I rarely post on here these days, but I'm a daily viewer and now need to let the emotion free.
Whatever the outcome next weekend I want to thank the club for the joy they gave me and tens of thousands of other fans on Friday night.
I've been so emotional over the past 48 hours my work colleagues, friends and family don't quite understand, but I'm sure you, true Sharks fans do.
For 35 of my 40 years I've gone to Shark Park every fortnight to watch our club and up until a year or so ago work for them as the ground announcer for 3 years. The only thing I care more about than the Sharks is my family and my work. Why does someone go to watch a sporting side? The ultimate goal is to enjoy a victory, the culmination of those victories a premiership. Over the course of 35 years, home game after home game and plenty of away ones as well, that is a huge emotional investment an investment that until now is yet to deliver a result or anything close to a result. Year by year the obsession for our Sharks to finally win, builds and builds. No other group of league supporters has endured the pain we have.
The 4 prelim finals over the past 16 years that we've lost have been the most painful, so close to reaching the goal, but again nothing but pain.
To watch 35 000 Sharks fans unite as one on Friday night, in a location far from the Shire and then watch our team crush the premiers and have the game wrapped up with 20 to go was just extraordinary. It was if the communal pain of all these decades was being released. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life.
If Melbourne win next Sunday it will mean little. Their fans have been fortunate to see their side win multiple grand finals. Without trying to sound disrespectful, they are an artificial club created to satisfy media rights without a truely organic supporter base. If they win yet another premiership, it will be great for their players, their staff and make their supporters smile for a night. But their fans have only been around since 1998 and have tasted plenty of success so after a night of celebrating, does it really matter to them, they have't put the years and years in.
If we win it's a completely different story, the pain tens of thousands of Sharks fans have experienced for decades will be erased for good, the emotional investment that we have all put in for years will have finally paid a dividend.
To the club and the players thank you for giving us the most magical of experiences on Friday night and know that a win on Sunday changes everything.
For those that haven't seen it, have a look at this 15 sec video, it is extraordinary. Heino with his son after the victory. It sums up what this is all about. It's like that little boy represents us all, smiling, joy brought to his face by the Sharks winning. We've all been supporting them since we were his age and finally we can smile too.
Sorry for the rambling post, but I suspect many of you feel just as emotional and it's an experience only Sharks fans can feel.
Whatever the outcome next weekend I want to thank the club for the joy they gave me and tens of thousands of other fans on Friday night.
I've been so emotional over the past 48 hours my work colleagues, friends and family don't quite understand, but I'm sure you, true Sharks fans do.
For 35 of my 40 years I've gone to Shark Park every fortnight to watch our club and up until a year or so ago work for them as the ground announcer for 3 years. The only thing I care more about than the Sharks is my family and my work. Why does someone go to watch a sporting side? The ultimate goal is to enjoy a victory, the culmination of those victories a premiership. Over the course of 35 years, home game after home game and plenty of away ones as well, that is a huge emotional investment an investment that until now is yet to deliver a result or anything close to a result. Year by year the obsession for our Sharks to finally win, builds and builds. No other group of league supporters has endured the pain we have.
The 4 prelim finals over the past 16 years that we've lost have been the most painful, so close to reaching the goal, but again nothing but pain.
To watch 35 000 Sharks fans unite as one on Friday night, in a location far from the Shire and then watch our team crush the premiers and have the game wrapped up with 20 to go was just extraordinary. It was if the communal pain of all these decades was being released. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life.
If Melbourne win next Sunday it will mean little. Their fans have been fortunate to see their side win multiple grand finals. Without trying to sound disrespectful, they are an artificial club created to satisfy media rights without a truely organic supporter base. If they win yet another premiership, it will be great for their players, their staff and make their supporters smile for a night. But their fans have only been around since 1998 and have tasted plenty of success so after a night of celebrating, does it really matter to them, they have't put the years and years in.
If we win it's a completely different story, the pain tens of thousands of Sharks fans have experienced for decades will be erased for good, the emotional investment that we have all put in for years will have finally paid a dividend.
To the club and the players thank you for giving us the most magical of experiences on Friday night and know that a win on Sunday changes everything.
For those that haven't seen it, have a look at this 15 sec video, it is extraordinary. Heino with his son after the victory. It sums up what this is all about. It's like that little boy represents us all, smiling, joy brought to his face by the Sharks winning. We've all been supporting them since we were his age and finally we can smile too.
Sorry for the rambling post, but I suspect many of you feel just as emotional and it's an experience only Sharks fans can feel.
