Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
He spent $15m saving Manly, but Max doesn't think he's mad
Glenn Jackson
September 29, 2011
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/he-spent-15m-saving-manly-but-max-doesnt-think-hes-mad-20110928-1kxfs.html#ixzz1ZH24mEM0
MAX DELMEGE thinks about the $15 million occasionally, as you would. But the man who saved Manly also thinks of the prize that came before the fall. He is no doubt torn but, like someone being asked to choose which child is their favourite, he answers the question.
''Was it worth it?'' Delmege said this week. ''Yeah, it was worth it. Whatever move you make in life, you've got to say, 'If I hadn't have, I wouldn't have done this or done that.' Sure, there's other things that maybe wouldn't have happened too. I wouldn't have lost a lot of money.
''You're born with nothing, then you go - and you can't take it with you. Have I got rewards out of it? My word I have. We won the grand final 40-0, in the centenary year - the biggest win in rugby league history. What can I say?
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''To see Manly come from virtually nothing in 2002, to three grand finals in 10 years, is quite remarkable. One win so far - hopefully the second one at 15 minutes past seven on Sunday.''
What does $15 million get you these days? For Delmege, it got him a framed photograph, which hangs in his study. The photograph was taken at the 2008 grand final, of the scoreboard at ANZ Stadium. It showed the time, 7.11pm. And the score: 40-0.
Delmege no doubt wishes he could freeze time, just as that camera did. Back then, the Sea Eagles were the premiers and Delmege was the man whose deep pockets helped make it happen. But much has happened since that night. The global financial crisis hit the property developer's business hard. He now has a minimal stake (somewhere between 3 and 4 per cent) of the Sea Eagles, and is no longer a Manly director, following a falling out with the Penn family, whose members have similarly poured their fortunes into football.
Delmege's involvement, and his subsequent fall, raises the obvious question: Had he known what he does now, that he would spend $15 million on the Sea Eagles before he would hit his own financial hardship, would he have signed that first cheque for a million dollars?
''Yes, I think I would have done it,'' Delmege said. ''I never expected to be the part-owner and the major sponsor of a team that wins the grand final 40-0, and to be in the grand final in 2007. In 2002, I never expected to be in the grand final in five years, and certainly not to win it 40-0 in six years, or to be in a third one, in 2011.
''The reward is the spectators, the fans, when you see them. They're so passionate. I didn't know how big the hole was, otherwise I would have been scared away. Nevertheless, once you're in, you're in.''
He is, he says, a passionate fan himself. Growing up in Maroubra, he supported the local team, South Sydney, before his job took him to the northern beaches. He worked at LJ Hooker in Newport, opened his first real estate agency at 22, having borrowed $4000 from the bank in 1967. He built an empire out of it, and saved a football club just weeks before insolvency.
He will be at the grand final on Sunday, of course, but having been the face of Manly's financial recovery for so long, he will be in the background.
''The global financial crisis has hit me pretty hard. But my motto is: Health is wealth. That's the most important thing you can have - your health, and the health of your family and friends,'' he said. ''Truly, I've been very lucky. I'm still alive.
''As I say to people, the **** today can be gold tomorrow, because you don't know what's around the corner. Anything can happen the next day.''
His personal and professional life have become tabloid fodder. But Delmege, who is now hosting talkback radio, believes it can all change. ''My involvement was purely to ensure Manly stayed in the NRL, and the hundreds of thousands of Manly supporters continued to enjoy watching their team,'' he said.
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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/he-spent-15m-saving-manly-but-max-doesnt-think-hes-mad-20110928-1kxfs.html#ixzz1ZH1wczXT
Glenn Jackson
September 29, 2011
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/he-spent-15m-saving-manly-but-max-doesnt-think-hes-mad-20110928-1kxfs.html#ixzz1ZH24mEM0
MAX DELMEGE thinks about the $15 million occasionally, as you would. But the man who saved Manly also thinks of the prize that came before the fall. He is no doubt torn but, like someone being asked to choose which child is their favourite, he answers the question.
''Was it worth it?'' Delmege said this week. ''Yeah, it was worth it. Whatever move you make in life, you've got to say, 'If I hadn't have, I wouldn't have done this or done that.' Sure, there's other things that maybe wouldn't have happened too. I wouldn't have lost a lot of money.
''You're born with nothing, then you go - and you can't take it with you. Have I got rewards out of it? My word I have. We won the grand final 40-0, in the centenary year - the biggest win in rugby league history. What can I say?
Advertisement: Story continues below
''To see Manly come from virtually nothing in 2002, to three grand finals in 10 years, is quite remarkable. One win so far - hopefully the second one at 15 minutes past seven on Sunday.''
What does $15 million get you these days? For Delmege, it got him a framed photograph, which hangs in his study. The photograph was taken at the 2008 grand final, of the scoreboard at ANZ Stadium. It showed the time, 7.11pm. And the score: 40-0.
Delmege no doubt wishes he could freeze time, just as that camera did. Back then, the Sea Eagles were the premiers and Delmege was the man whose deep pockets helped make it happen. But much has happened since that night. The global financial crisis hit the property developer's business hard. He now has a minimal stake (somewhere between 3 and 4 per cent) of the Sea Eagles, and is no longer a Manly director, following a falling out with the Penn family, whose members have similarly poured their fortunes into football.
Delmege's involvement, and his subsequent fall, raises the obvious question: Had he known what he does now, that he would spend $15 million on the Sea Eagles before he would hit his own financial hardship, would he have signed that first cheque for a million dollars?
''Yes, I think I would have done it,'' Delmege said. ''I never expected to be the part-owner and the major sponsor of a team that wins the grand final 40-0, and to be in the grand final in 2007. In 2002, I never expected to be in the grand final in five years, and certainly not to win it 40-0 in six years, or to be in a third one, in 2011.
''The reward is the spectators, the fans, when you see them. They're so passionate. I didn't know how big the hole was, otherwise I would have been scared away. Nevertheless, once you're in, you're in.''
He is, he says, a passionate fan himself. Growing up in Maroubra, he supported the local team, South Sydney, before his job took him to the northern beaches. He worked at LJ Hooker in Newport, opened his first real estate agency at 22, having borrowed $4000 from the bank in 1967. He built an empire out of it, and saved a football club just weeks before insolvency.
He will be at the grand final on Sunday, of course, but having been the face of Manly's financial recovery for so long, he will be in the background.
''The global financial crisis has hit me pretty hard. But my motto is: Health is wealth. That's the most important thing you can have - your health, and the health of your family and friends,'' he said. ''Truly, I've been very lucky. I'm still alive.
''As I say to people, the **** today can be gold tomorrow, because you don't know what's around the corner. Anything can happen the next day.''
His personal and professional life have become tabloid fodder. But Delmege, who is now hosting talkback radio, believes it can all change. ''My involvement was purely to ensure Manly stayed in the NRL, and the hundreds of thousands of Manly supporters continued to enjoy watching their team,'' he said.
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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/he-spent-15m-saving-manly-but-max-doesnt-think-hes-mad-20110928-1kxfs.html#ixzz1ZH1wczXT
