A couple of years ago, I worked as an editor on the book Joffa: Isn’t That Life?
Who is Joffa? Just some Pies bogan. Toothless. Unemployed. Foul-mouthed. Another feral among the unwashed masses.
A goof who only gained notoriety because of the gold jacket he dons when it looks like Collingwood might win – and fortunately, that’s increasingly infrequent (haha).
Footy’s amazing, in that you’ll generally make snap assumptions on any personalities associated with it, with little or no information.
But a preconception will form, and if enough people believe in it, it develops its own life. Get the media involved, and it becomes a truth – or at least the one that is bandied commonly around.
And the idea that Joffa is just some nobody with too much fame and too little sense to deserve it is the image that’s propagated and championed through the media.
Why not? It makes for good copy. Besides, how many headlines have you read that have little-to-no correlation with the reality of a story? But we’re in a new age – the internet age, the social media age, the click-bait age, where sensationalising is paramount.
Reality’s been left on a curb somewhere, forlorn and unrecognisable.
As far as Joffa goes, I know him the way I know a lot of my Collingwood brethren – I’ll see them at games, have a conversation here and there, and that’s it. We don’t catch up or chat regularly, but we’re part of the same family and, generally, the only time we reconnect is at family outings – namely, the games.
It annoys me, though, when he – or anybody I know – is unjustifiably bad-mouthed. I know it shouldn’t, that it is just talk, but it does. Because the people involved deserve better.
We at Busybird Publishing are a tiny operation – just three full-timers and several interns. We release a handful of books each year and usually they have some altruistic outcome infused into their production.
We’ve done books on breast cancer and prostate cancer, with a portion of proceeds going to cancer foundations. One of the bosses trekked up to Mount Everest Base Camp and back, and shot a gorgeous photographic journal. Part of the proceeds of that went to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, to raise awareness and funds for CMT, a degenerative and incurable nerve condition from which the bosses’ son suffers, and which curtailed a promising career in football.
There’s been other things – one of our new books will be giving money to the Seeing-Eye Dog Associations, and one of our novels to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. We try to be community minded.
When my bosses (both Hawthorn supporters) and I talked about football one lunch, we started discussing Joffa. They’d read an article about him in the papers, but I knew Joffa enough to tell them he wasn’t the person portrayed in the media.
We got him in and discovered he had a story to tell that others might benefit from. His autobiography was the result.
Joffa was brought up in an abusive household, was homeless at 14, has a daughter who suffers from epilepsy, and volunteers tirelessly for several charities, including the Epilepsy Foundation (who can’t speak highly enough of him). As for that gold jacket he dons? It’s auctioned off every year, with the proceeds going to the foundation (as do a portion of his book’s proceeds).
He believes in the community of football, and credits football – and the family he became a part of going to games – with saving his life from unravelling when he was homeless.
Some of you mightn’t care, but it shows he’s thoughtful, compassionate, and charitable; that he believes in a society where the greater good is important, and that football should be fun – full of good-natured characters and fun rivalries.
This mightn’t matter to you. It mightn’t matter to most. But it shows there are a lot of people associated with the game who are good people, but have these misconceptions tarred to them.
It might be a fan, it might be a player, it might be somebody in the media. Just remember, there’s a lot more to the person than the scuttlebutt.
And everybody has a story to tell.
Digga
Guest
There are misconceptions about Joffa. We all just like to put ?$!% on our opposition. It is just ribald fun.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Thanks, BigAl. I think he likes to play it up at times, but it's all part of being a character -- something he values in football's audiences.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Thanks, Penster. He's definitely gracious with his time. And you nail it: he turned 'great adversity in his own life to help others'. I know he likes to try pass that message on.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Hi, Gyfox. Yep, you're right. Joffa does work for the Salvation Army, which makes his charity work so amazing. He's constantly looking at giving back to the community.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Thanks, AdelaideDocker. That's the beauty about football -- the way it does appeal across the board to all different types.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Exactly, Paul. He is the nicest, humblest guy when you meet him, which isn't always the way he's portrayed.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Thanks, mds1970. Yep. Exactly. Joffa's a great example of somebody who used what's happened in his life in a constructive way and to help others.
Les Zig
Roar Guru
Thanks, Milo. Love the game and the stands when it's full of good-natured characters.
BigAl
Guest
No ! rangas have now been added to the list - the only thing you can get away with now are blonde jokes.
Brad
Guest
No worse than rich melbourne supports or richmond supports that only get on the bandwagon when they are going good. It is one of the few things left we can get stereotypical on. I often joke now red heads are the last thing you are born with you can openly joke about with out worrying about a lecture
BigAl
Guest
I have heard Joffa speak on a couple of occasions , and he is obviously interesting and smart. I get the impression that the 'perception' of him you mention is something he works on, and more power to him !
Penster
Roar Guru
Great article and I'd like to contribute to your words. Some years ago was watching a Collingwood match with my kids, the Pies were winning and I told them to watch Joffa as he'd "declare" by putting on a gold jacket. We waited and waited for this exciting event but the gold jacket didn't appear even tho they had a good win. So we googled to see what happened to the gold jacket and along with discovering he'd auctioned it for charity, found out a lot more about Joffa the man behind the gold jacket. As you describe, what a legend, what a compassionate, hard working, generous man. At the time, my daughter was doing a school assignment called "Unsung heroes" and she chose Joffa. We contacted him via his social media account, to ask some questions about his life and let him know that he was subject of this assignment. He was terribly generous and gracious with his time, emailing us directly providing a lot of information, even tho we declared our allegiance was with the Hawks - he even said that he had a great admiration for the Hawks! Les, thanks for giving this true blue Aussie hero a plug, a bloke who turned around great adversity in his own life to help others. Joffa is the epitome of an unsung hero and Collingwood supporters should be proud to call him their own.
Gyfox
Guest
Les - I thought that Joffa worked for the Salvation Army? Had the pleasure of him sitting next to me at Mass at the Anglican Church in Brunswick last year, to my surprise!
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, I guess the 'cashed up bogan' stereotype is true sometimes, haha. I know friends of a friend who live up in Noosa or somewhere on the Sunshine Coast and their kids are massive Pies fans, but their nowhere near the stereotype (cashed up, live on the coast + drive BMW's) so I was a bit taken aback when they told me they were fans. Guess footy fans come in all shapes and sizes though, aye.
Paul D
Roar Guru
There's a lot of cashed up bogans these days supporting the Pies One of the execs at my old work was a huge Pies fan, she and her husband both. Lived in a posh apartment down at Docklands and was on the Docklands chamber of commerce. About as far from the stereotype as you could get.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Great article, Les. I agree with everyone else who's commented that he's great for the game, because he absolutely is. I love to see the passion the dude has for his club. Reminds me of a Richmond supporter that I regularly see at games - the man who wears a massive amount of badges(?) on his Richmond attire. He gives me a laugh every time the cameras spot him! The portrayal of Collingwood fans as 'bogans' is the biggest exaggeration in the AFL world, I reckon. I know a couple of Collingwood fans, and their as far from "bogan" as one can possibly be. It's just such an engrained stereotype that it isn't going to disappear anytime soon, unfortunately.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I'd love the Lions to have someone like Joffa at our club. Adds tremendous character and is a lightning rod for supporters everywhere. I think he's great for the game
mds1970
Roar Guru
Good article. Joffa has his public persona, and he lives up to it well. But there's many sides to everyone, and Joffa's no exception. While he's passionate about his footy, he's also a volunteer and fundraiser for charity and no doubt does other things with his life as well. I met him once, about 15 years ago. He loves his team, but that's OK. He's had challenges in his life, but he's done a lot of good along the way. I've got no problem with him.
Milo
Roar Rookie
Thanks Les, enjoyed the read. Long let there be the Joffa's of this world. Both at the ground and away from it.
Pumping Dougie
Guest
Interesting story Les and good article - thanks.