Over the last 20 years, supporting my various teams has definitely given rise to some grim times.
Despite trying to suppress them, each embarrassing loss remains unforgettable.
If I simply scrape the surface of my memory, I can remember each one vividly – where I was, what I was doing and how I was feeling. Whenever I think about these games I have a sick feeling in my stomach.
Games like the grand final qualifier in 1998, when the Parramatta Eels led the Canterbury Bulldogs 18-2 with ten minutes to go, looking all but set to qualify for the club’s first grand final in 12 years.
What followed were some of the most traumatic minutes of my young life, involving Craig Polla-Mounter and Daryl Halligan.
Parramatta lost that game 32-20 and I still am yet to recover. In fact, mention that game to any Parramatta fan and watch their face turn white and their eyes widen in horror.
I’ve got plenty more where that came from.
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What about the Eels losing the 2001 grand final to the Newcastle Knights by 30-24, despite being the best team all year and breaking almost every record there was to break in rugby league history?
Or 2005, when Parra lost to the North Queensland Cowboys in the grand final qualifier by 29-0 despite, again, being the best team that year and being favourites heading into that game. Afterwards, I locked myself in my room for a week and listened to Fix You by Coldplay on repeat.
Traumatised. Devastated. Sick. Melancholy. That’s how I remember feeling after each one of those losses.
But no matter how grim the situation, there’s one thing I have never, ever done – boo my football team.
I’ve booed the opposition. I’ve booed particular players on opposing teams. I might have even booed a refereeing decision at one point, but booing my team is something with which I fundamentally disagree.
On Sunday I travelled the almost two hours from Sydney to Newcastle to watch the Knights take on the Wests Tigers. This was the first time in 18 months that the Knights went into a game as favourites and, after their performance against the St George Illawarra Dragons last weekend, I was expecting a win for the red and blue.
But the Knights didn’t even come close to a win – in fact, at the end of the first half they were 20-nil down.
It’s devastating to think that even though the Knights were playing one of the lowest-ranked teams on the ladder, and despite how much the team has improved this year, they still faced such a margin at halftime and were so far off the mark.
Despite a first 40 which was characterised by silly mistakes, plenty of dropped ball and a lack of creativity in attack, I was certainly surprised when the siren went and the Knights players walked towards the sheds with their heads down.
I was surprised because I noticed that a couple (and I mean a couple) of Newcastle fans stood on their seats and booed their team off the field – yelling things like “You should be embarrassed”, “Don’t bother coming out for the second half” and, what they thought was straight to the point – “You stink”.
I am certainly not tarring all Knights fans with the same brush. In fact, I respect Newcastle fans almost more than any other fan-base in the competition, because more than any other in recent times they really have stayed true.
It speaks volumes about how passionate Newcastle fans are about their team that, even though their team has only won three games in almost two years, 19,531 people turned up on Sunday. These are the sorts of crowds that some of the Sydney clubs dream about and it is truly a testament to the commitment Novocastrians have to their footy team.
If any team has earnt the right to boo their football team, it’s Knights fans.
But no fan ever earns this right.
As a fan, I see my job as to support my team almost unconditionally. The men that take the field spend hours training every single week. They put their bodies on the line. At any point, they are one tackle away from serious injury. In my heart of hearts, I believe that these men take the field each week wanting to win.
Sometimes it may not look that way. It may look like they have a poor attitude, or they haven’t turned up. It’s those weeks that the players need the fans more than ever.
What does booing achieve? Some people say it shows passion. Some people say it motivates the players. Some think that just because they pay money to watch a football game that it gives them the right to do and say whatever they like.
But yelling abuse and booing players after a poor performance could not possibly make them feel any worse than they already do.
As a fan, my job is to lift the spirits of my players and those around me – I do that by cheering. Or by staying silent when others may resort to booing.
You can boo bad sportsmanship. You can boo foul play. But don’t ever try to convince me that it is OK to boo your football team – no matter how grim the circumstances.
Roger Ramjet
Guest
Booing is a cheap way out for people frustrated that they were never ever good enough to play that sport at any reasonable level and think they are still experts- Some become Journalists and most others end up on sites like this.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
I thought you were going to call it the Mitchell Moses Syndrome for certain!!
anon
Roar Pro
I think in professional sports if you're not getting a professional effort you are entitled to let the players aware of it. The old zone based clubs that existed as part of a community I think is different. AFL and NRL are run as profit driven enterprises where they view the fsns as customers.
K. Night
Guest
How can you compare missing out on a grand final to a team that will get the third wooden spoon in a row. We are a passionate bunch and we look forward to watching and supporting our team, but Sunday was enough. I am a long term member and will not attend the next home game based on the performance of the team. The boos were for the coach the mgmt and the team. I hope they resonate in their minds so they never want to feel that way again. Perhaps that will make them show up next time.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
I missed this whole saga!!
Matt H
Roar Guru
But we can still boo Bernard Tomic, right?
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
But extremely loyal.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
This is an entirely different situation - perhaps I was too definitive with the word 'never' - but 'why you shouldn't boo your team in most circumstances' didn't have the same ring as a title!
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
That's actually a really good point. Is it not like this in other parts of the world?
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
I put this story on Twitter yesterday and I got the 'booourns' gif several times. And loved it every time.
BigJ
Roar Guru
This just popped into head to quote Jar Jar Binks "no, no, not really no. The bosses would do terrible things to him, terrible things if he went there" ha ha
Swanny
Guest
Knights fans are not the smartest breed of people
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Oh man.... that is a little bit funny.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
How bad was that Waratahs game?!!
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Hello terrence! Yes indeed, those forms were a real pain in the backside. My last name fit... just but with my middle name (Elizabeth) it became that much trickier. P.P.S No not married. But if I ever do get married, I am keeping the last name!
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Andy og, I fundamentally believe there are plenty of ways for the average fan to deliver feedback that don't involve booing.
Andy og
Guest
And how does the average fan get to.deliver that feedback Mary and who listens to a single.squeak,that's why a collective roar is needed. Properly used the boo can be the catalyst for change
Carl
Guest
But I was saying boo-urns! I personally wouldn't say anything about any person or team. It does give a lot of theatre though. Sport is entertainment. And entertainment rules in this modern world.
terrence
Guest
Hi Mary, You must have got writer's cramp doing exams on those old ABCD forms after having to colour in all those circles filling out your last name on the front page. Did you ever find an answer sheet that didn't fully cover your name? PS. You can boo your team at half time at home if they haven't put in. Ask dragon fans (not that it always works, but gee it does on a regular basis). PSS. Are you married? Have you thought of becoming Ms Mary Konstantopoulus-McQuewick and having kids with hyphenated last names and really long first names for them?
Mantra
Guest
What if they were caught throwing a game. There were a lot of suspicions around a team not in Sydney west when playing the Cowboys in 2009 in a favourite sons last game in Sydney ( he is still at the club as a assistant coach). Google Jacqueline Magnay, Halloran, Duff Sydney Morning herald "Results 'fixed' in betting swindle"