Glory's wonderful semi final victory reminded me of the Glory days when the Kellys made the trip to Perth oval every second weekend like we were on a sacred pilgrimage.
We were always involved in sport and so Saturday proved a real test.
NSL season in the late 90s was held in the summer months as it is now in the A league competition.
After a day spent at athletics we packed up the esky with pressed chicken, avocado and lettuce rolls, shapes and cool drink. A day at athletics is not to be taken lightly - we would start the day at 5 30, setting up the ground and competing in a variety of track and field events until the day wound to a close at around 1.
Without too much fuss we'd race home, get changed into our purple, grab our esky and pillows and leap into the Glory decor of the Tarago.
We were always at the ground early - 'you never know- might be road works, bad weather, accidents, bad parking or some other hold up.......' was my mantra😀
We would set up camp at the front of the ground a few hours before even the gates opened.
Unbelievably we had company - an elderly Irish couple , an Italian gentleman called Tony and Matthew.
Much like any stalwart group of supporters they all had a story.
The couple were Janette who was a carer for her elderly friend, Jim who had lost his nose in a fight at the Swanbourne immigrant hostel not long after arriving from Ireland and known for his wonderful slant on life, played the drums all though the game. Tony had been a member since 1996 and had only missed one game when his daughter married. Matthew still to this day goes to games in purple fancy dress and never failed to impress with his wonderful Mum inspired creations.
We sat chatting and learning about each other for the hours until the gates opened. Still conversation was not that riveting for 4 children so with dollars in hand Ben was conscripted to walk the girls to the closest service station to buy ice cream, walking slowly to wile away the time😀
Life was never really boring - confronted with belligerent drunks and glazed, delusional drug users sometimes the hours were sometimes a little challenging.
We were once interviewed as the fourth Glory team after the player base and cheer squad as we were such ardent fans and the article appeared in a fixture book.
16 000 was common during these halcyon days and so once the gates opened we rushed for our valued seats on the fence.
Our wooden benches which required the aforementioned pillows.
Not only were they uncomfortable but they were also home to cockroaches which sometimes proved more of a distraction than the actual game.
Every second Saturday we tied a plastic bag for rubbish to the metal fence.
Every season we were able to always locate out favourite seats as the plastic bag ties marked the fence like a tribute to the Kellys.
The festival atmosphere before the game made these days special. Kids went on the park to kick the ball through a Petkovic goal and played on a bouncey castle. They tested their kicking skills and were allowed a range of scintillating other activities designed to burn off excess energy. For the Kellys it was an exciting opportunity to stretch their legs and get over the boredom of the earlier hours.
'Saturday Saturday Saturday ' the salutation by Steve Armstrong ,was the song of the evening until the team hit the ground and the theme song was chanted with great exuberance , complete with the Glory mascot, high fiving eager young hands around the ground . The atmosphere was electric and combined with the dancing girls and Sambanistas - a colourful percussion ensemble the night was pure entertainment.
Half time was often the chance for children based competitions and general fun.
A stand out memory and part of Kelly folk lore was the infamous ice cream competition.
All the members of the junior branch of the Glory Club were invited to grab an ice cream , run to the other end of the ground and the first finished won a year's worth of ice cream.
Sian grabbed her ice cream and returned to her seat to eat it - Peta took her time to eat it in a lady like manner, Ben was gratefully too old, but truly competitive Leigh made it to the end in breathtaking time and scoffed the lot in record time.
The prize was given to a young man who clearly was NOT a junior member of anything ....
Leigh who was probably about 8, grabbed the MC's microphone and pleaded her case arguing she had won - confronted with a pint sized dynamo he relented and she was awarded a month's supply of ice cream.
Years went on. Seasons came and went. Everyone grew older and at times our group increased with friends joining us. We saw the Glory/ Woolongong final when we went down after being 3 -0 up at half time , witnessed Despotoveski swear at a ball boy, saw players come and go and will always remember the Glory days fondly.
I persisted with membership for a few years when the National league began but never really enjoyed the day.
The ground was bigger and cleaner but subjected to so many rules. Designated seating was uncomfortable and sterile. I found it hard to find other like minded soccer tragics for a chat.
There just wasn't the same excitement , numbers were dropping and it just wasn't the same.
Gratefully the Glory shed keeps the hype alive and when I hear that 'yooooo fat b------'!
I think fondly about the days and sometime regret that they ended but all good things come to an end and I'm grateful for the memories and for the dinner time conversation fodder Glory days provide 😀⚽️
Who knows - once I'm over the notion of back to back games on Fox I might return 😀
#glorydays #goodolddays
