With Adelaide United Memberships for the 2016/17 season now on sale, we’re highlighting some of the first Reds fans to sign up!
When did you start supporting AUFC? Why?
I started supporting AUFC from day one… there was never any doubt for me. My mate Ryan ‘Badger’ Martin took me to an Adelaide City (NSL) match around 1994 and I was hooked. I believe it was the game that Damien Mori scored a goal from kick off in World record time. It was a case of whatever team was to be on the national stage from South Australia, I would support in the A-League
What made you fall in love with the Club and what made you become a member?
Early days of AUFC I would go on my own and this is where I met some good people in the crowds who I am still friends with. We’re a family. Back when there was many splinter groups popping up from the Red Army. We try and mix it up a bit and bring flags, streamers, balloons, and quirky captions on banners that many media outlets like to use for their headlines like ‘Eugenius’ and ‘Go Go MABIL’. To be able to do this for a team you love is pure passion.
How long have you been a member of AUFC?
I’ve been a member since day one, I’ve have also supported Glasgow Rangers for a long time before Adelaide United were formed, If Rangers were to play against Adelaide, my decision to support Adelaide United wouldn’t be hard at all.
What is your favourite memory from a Reds match? Why?
The 2016 Grand Final is my favourite event of AUFC history but the best moment was 2010/11 season against Melbourne Victory away at AAMI Park in Melbourne, I had been to many away games agianst Victory and not seen us win, until then. 4-1, when Sergio van Dijk hit that cracker free-kick, our away bay was bouncing. I did enjoy when we had two supporter groups at Coopers too, with the Red Army and South End coordinating the atmosphere around the stadium was something different.
If you could say anything to a Reds fan who is thinking of becoming a member, but hasn’t yet, what would you say?
The atmosphere at Coopers is massive. There are a ton of memories you will get with becoming a member. You’ll cherish moments when supporting AUFC, don’t get me wrong the lows are painful, but everyone around you are feeling it too but we all stick together like family and get each other back up again. I look forward to football season, seeing my mates, the characters in the crowd, everyone has a story, you only have to look at the Red Army and just take in the atmosphere they generate. Becoming a member is about more than just the football; it’s about family.
