Signing her young family up as inaugural members of the Gold Coast Football Club was an easy decision says Telstra’s Gold Coast Area General Manager Samantha Kennedy.
‘We wanted to be on board from the word go,’ she says. ‘We wanted to be able to say we were there when the journey started, that we supported the club from the very beginning. It’s rare to have that opportunity.’
Kennedy – wife to Matt, mother to Daisy, two, and Peggy, six months - says the unifying impact of AFL culture is what attracts her to the game.
‘At a game you could have a neurosurgeon sitting next to janitor but they still have plenty in common. I love that about AFL.’
She also says that Gold Coasters' inherent loyalty to their home will hold the club in good stead.
‘It’s important to be proud of your community, and jumping on board the new club is a terrific way to fly the flag,’ she says.
Kennedy says the formation of an AFL team on the Gold Coast is in a sense the icing on the cake after her family’s move north from Melbourne three years ago.
‘I think every parent who’s experienced the collective spirit of AFL first hand dreams of tossing their son or daughter on their shoulders and making the walk to the ground on game day. In fact, before we moved up here on one of the things we said we’d miss the chance to take the kids to the footy. Well, we don’t have that problem anymore, do we!’
She did have to overcome one roadblock on the way to signing up.’
My husband’s an over the top St Kilda supporter,’ she says. ‘His mother used to go to St Kilda games in the early ‘70’s when she was pregnant with him. He’s always reminding people that he was red, white and black before he was even born. That’s AFL for you, isn’t it.’
Even so, Kennedy says her husband’s one-eyed fanaticism hasn’t stopped him from inheriting a second team.
‘To be honest, he didn’t require too much convincing. He’s really looking forward to seeing football week-in-week-out and having a local team to support. We all are.’
