Famous fans face nervous tension
When great mates and Fremantle Dockers diehards Luc Longley and Tim Winton get together to watch their beloved team, each adopts a game day routine.
In nailbiting moments, author Winton paces in the kitchen. Longley will mix-up his seating position to bring on a change in fortunes.
"If I feel like the team needs something different, I'll sit in a different place on the couch or I'll go for wine instead of a beer," basketball great Longley said.
From the moment the club was forged, these Fremantle legends have supported it.
Winton was at the team's first training session, his son Jesse was the first Docker for a Day and the writer plans to be at the club's first grand final, should Fremantle get there. "They've earned this," he said. "They've got a great coach, they've worked hard, they've been smart and it's wonderful to see a team reach maturity."
Longley, who enjoyed three NBA titles, is reluctant to talk about the grand final for fear of jinxing it.
But the Dockers' former No.1 ticket holder is happy to reflect on his favourite moments, such as the rare late 90s victories which he made Chicago Bulls teammates watch on plane trips.
"After a while (former Bulls coach) Phil Jackson told me I wasn't allowed to show them unless the Dockers started winning - it was bad for team morale," he laughed. "I should send him games from this season."
Winton recalled post-match train trips to Fremantle in the early years when hordes of fans would chant "one in a row, one in a row".
"But now the team doesn't have to walk around with its head down as the butt of all the cross-town jokes, the also-rans, the newcomer. It's a nice feeling," Winton said.
The pair met more than 10 years ago through the Save Ningaloo Reef campaign, and have bonded through their love of all things Freo.
Winton, whose upcoming novel Eyrie is set in Fremantle, said the Dockers' colourful characters and sense of community set them apart.
"They're not just a corporate invention," he said. "They represent a real, living community and that's something we cling to in the port."
