“It seemed like they were just really pleased to have me come along. I asked what time kick off was and they asked what time worked for me, which made me feel really appreciated as a fan.”
Bill Jenson (39) is a Sydney Roosters tragic. He absolutely loves them, and makes it to pretty much all of their home games.
He has always been bitterly disappointed by how few of his fellow fans tend to make it to the matches, particularly given that they usually have a more than competitive team.
Recently, things have been particularly dire. On Saturday, Bill took his two young boys out to Allianz Stadium to watch his beloved Roosters take on the Brisbane Broncos.
Instead of specifying the crowd attendance as a number, the big screen at the venue listed the attendees by name. We caught up with a rather disappointed Roosters fan to ask how he felt about the match.
“Look I won’t lie, when me and the boys saw our names on the big board we were really excited at first. It felt like a bit of an honour. But then the reality set in. We were the only people in the stadium. That’s actually a real shame.”
And as the crowds continue to dwindle, the Allianz Stadium experience just becomes more and more personalised. Bill explains that there is also a greater degree of flexibility.
“So this week the match against the Broncos was originally scheduled for Sunday arvo. I called the stadium and asked what time the match was on. They responded by asking what time I could make it. I told them that in all honesty Sunday arvo wasn’t that good for me. I had a barbie to go to. It was really nice of them to move the game to Saturday for me.”
And it hasn’t stopped there. He said that Roosters boss Nick Politis has even invited him to a few golf days with some of the players.
“Yeah it was incredible. It was me, Nick, Cooper Cronk, Tedesco and a few others. It was awesome. And every time one of us had an easy putt, he’d bet us $10,000 that we couldn’t make it. If it went in, he’d pay up straight away. It was not only a fun day but a rather wonderful day from a financial perspective. Really made me feel valued as a supporter. I’m definitely a fan for life.”
The Roosters next match is against the Eels on Saturday night, although that’s not confirmed yet.
Bill was thinking about taking his wife out to dinner that night.