AN APSLEY woman has an ironic connection to the Adelaide Crows.
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Maureen Reader’s late mother was named Adelaide Crowe – having the name well before the club was founded in 1990.
Mrs Crowe was a dedicated supporter of the Crows and in 1997, when the team won their first AFL premiership, the club organised a car to take her to the game.
“They interviewed her at each quarter,” she said.
“A group of footballers came up to her after the game and talked to her. It was a wonderful few weeks.”
Mrs Crowe went to the 1998 grand final but Mrs Reader said she wasn’t well at the age of 84 and had to pace herself.
“I remember we had to produce her birth certificate to show her name was actually Adelaide Crowe,” she said. “We used to make jokes and say that they named the club after her. It’s just one of those coincidences.”
Dianne Schmidt of Horsham is a Crows supporter and said she became very nervous when she watched the team play.
“Most of the time, I can’t watch until five or 10 minutes are left in the game,” she said. “I just start cleaning and pacing around the house.”
Mrs Schmidt said leading into the season, she thought the Crows would fare better than the previous year – but didn’t expect them to make the grand final.
“Part of the reason I had started following them was because Mark Ricciuto, a captain, was from the area I grew up in,” she said.
Mrs Schmidt said she hoped the game was in the Crows’ favour.
“I hope it’s not too close so I can watch the game,” she said. “Dusty (Richmond’s Dustin Martin, the 2017 Brownlow Medallist) is only getting one medal this week.”
Phoebe Weier of Horsham has been a dedicated Crows supporter since she was a child. Her mother Anne Weier and grandmother Merna Vwar are avid supporters.
Ms Weier was originally from Queensland and didn’t follow the AFL before moving to South Australia.
“When you live in South Australia you either go for Port (Adelaide) or the Crows – and I definitely wasn’t going for Port,” she said.
“I was probably eight when we moved.”
Ms Weier said she got stuck into people at her workplace – particularly a Carlton supporter regarding Crows player Eddie Betts moving to the Adelaide camp after years playing for the Blues.
“The last game I went to this year was the Essendon game,” she said.
“I think the Sydney game left me upset for the whole weekend. It definitely contributes to my world whether we win or lose.”
The year Ms Weier and her family moved to South Australia was 1998 – the year the Crows won the premiership.
“It’s been a long time since that premiership,” she said.
“We have been really close in the past couple of years. I wasn’t sure we would do it this year but we have and it feels pretty good.”
It definitely contributes to my world whether we win or lose.
- Phoebe Weier