Sydney Swans member Ailsa Piper shares her experience of being a Swans member and what the Bloods mean to her.

I moved to Sydney in early 2015. After 28 years in Melbourne with my husband, Peter - shouting for his adored Cats - I was alone. He had died suddenly a year earlier, and I'd realised I couldn’t stay in a place where there was a memory of him on every corner. Even though they were happy, they made me sad. 

So I packed up our house and history, and drove up the Hume. I found a home, made new friends, reconnected with old ones, completed work on a book, and settled into walking steep harbour trails instead of the flat tracks beside Port Phillip Bay. But something was missing. 

Pictured above: Ailsa Piper, Jane Palyfreyman and David Kirk at a Sydney Swans match.

I didn’t know what it was until my publisher, Jane Palfreyman (a passionate Swannees Ambassador) took me along to a game. I shouted. I laughed. I danced to Neil Diamond. I waved to Siggy, and screamed for Buddy and the team. I signed on as a member as soon as I could!

That was the beginning of a very particular kind of healing. Having a team of my own gave me a significant part of my new identity. I still remember the Cats days with pride and affection, but the red and white offered me rowdy solace - and belonging. Sitting in the SCG stand as the sun set behind Sydney’s skyline, I felt life pumping through me in a way I hadn't for ages. It was pure unadulterated fun. It was joy. It was tribal.

One memorable day, I bumped into Adam Goodes in the foyer of the ABC in Ultimo. He was doing an interview about his foundation. Emboldened by the fact that I was now a Swan, I went up to him and told him what his courage and dignity had always meant to me. I don’t think I’d have dared to approach him if I had not been a member - he was a hero and they can be intimidating. Not him. He was generous, curious and welcoming.

Welcoming…

That’s the word I associate with my Swans experience. 

It does help that Sweet Caroline gets such airplay at the games! My Mum loved Hot August Night, so when I sit in the stands, I remember my mother and of my husband - and I feel pretty sure that both of them would join me in cheering for the red and white, knowing what a restorative force the Swans have been for me. Well, maybe Pete wouldn’t shout when we play Geelong, but then, that’s right, too...

I can’t wait to get back to the SCG to cheer again. Go Swans!