Territory rig
FASHIONS ON THE FIELD There’s more to footy final attire than just scarfs, beanies and stains from a meat pie peppering an old jersey
IT starts with a scarf, a beanie or a peaked cap, but the most committed among the spectator stands amass training tops, anniversary accessories and player signed jumpers. What is it with sport teams and their fans’ unwavering passionate support, extending to beyond a membership or match day attendance to decking themselves out in top to toe merchandise?
It’s garments beyond game day for unofficial mascots who line the grandstands with a touch of sports glamour, albeit entrenched in sponsor logos, swimming in a rainbow of colour and dancing among streamers.
The bright colours, the blue and yellow of the Eagles and Eels, the muted monochrome of Collingwood’s black and white, the Christmas colour palette of the Rabbitohs are but a handful of a colour palette that seemingly knows no bounds, or perhaps, as the subject was suggest, is out of bounds.
Typically conservative individuals become vocal, passionate fans who scream from the sidelines squeal the theme song, and throw their life on the line for the autograph of the generation — the selfie.
The same enthusiasm extends to sports fan dress code. We all know those people who love a theme but this is to the extreme — be it trackside, courtside or on game day, all their usual style is parked like the 12th man on the reserve’s bench as they wrap themselves in the team colours and opt for face paint over fake tan. When champion thoroughbred mare Black Caviar graced the racecourses across Australia, and then internationally, her unbeaten time on the track not only created records but a sea of salmon pink and black for the smallest to the oldest of racegoers.
As Makybe Diva galloped to her record third consecutive Melbourne Cups, the trackside accessory to have was a cardboard cut-out eye mask in the colours of her jockey silks.
If you’re keen to see such a style spectacle, tune in to next weekend’s grand final festival, where sports fans are spoiled for choice as the AFL holy grail is on Saturday followed by the NRL main event the following day.
But first, let’s turn our attention to tomorrow night’s Brownlow. Now there’s some footy fashion worth watching!