Opting to use Swans Smart Pay to take care of his 2017 Sydney Swans Membership, Alex Waldman scored himself two tickets to this year's AFL Grand Final together with two return airfares and two night's accommodation.

Although it wasn't the result he had wished for, Alex and wife Natalie had "a magical weekend" and won't be forgetting the experience any time soon!

He shares his experiences in the entry below.

The red and white faithful can now join the Sydney Swans family for an exciting 2017 season with membership packages now officially on sale at membership.sydneyswans.com.au

It was a typical extremely busy day at work for me in March this year when I received a phone call from Amy at the Sydney Swans explaining that I’d won first prize in their Smart Pay competition. I didn’t remember entering the competition, which is why it was so amazing. I won, simply because I pay for my Swannies membership using the ‘pay by the month facility’. Something I’ve been doing since it was introduced.

I thought I won a signed Guernsey, and would have been thrilled with that, but the prize was ‘stratospherically’ better! I won two return flights to Melbourne, two night’s accommodation at the Pullman on the Park (across the road from the MCG) and two tickets to the AFL Grand Final! I nearly fell off my chair!

And that was even before we knew the beloved Sydney Swans would be in the Grand Final. What an absolute bonus! Who could have planned this better?

Fast forward to the Grand Final weekend we had been eagerly awaiting for months. On Friday, my beautiful wife and I arrive at the Pullman Hotel which was decked out in Swans and Bulldogs colors. The atmosphere was amazing and everyone was very excited as celebrations began.

A quick weather check on Saturday morning revealed the weather was a bit “iffy”. Never mind, we came prepared! At 11.30am we walked down to the stadium amongst a sea of very passionate red, white, but mostly blue fans. The atmosphere was electric but it felt like it was going to be a “Swans vs The Whole of Victoria” Grand Final. And it was…

The view from Alex and Natalie's seats!

We took our seats in the top section of the MCG – a stadium like no other. Despite the seats and bays rising almost vertical, you are still very much part of the game and can see everything so clearly.  It’s amazingly built.

While the atmosphere was exhilarating, we were clearly outnumbered by Bulldogs supporters and Victorians who just wanted the Doggies to win. The pre-game entertainment was fantastic and the highlight for us was Sting.

When the whistle blew for first bounce, the crowd went absolutely mad. The game was great. Noone wanted to take their eye off the field for a second in case they missed something. It was incredible to see and hear just how passionate people were about the Swans and Bulldogs.

In the last 10 minutes and when the full time siren sounded the crowd went ballistic. There were big, burly men in front of us crying and people hugging complete strangers. It was a real privilege to witness history that day at the MCG.

Suffice to say the game didn’t go as planned for our beloved Swannies, however, it was one of those fairytale AFL stories that will forever be told.

It was all put into perspective for me back at the hotel. We were sitting at the bar having our commiseration drinks, watching the post-match coverage on a large screen TV, when a ‘mature-age’ Bulldogs supporter walked over, covered in blue, red and white. He stopped in front of the TV with a huge grin, clearly soaking up every ounce of joy. He then turned to me in my Swannies gear and said, “commiserations, my friend. But what a great game that was!”

I stood up and agreed that it was a brilliant game indeed and that the Dogs  deserved to win, as they were the better side on the day. With a tear in his eye he says to me, “son – I’ve waited all my life for this day.” He was just seven years old when they last won the flag.

It was an unforgettable experience and a magical weekend. Thank you Swans and here’s to a 2017 win!