We'll be back...

I would like to first thank all my friends for their phone calls and text messages, expressing their "concern" for my wellbeing and offering a breakdown of yesterday's AFL grand final with phrases such as "It was a really close game... until the last quarter" and "I was going for Collingwood too.... no really, I was"

Seriously I thank you. But I'm fine. I drowned my bad mood in scotch and got on with my night.

Yes. I am a Collingwood supporter. And you wouldn't be able to identify me as a stereotypical "Collingwood fan" if you saw me down the street. I have all my teeth. I have a job. I live in my own home, with only my immediate family. I have a car, with petrol in the tank. And I'm not a grandma.

Background (if you're still reading) into why I follow Collingwood.

I was raised in a NRL household. Not overly sporting mad but my family, being from Brisbane, are Bronco fans. And Queenslanders. Over the years NRL started to play a bigger part in my family's life. My sister is a bit mental for sport you see.

When I met my lovely (but sports mad) husband, Patrick, it was not much of a surprise that he too was a Broncos fan, and Queenslander. He (like my sister) insisted on watching every game he could. Which meant the TV was off limits on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. And sometimes Mondays.

Well it all got too much. So I broke the trend and decided to follow AFL.

Up until now, AFL had not really registered on my radar. I knew about it and could name some teams but didn't have a clue how it was played or what the rules were. But damn those boys looked good!

So I sat down one weekend (somehow I managed to get Patrick away from the TV) and watched all the games crappy Brisbane TV showed me. My plan was to watch all the games and pick a team based on that one weekends research. I didn't want to follow Brisbane based exclusively on the fact that I'm a Brisbane girl, I wanted to follow one of the older Victorian teams. I'd told my family my plan. Their advice? Support anyone by Collingwood.

That weekend I remember a Lions game being shown, and the Kangaroos V Collingwood. Collingwood it was and has been, since. And now my darling daughters are Pies fans who love to sing the teams song at family events.

Love them or hate them it's up to you. But don't judge me based on that one fact.

We'll be back next year... Just you wait and see!