DEMONS TAKE OVER HOUSE
FANS’ AMAZING PAINT JOB:
MELBOURNE diehard Stephen Bond has lived through 57 years of heartbreak.
The Jan Juc football fanatic was an 11-year-old when the Demons last won the grand final in 1964.
Since then, the club has made the grand final twice – in 1988 and 2000. Both ended in losses.
When his club thrashed Geelong by 83 points on Friday to make its first grand final appearance in 21 years, Mr Bond knew he had to act.
He and wife Caryn dashed to the hardware shop to buy cans of blue and red house paint.
They even plastered a poster of captain Max Gawn on the chimney.
When they were done, the Bonds were sure their neighbours had no doubt where their allegiances lay.
“I’ve lived through an era where we’ve only seen disaster,” Mr Bond said.
“When we beat Geelong to finish at the top of the table was probably one of the highlights of my life.
“Max Gawn was a leader – he played a fantastic game; the whole team did. It was the best quarter of football in my living memory.”
Mr Bond said Melbourne membership was compulsory in his family, with his wife, two children, their partners and grandchildren all fans of the Demons.
He said while he was devastated to not be able to watch the grand final in person, he was grateful to be able to have two weeks of finals lead-up.
“I would cut off my left arm – I’d love to be there," he said.
“What can you do though? I have family in Western Australia who are going to be there as our reps.”
Mr Bond said the most challenging aspect was not being able celebrate his team’s success with mates.
“I’ve been going to the footy with the same people for 40 years and we’ve had the bleakest of times,” he said. “Now we can't be there together. Not being able to physically enjoy it with others is my biggest disappointment.”
As for the fate of his red and blue house – Mr Bond said if the Dees lost it could be bulldozed.
If not, Max Gawn could become a regular feature of Deal Ave.