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SOUTH SYDNEY RABITTOHS
BRONCOS 16 defeated SOUTHS 10 on Sunday 23-Aug-98.
The following was posted to the Broncos mailing list on Mon 24-Aug
A Sydney-Based Broncos Supporter's review of the Souths game.
We were a bit worried about going to the SFS yesterday. We were told that you are not allowed to bring large flags into the ground (poles larger than 1m in length)... But we all remembered seeing South Sydney flags on TV, the large green and red striped ones with CANON written on them.... So we were sure that we could negotiate with security to let us bring our flags in. How could they let Souths' fans bring their flags in and not us? We have never been stopped about our flags before, maybe that is because we get girls to carry the flags in, and the security guards don't think girls can do much damage with a 1.5m broomstick/flag pole.... They have obviously not seen or heard us at the football!!!
Eventually the security guards let us through the gate, but they told us that we had to sit in Bay 28 (or was that Bay 26???). The Souths supporters with the large flags usually sit in Bay 27 (on the 30m line), but Bay 28 was almost in the corner, on the 20m line...... Bay 26 was on the 40m line... I'm sure they said Bay 26... Close enough!! If we are enthusiastic enough to get there before they open the gates, we should be able to sit where we want!!!!!
As soon as we got to our seats, one of the boys in the SBBS had his bugle confiscated by a Nazi security guard..... Because, "the members might get upset by the noise..." This is a football stadium isn't it? Perhaps the members can't tell the difference between opera and football....
By the time the game started, all of the regular SBBS people had assembled and other Broncos supporters from other sections of the ground started flocking towards our flags in Bay 26. We had our usual flags plus Jenny (Mak) had a "Bronco Power" banner. The stadium was sparcely populated (the crowd was only 7,000), but of the people who were sitting in "Bay 26", 80% must have been Broncos fans!! By half time, we had a least 70 Broncos fans within a 20m radius, completely going off, yelling, screaming and doing chants. Thanks to everyone who joined in!!
The whole game was seat of the pants stuff and the Souths crowd were very vocal. I don't know if they are usually that vocal, perhaps it had something to do with how close the score was, or the fact that they were playing the Broncos, or if it was a reaction to our group of Broncos supporters. It made for a great atmosphere, however. We had 70 odd Broncos fans cheering, but we didn't seem to make that much noise in comparison to the 7,000 Souths supporters, but we did try our best! We should congratulate the Souths team for playing tough football and for the support that the Souths fans showed, it made for a great game.
The Broncos played scary football yesterday, they almost gave us all heart attacks. But they only need to win 3 games in a row now (or 3/4) to win the Grand Final, they don't need to to win by 50 points, just win. Next game is vs Norths or Paramatta, I hope they get their attack and defence in order in time. Did they show the Souths' player who had a fit, on TV? It was quite scary. I don't remember the player's name, but he had convulsions for about a minute. The Broncos' players rushed around to see if they could help, but the Souths' players stood back watching!! One of us yelled out to the Souths' players to show some loyalty and help their team mate, but they just looked at us! Eventually one of the Souths' players went over to see how he was.... Thankfully the guy seemed to recover and he was medivac-ed off the field (he was clapped off the field by everyone). I heard on the radio later that he had suffered a collision induced fit and that he had no past history of this, hope he recovers OK.
The crowd of Souths' supporters in Bay 27 (we were in Bay 26 so they were right next door) were giving us heaps all throughout the game. I think this is the section where Wade Singleton usually sits. Wade who? You know, that big Souths fan who went on the footy show with his wife in her wedding dress. Apparently he has been to every single Souths game this year, all 24!! I sure hope he wasn't the guy we told to visit Jenny Craig cause he had a fat arse... Oops!! But that was *after* they told us to kiss their arses... They gave us heaps about Super League, we gave them heaps about how Souths wouldn't exist next year.... At the end of the game the best line they could come up with was that the Broncos only beat Souths by 6... They then proceeded to sing, "We're all going to State League" to the tune of Painters and Dockers "We're all going to Nude School". It sounds like they are resigned to not existing in the NRL next year.....
It's impossible for us to go to a game in Sydney and not get harassed and insulted by opposition fans. The fans of Sydney teams love to insult the Broncos fans, but I think we've becoming quite skillful in matching their insults. At least we didn't get anything thrown at us yesterday!
After the game finished, we were still bantering with the Souths supporters, when the Nazi security guards returned..... They seemed extremely worried about our verbal exchanges and told us "That's enough" and advised us to pack up and leave... They then proceeded to stand over us as we packed up. By this stage there was no one else left in the stadium, so they had nothing better to do than watch us pack up. We met a few new faces yesterday, people who are on this list. Hello to everyone who turned up!! Hope you had a great day!! Although it was a close game, and the Broncos were expected to win by heaps, it was definitely one of the best games we have been to this year! We were all certainly smiling by the end of it. I've heard that the Sydney Based Broncos Supporters were featured heavily during the TV coverage, so congrats to everyone who sat with the SBBS yesterday!
cya,
Jeanette.
Last updated on 30-8-98