.:We Have the Passion:.

By Kapow(BigFooty.com poster)

This young fella who lives in Queeesland and only ever gets to see them play at the Gabba has the passion for the Fremantle Football Club. He addresses a letter to to the FFC which was posted on Bigfooty.com. We thought is worthy of posting on our homepage. It follows below:

Dear Fremantle Football Club

In light of the recent match I thought I might take some time out to send you all this email. I'm an 18 year Queensland university student on the Sunshine Coast and have lived here for most of my life apart from a short time in Melbourne. I've followed this club passionately and loved it like a father. As such I have only been able to see a select handful of games over the years, 10 to be exact and at each one I've followed this club with ruthless passion and endeavour.

Most of the time I've made more noise in my army of one then the entire row I've been seated in, usually filled with Maroon or some other colour foreign to the Purple, Green, Red and white. Infact in 2004, when I was 15, I won the Woodford Junior Citizen of the year award. The title of the speech I gave that night: Purple, green, red and white oh what a lovely sight! All of which in spite the fact that the only people in the crowd who had even heard of the town of Fremantle were my family in the audience.

Over the years as supporters on a whole we have put up with quite a lot but shrugged it off and kept that passion alive. The dark years leading up to 2003 it was all about that light at the end of the tunnel and the thought that 'one day this club is going to have a premiership and on that day I can die a happy person'. I remember on two such occasions we were playing up here at the Gabba in 1999 and 2000, both times we lost by over 100 points.

On one of those occasions we were down by 100 points at halftime. But still I personally sat there and thought about what lies ahead. That some day this club will make a proud history for itself and that I can walk into a crowded and passionate AFL bar and say I support the mighty Fremantle Dockers without someone scoughing or saying 'you poor bastard'. That one day I could say it and get the respect of other passionate and proud clubs.

When the time came in 2003 for our first finals match the hype was intense, even up here in a footy isolated area. I remember putting on my jersey and scarf when I was 14, taking the radio in to my room (as we didn't get that game live) and cheering loudly when we kicked those first two goals. But then of course it turned sour.

Broken but determined I looked forward again under the thinking 'every club has to go through it's share of heartache before a flag, that's what makes it so special'. 2004 and 2005 came and, well, I can only imagine the feeling of despair amongst the other Freo faithful. But still there was that glimmer of hope and that nagging passionate thought "some day".