, Barry Jensen and Greg Cox (mmmmm :stuck_out_tongue: ).
Fell away with the merger, but strangely took my daughter to the first game in 2005 for something to do(?). Remember getting beat by the Eels (whats new) but commenting on the height of one of our wingers (guess who?).
Hooked ever since and getting footy mad crazier as the years roll on.

 

[innsaneink]

And who says an inch or two dont matter eh?

 

[TurnStyle]

great thread benji_da_gun!
have really enjoyed reading these. :slight_smile:
its funny, but my story is really quite similar to yours bdg!

being WA born and bred and only having ever been to sydney twice would make you wonder how i even discovered league, let alone became a staunch tigers fan! but heres my story:

my dad is my stepdad who married my mum in 1980 when i was 8\. he played over her in the WARL (reserves - at the end of his playing days) for a couple of years til giving it away and we went to all his games. i would always be the ball boy and loved trying to race the touchies when a big break was made! also, i sometimes had the habit of kicking the spare ball onto the field after a missed penalty attempt which was not too cool if it hadn't gone dead!

dad grew up in lidcombe or buralla (?) and played for the magpies reserves (as a centre initially i think? he is big and so played mostly prop for the majority of his playing days, but would have been an awesome centre with his size, hardness and pace: i was about 16 years old before i could outrun him and he was well into his 40s!!).

anyway, he was a maggies fan but for some reason i decided to go for balmain in 1982\. those days i was in awe of kerry hemsley - tough as nails and a wildman look to boot! then garry jack was my idol and the days of 88 and 89 were awesome and heartbreaking - especially 89\. i will never forgive Ryan!

so it was awesome when both our teams merged! we now both go for the tigers and its great. no team in ANY other sport has a place in my heart that goes anywhere near the tigers and i love that there are no grubs or trouble to detract from the pride i have in them.

we tigers fans can always hold our head high.

* although i played aussie rules being from here, i always loved league. i got to reserves in AFL but after a knee reconstruction my future was gone there and so i took the opportunity to play rugby league, where i am very proud to say i won a first grade WARL premiership playing in the great garry jack full back position! it made sense as all those years of footy gave me good hands, and unlike most afl players, because of dad i actually knew how to tackle!

 

[Gazman]

As a 19 year old back in 1976 never followed the game or a RL team till I was transferred to Broken Hill in my job, when a co-worker got me interested in League. From then on he suggested I needed a team to follow, and as he was a Magpie man through and through I began to take an interest in the stories he would tell about the team. At around this time and over the course of the fibro & silvertails era they were generally regarded as the underdog and I guess they took my fancy and I have followed them since. I was filthy when they were kicked out of the ARL in the Mid 80's and followed the case for re-entry daily. It was therefore with relief that the merger happened with Balmain as I did not wish to face the prospect of having to find another team to follow should they have been kicked out again. Ironically at the time when Canberra won the 1989 GF, I actually cheered the Raiders then as I was living in Goulburn and Meninga, Jackson, Daley used to support the local junior league with training visits and with them being the outsiders they got my support then. Bit different now and I enjoy them beating the Raiders when they meet.

 

[Gotoddy]

My Father and Grandfather played for Balmain and my Grandfather coached reserves in the 50s. So we really didn't have much choice but to go for Balmain as kids as we went to many games at Leichhardt and away grounds.

Started taking a very keen interest in the players when I was a teenager in the 70s. I loved Wayne Wigham, Greg Cox, Wayne Miranda, Allan McMahon, Denis Bendall…..we certainly had very good looking teams back then!

Now, its a matter of you can't beat em so you have to join em with our family.....that is we have turned a couple of family members into Tigers supporters, they really had no choice in the end.

 

[Tigerdave]

Dad was a Balmain supporter, so that's who I followed

 

[westTAHger]

grew up in north ryde.
dad was die hard magpies supporter.
followed them from there.
been supporting magpies and going to games since 1970.
still have sore butt from wooden seats at Lidcombe Oval. :laughing:
**_and was quite happy for merger to happen and was pleased they became wests-tigers._**