How did you become a Manly supporter?

[Harvies elbow]

I've a horrible admission to make.
When I was very young I followed Balmain.
Dad used to work on the gate at Leichhardt so mum, my sisters and me used to sit on the hill. Plus I played in their district.
Worse, I then followed Souths because I got Bob McCarthys autograph.
But we went to the 72 GF and among memories like piddling in dads empty beer cans cause I was too young to fight my way to the dunny, was Kenny Irvine picking up a rooster some idiot let on the ground, so effortlessly.
From that moment on I was a Sea Eagle.

 

[manlyfan76]

Dad took us to Lottoland when iwas 6 or 7 to see Manly and Wombat beat the Dragons.
Living in the area it was only right and Manly were the best.

 

[Pablo]

Worse than Balmain....... i can remember being about 7 or 8 and being a Canterbury supporter and pretending i was Terry Lamb. Probably because the Dogs were on TV all the time. I only had a minor interest in League then, soccer was the sport i played.
League became my obsession in 1989. My mum and her side of the family were from the area and die hard Manly supporters so i joined in.
First game i ever went to was Manly vs Balmain in 1990 when blocker gave Eddie Ward the pat on the head.

 

[niccipops]

It happened in the womb when my brain was developing.

 

[CollaroyJo]

My Dad was a born and bred North Sydney Bears boy ...... then when I was a baby we moved to the northern beaches and he became a member of the Manly Warringah Leagues club and the football club.

We went to every game all over Sydney rain hail or shine, loved the game and the boys. But one thing I know is that it is US the supporters that are Manly....players come and go but it is us that bleed maroon and white.

 

[Killer03]

Weird for me, my family were all Roosters fans. But when I grew up (early 80s) Manly were one of the teams,and I loved their uniform and the sea eagle emblem.

 

[The '47ers]

Dale Shearer and Martin Bella came down from my hometown when i was a tacker, i was in Marty's brothers class when Marty came back to visit our primary school. I just remember him blocking the sun out and his stories about Sydney (which might as well have been the moon to a small town boy). Just couldn't fathom someone from our town playing down there. Obviously pre Bronco/ Cowboy/ Titan/Internet days! Plus everyone bagged me for supporting them (i didn't know what the hell a Silvertail was lol) but I enjoyed that too, and it just hardened my resolve.

 

[brad]

1976 , Dad won a trip through holden ( mechenic ) to tasmania so my older brother was watching us for the week with the help of my visiting grandma . He was a parra supporter and told me i was going for manly or id cop it , as an 8 year old i complied . Anyway it was the gf and best advice the tosser ever gave me .

 

[Harvies elbow]

Weird for me, my family were all Roosters fans. But when I grew up (early 80s) Manly were one of the teams,and I loved their uniform and the sea eagle emblem.

Mine followed parramatta.
Because dad worked with Ron 'Thirsty' Lynch.
The 70s were mental in our joint because of my non conformance.

 

[HoldenV8]

Late 1982 and Adelaide television actually did something VERY strange for the time. They showed the 1982 NSWRFL Grand Final.

I didn't like the team in blue and gold. Still don't.

The team in maroon and white however.....it was love at first sight. And I didn't know until my dad later told me that my aunt who lives in Cromer lived only 5 minutes from Brookie. That was a bonus

 

[mickqld]

High intelligence.

 

[BOZO]

I was a "Wog" boy from Europe ( Peter Peters land ) that was used to the world soccer game and when I saw a league match on TV it looked like a bunch of wrestlers throwing the ball around and falling on each other and I said to my self " where is the skill with this game? " Until I saw this Bozo guy wearing a Manly Jumper take the ball and dummied to his left then stepped off his right accelerated past the first line of the defence and then soccer kicked it chipped it over the fullback and scored under the the posts
What a player !!!. The greatest I have ever seen and from then on Manly was and will always be my team

 

[Andrew..]

I grew up on Collaroy plateau and can just never remember a time when I wasn't a manly supporter.
Kind of a silly story of when I was about 5 we used to have friends who lived on the other side of Sydney and when my dad was driving us home he used to go down all these (what seemed like dark dangerous lane ways) my dad used to trick me and told me to lock all the doors because it was so dangerous and then when we'd pop up past Souths leagues club it was my job to wind my window down and yell GO MANLY at the top of my voice and quickly wind up the window again..Thinking back he must of had a good laugh.
Probably sounds stupid now but it was a fun time with my Dad who's long since passed away.

 

[Harvies elbow]

I grew up on Collaroy plateau and can just never remember a time when I wasn't a manly supporter.
Kind of a silly story of when I was about 5 we used to have friends who lived on the other side of Sydney and when my dad was driving us home he used to go down all these (what seemed like dark dangerous lane ways) my dad used to trick me and told me to lock all the doors because it was so dangerous and then when we'd pop up past Souths leagues club it was my job to wind my window down and yell GO MANLY at the top of my voice and quickly wind up the window again..Thinking back he must of had a good laugh.
Probably sounds stupid now but it was a fun time with my Dad who's long since passed away.

That is a great story.

 

[Briza]

born n bred, nuff said.

 

[The '47ers]

born n bred, nuff said.

"Nuff" is not a word I would have associated with the Northern beaches

 

[BOZO]

born n bred, nuff said.

The original and the best !!!

 

[ALinda]

My mum was an avid fan and took me to Brookie in the early 70's and I was converted forever!
I can't recall the first game I saw there.
However, the oldest clear memory I have is of listening to the '72 GF in a coffee shop in Collaroy with a friend and when we won everyone around Collaroy shops/beach went crazy!

 

[sheridanstand78]

My extended family is based in the Parramatta area and worship the worms. Fortunately, my dad got work on the northern beaches and we moved there in 1974 and that was a golden time to support Manly. My dad took me to Brookvale to watch a game for the first time, he had a soft spot for Saints and he supported Manly by taking me to the games and my first hero was Graham Eadie and Brookvale to this day remains very special to me.

 

[niccipops]

I grew up on Collaroy plateau and can just never remember a time when I wasn't a manly supporter.
Kind of a silly story of when I was about 5 we used to have friends who lived on the other side of Sydney and when my dad was driving us home he used to go down all these (what seemed like dark dangerous lane ways) my dad used to trick me and told me to lock all the doors because it was so dangerous and then when we'd pop up past Souths leagues club it was my job to wind my window down and yell GO MANLY at the top of my voice and quickly wind up the window again..Thinking back he must of had a good laugh.
Probably sounds stupid now but it was a fun time with my Dad who's long since passed away.

Love it.
It sounds like your Dad was awesome.