On Friday 4th June 2010, Harry went to watch his beloved Storm play against the Parramatta Eels. This is the game he waits all year for. He loves his Storm and has a soft spot for the Eels cause his Daddy is an Eels supporter, so when I started reading reports about it being violent and angry I was a little apprehensive but decided that it was a game he was waiting for, rugby league is supposedly a family game and he should get to go and watch his team play!
So the compromise was that he would wear the Storm hoodie and not the jersey..a little more subtle! All he was worried about was getting there on time! His dad arrived to take him to the game and off he went all rugged up with a massive grin and lots of excited talk!
I was curled up on the couch in front of the heater for a nice night in, knowing my boy was out having a great night, when I received a text “We are leaving Harry is crying and a bit frightened”.. so automatically I sat up, in mum mode! Who has hurt my son and why … first thoughts. Then the phone rang and Harry was on the other end in tears… couldn’t really make any sense from him, but soon heard why.
It seems that from the moment Harry arrived at the game, the crowd was different. Sure footy is footy, there is always good spirited heckling, booing etc… and Harry knows all about that. We are a footy family. My dad has always played Rugby League and Harry himself now plays in the junior league, so no big deal to get heckled and have a bit of jeering at a game. In fact lets face it at every game there is always a group or a few groups that are there to just be a pain in the arse for everyone. We all see them a mile away…can’t hold their beer, think they are footy experts but never played a game in their lives, super coaches etc. But you know Harry takes all this in his stride! He laughs at it..
So for him to be so upset he asks to leave at half time and to be in tears tells me that it was different this time! I’ve had people saying things like he needs to harden up or he shouldn’t have worn his jersey to an away game (umm we live in Sydney, every game is a home game!) and that its just normal to yell that stuff out, oh and my absolute favourite .. his parents are no good letting him go to the game and support Storm!
I can only say this…my son like every other child, should be able to go to the Rugby League – a game that promotes itself as a family game, the game that relies on kids to support their teams and grow up supporting them – and he should be able to support whichever team he wants to! And every parent would react exactly the same way. I was angry, I was upset and so very disappointed in the people that made him feel this way!
“Break his f’in legs, Slater is a prick, Kill him, take him off in an ambulance etc” … rather harsh yes but I think it was more the way these things are screamed out and the hostility he sensed there. He obviously felt scared and thats all there is to it. He isn’t alone, there are a lot of Storm Supporters based here in Sydney and a lot of them have experienced this since the salary scandal. I really cannot understand this mentality. Sure have a dig at opposing teams but for gods sakes focus more on how well your team is doing! And by the way ummm has anyone noticed Storm already has been penalised big time.. they can’t play for points, they have had their Premierships stripped from them, their club has been turned upside down.. yeh I really think they have been punished ..so why are all these fans so enraged still? And will you scream out cheat and breaks his legs when Billy wears the green and gold for Australia? Doubt it!!
I really feel it is important to say this, from my point of view the Parramatta players are fantastic and are not responsible for their fans actions and on top of that I imagine the majority of Parramatta supporters are great fair fun people that enjoy their footy and would never wish to upset anyone let alone a 7 year old.
I will say though that I cannot recall a time when he has worn his Storm colours and not had at least one person give him heaps for wearing it..in the shops, at school, footy training.. there is always at least one comment. Every single time he either ignores it and says to me Ha Ha they are jealous or he laughs with them and tells them Storm are the best so say whatever you like. Never once has this upset him!
So what happened next? I had a whinge didn’t I …. Through Facebook I ranted about how upset I was that this happened to Harry. My Facebook page is not public so I was only venting to friends and getting it off my chest ..but what happened after that has been nothing short of crazy and amazing!
My friend James read my status and sent an email to 2GB who read the email out on the air. Funnily enough Harry heard this on the way home as he wanted to still hear the game and said to his dad “Hey that is someone like me”..little did he know. From here Phil Rothfield contacted James and asked for my details to do a story, so next thing I know I am discussing the story with Phil and he is arranging for a photographer to come and take a photo of Harry. Then Triple M contacted me to be on their Deadset Legends Program… I said I would like to talk off air but somehow ended up on air.. That was extremely nerve wracking. People then started writing on forums that I called the radio station to get some free stuff and I was a huge opportunist. I offered for them to feel free to come and meet Harry and I and we would be happy to give them anything he was given free… noone took me up on that offer!
On Sunday I bought the Sunday Telegraph hoping to see a little picture in there of Harry. When I turned to the sports page and found almost a full page story on Harry I was amazed.. so of course I bought 10 copies.. I’m still not sure why I needed 10 copies!
And it was from there that the magic of the Storm family started to happen….
We had a week off at The Entrance and I didn’t take my laptop but luckily through my phone I could check Facebook and what I started to read was amazing… I was a member of the Facebook page Purple Army run by the wonderful Emil and all of a sudden people from this page started sending me messages. Harry’s story had run in the Herald Sun in Melbourne and word was starting to get around. So when Storm Man asked on his page if anyone knew Harry several wonderful Storm supporters let him know how to find us!
A wonderful lady I have never spoken to or met, Justine sent me a message saying she had read Harrys story in the paper and can she post me a copy. She scanned her copy in for me to see and then posted another copy up to us. How amazingly nice! Then another wonderful Storm fan told me she would be in Singapore when the next home game was on so we could have her tickets!
And then Emil offered us tickets where he usually sits as well.. I have to say I was really really touched by how kind and caring the Storm fans are… they aren’t just a group of strangers who all like the same football team. These people are like a big happy Storm family!
So sure enough I received a call from Lizzie who looks after publicity for Melbourne Storm. She had been trying to find Harry for a few days and was only getting dead ends so it was great that she tracked us down! Lizzie then went on to tell me that they wanted to look after Harry and make up for what happened here in Sydney. She told me they would like Harry to be their guests at the game and they would have a few suprises for Harry, one of which would be to run out on the field. We agreed not to tell Harry until Billy Slater himself called Harry up to invite him!
The Big Event!!
On the Friday night before our trip the wonderful Lizzie called to say that the boys were training and after training Billy will give Harry a call. So I had him sitting on the couch and when the call finally came through I handed him the phone and when he heard who was talking to him his pupils doubled in size and the grin was huge!!! He was all very serious and said “Happy Birthday Billy” and “I hope you win”… Then Billy asked him the big question : “Harry I have something I want to ask you, will you run with us out onto the field”..complete silence from the other end because Harry forgot to talk back instead he had this ridiculous goofy grin from ear to ear and was too busy fist pumping.. I said Harry speak so he said “yes please”…
After the call ended he did some laps around the house and was just in total disbelief. He was thrilled! He went on to call his Dad, Nanny and Pop!
Saturday:
Harry woke up at 7 and came racing in to make me wake up immediately! “Mum its Storm Day” and so began the best day of Harry’s life (except the day he was born)!
Harry decided he would be wearing his entire Storm gear to the airport and onto the plane. He wanted to wear his footy boots because he felt that if he was running on the field he should be wearing boots.
As we boarded the plane I noticed the man in the seat opposite us smiling and we started talking. He noticed Harry was wearing the Storm gear and asked if we were going down to watch the game. It turns out that he used to call the game on the radio for Storm when they first started and he had a long association with them. He was really happy we were going down for the game and I explained what we were doing. He then went on to offer us a lift to the hotel once we got to Melbourne. I was amazed. It was like God saved up all the good karma and gave it to us in one weekend!! The flight left on time, landed on time, no bumps in the ride (I always have bumpy flights to Melbourne)! Our new Storm friend, Colin was good to his word and we jumped in the car and he took us into our hotel that the Storm had so generously provided for us. I had heard the Intercontinental Rialto was nice but it was absolutely beautiful and the staff there are so professional and faultless. We had enough time to check in and spend a little bit of time in our room. Harrys now very frequent giant grin got larger as we walked into the room. He said “Mum this room is beautiful. I could really live here”. He had to investigate every single button and drawer. It was adorable watching him so animated and jumping around with excitement!
I then got him organised to head over to AAMI Park. When we got out of the cab, I knew we were in for a great night. The cheerleaders were all out the front handing out Brett Finch masks, there was a sea of purple everywhere and there was an exciting vibe in the air. The weather was fresh but not cold and Harry was already walking on cloud nine.We called Lizzie and she organised to meet us at the corporate entry. We headed around to wait there. Harry played with his FInchy mask and was full of nervous energy.
Very soon after Lizzie came down to meet us. Let me take this time to explain who Lizzie is. Lizzie is the Melbourne Storm’s Publicity Manager and the wonderful lady who organised this dream come true for Harry. Lizzie is much more than just a Publicity Manager. She is amazing!!!! She really made my little boys dream a reality and words cannot describe how special she made Harry feel and the way she took care of him was incredible. She is what Melbourne Storm is all about and I cannot say enough nice words to cover how special she now is to Harry and his family!
Lizzie took Harry and I up to the Corporate level of the AAMI Park and we walked through there and out to another room that is reserved for the players families. We were introduced to Brett Finch’s parents and family who were really lovely and had also been at the Parramatta game. Harry by this stage had gone a more paler colour in his face and had taken on a very serious look. He also met Ben and Kai. Ben’s mum and Kai’s dad are both part of the Storm family.
We watched the Toyota Cup for a while and then Lizzie returned to take Harry down for his big moment. She explained that we had to walk through the corporate area again and that they had just done a small presentation about Harry so when we walked through people must have realised this was Harry because he started getting pats on the backs as he walked through and Go Harrys! His face was serious but I saw a little smile appear… oh and a big smile for me because I saw the beautiful Dannii Minogue in the room and as she was my favourite YTT girl I was thoroughly impressed!
But no time to dwell, off for the big moment!! We walked onto the ground and walked the perimeter around to the tunnel. I think just being on the field was a big thrill for Harry. We got around to the players bench and Harry was introduced to Ryan Hoffman who he had a great chat with. He showed Ryan he had Number 1 on his jersey and Ryan said “what is that on there for” acting like he didn’t know. Harry said Billy Slater and Ryan said ahhhhhh. I told him he also wears the Number 1 for his own footy team and he said he used to do that when he was a kid. I said yeh the boys all fight for the number they want. He commented with “I bet they don’t care to much for Number 12” and smiled! He went and sat with Harry for a while just chatting to him. Again so friendly and lovely.
Everyone out there seemed to know who Harry was and in fact while we were waiting we heard a big group of people scream out “GO Harry We love you”… that gave us a little giggle! Harry was then introduced to “Cactus” the Storms fantastic ground announcer. They went out onto the field and had a chat for a while, then the National Anthem was played and Harry stood out there all tiny and quiet while the anthem was played. I have to admit I did get tears at that moment. He looked so tiny out there and a bit scared. I know Harry’s style so to others he probably looked petrified but this is how Harry soaks in a moment. I knew he was just taking in every single moment. So after the anthem my little guy appeared on the big screen while being interviewed and when I heard him this tiny little voice say “Billy Slater” about who his favourite player was the tears started again… so brave! He then went on to say he was his favourite player because he was the best fullback in the game. He had told me a little earlier when he found out what question would be asked of him that he didn’t want to say Billy was the best “player” in the NRL because he didn’t want to upset Ryan and the other boys, so he thought it was nicer to them to say Billy was the best fullback.
He then ran down into the tunnel ready for his big moment. I don’t know who was more excited, Harry, Lizzie or me!! Out came the Cowboys and then I peaked down the tunnel and saw Cooper with his arm around Harry’s shoulders and Billy with his hand on Harry’s back and then out they came. Harry jogging along next to Cooper with Billy right behind him!
He ran over to the banner and all I thought was ‘please don’t bounce off’ but again the lovely Cooper, sort of pulled it aside for him and so did Brett Finch. He got out there and “my here come the tears again” moment happened when Cooper gave him a hi-five and then showed him where to run off to. You know those guys are so focused on the game they are about to play and the caring attitude they had for Harry was just so sweet and definitely appreciated beyond words!
Harry come racing back over to Lizzie who cheered him off. It was then we looked up to see supporters all yelling out to Harry and giving him thumbs up! Funnily enough Harry instructed me to NOT yell out Go Harry under any circumstances… yet here was a whole stadium of people screaming it out… he later said well you could have I guess. I didn’t think anyone else would be so I didn’t want you to stand out – thanks Harry!!
We then went back around to watch the game in our fantastic seats.. I said are you having a great time? He said “This is the best day of my life except the day I was born.” And he was right! He then went on to explain that he has to say the day he was born was better because if that day didn’t happen, this day wouldn’t have been able to happen (such thought. It is here I must tell you about the amazing Storm kids. When Harry left to go and do the run on, these little boys ranging in age 2 to 10 clapped him out of the room and said Good Luck Harry! That was heart melting, and THEN when he arrived back they were so excited for him. Kids he had just met. They asked him how he went, told him he did well and they were all watching him on the TV. They are the sweetest kids! Harry enjoyed a great game of footy with the boys… they played on their knees so little Jack White wasn’t disadvantaged and Harry was torn..play footy with my new awesome friends who are all wearing Storm jerseys (not one friend he has ever had supports Storm) or watch his idols playing at home. He chose to spend 3 minutes playing footy and then 6 minutes watching using the scoreboard clock as his watch! When he was watching the game he was cheering and clapping and jumping up in his chair! Those flip up chairs take a little while to get used to!!
He was so excited by all the tries being scored! When they hit 52 he was ecstatic as this was the exact score his own team won by earlier in the day!
It was around this time with 10 minutes left on the clock that Lizzie came out to collect us for the next wonderful surprise for Harry. Lizzie took us around the back of the stadium and into the tunnel to wait for the boys to finish.
Harry then went out onto the field for the after match celebrations. He was there when the Storm presented their $27,000 cheque to the Australian Men’s Shed Association, as part of their Points for a Purpose Program. The team is very involved in this program and have a real input into where the money is donated. I really applaud the Storm for turning a negative into a positive. It really sums up who this club is. Maybe its because they are the only team in Melbourne or maybe just because of all the adversity, but this club is like a really close knit family but there is not clickiness like real families..they welcome you in with big open arms!!
After the cheque presentation, Harry was able to do the lap of honour with the team. What a privilege! When he was all the way over the other side I thought oh my god look at him! He was really loving it…. When he got back he said hey mum, people were yelling out at me and asking to hi-five me! I said wow and he said “Ohhhh I know ..they knew my name and I just remembered, its cause its on the back of my jersey”! I was really impressed to see how much time the Storm players spend walking around that field talking to fans and having their pictures taken and signing autographs. At most games I go to the home team will do that to some extent but sometimes they just sort of come to the edge and clap a little. Here at the Storm home ground they walked around very slowly and stopped to chat to everyone. Billy Slater and Cameron Smith are the champions at this. Most of the boys were back in the dressing sheds and these two were still doing the lap. Especially Cameron Smith – the rest of the team were in the sheds singing and having their post match celebrations and Cameron was still out there giving his time to the fans that had waited there to see him. He then spent only a few minutes in the shed before he went off to do the media. What a fantastic captain! I’m told this is what he does at every home game – makes himself fully available to anyone that wants him.
After Harry did his lap of honour, he hopped up onto Storm Mans bike for a photo. Storm fans that were still in the crowd were screaming out at Harry “we love you Harry! Go Harry, you are a true storm supporter”. Harry said mum I saw all these people giving me thumbs up. For a boy that told me don’t u dare yell out “go Harry “, he was starting to really enjoy the cheers!
He then had a photo on the field with Billy.
We then went down to wait outside the dressing rooms to go in and see the boys. Harry had his autograph book ready and was anxiously waiting for the okay to go in to see the boys. He finally went in and I waited patiently for him outside hoping he would speak clearly and use his manners.
He eventually came out with a massive grin to show me his autograph book. He had written who signed it next to the autograph as he said he wouldn’t be able to remember whose was whose if he didn’t! He realised he didn’t have Cam Smith’s autograph but luckily his amazingly lovely with Barb was close by and grabbed Cam when he returned from the media interviews. I think the photo of him with Cameron is one of my favourites. You can see in his face how happy he was and that he was starting to relax!
After Harry was sure he had everyone’s autograph we left to go back up to where we had left our bags On the way out we passed the recovery pool that is at AAMI Park and Harry was thrilled again when he saw Billy in the pool and Billy waved to him and the other boys that had come from Newcastle to meet their favourite team.
We went back upstairs and Lizzie gave Harry a Storm bag with very fittingly a Buddy of Billy T- Shirt amongst other Storm merchandise. Harry went to have a sit down and a lady came over to tell him she had seen him down on the field and thought he was great. He came running over to tell me straight after. He said “mum a lady I haven’t met before knew my name and everything and she said she saw me with Billy”. I think it was starting to all dawn on him. He then showed his new friends Ben and Kai his autographs and the two boys wrote their name in the book for Harry so he knew their names and could become Facebook friends.
We then said our goodbyes and left for the motel. On our way out a group of 3 guys came over to shake hands with Harry. The all crouched down and had a little chat with him. A little further along a group of Storm fans spotted Harry and called out to him and asked to have their photo with him. He kept giggling and found the whole thing entertaining. I said “God Harry its like you are a famous person” and he said “I think I might be mum”… We walked along a little while and I said right we need to grab a cab and he said “Let me do that for you Mum” and sure enough he saw a cab and did the whole hail the cab motion with his hand. My little shy boy was now hailing down cabs in a city he had never been to before! He thought he was fantastic for getting the cabbie to stop and told me he would be in charge of the cabs from now on. The drive back to the hotel was really quite. He sat there with a really big smile on his face and I could tell he was deep in thought.
By the time we had arrived back into our room it hit him! It hit him and hasn’t stopped since. He started talking and talking and talking. See Harry is a very serious thinker. I think he was so focused on trying to enjoy every single detail and to soak up every moment so he wouldn’t forget it that he couldn’t discuss it or relax nearly the entire time. He was digesting it all, but now it was all over he was non stop chat!
When he hopped into bed to go to sleep, he said I’ll never forget this day ever mum… and as I watched him sleeping a few hours later with a massive grin and the occasional giggle in his sleep I knew he never would.
Its so wonderful to watch a little boy who loves his league so very much have every dream come true. Harry’s week consists of school, where he generally plays football at lunch, then football training twice a week – we usually go an hour early because he begs for extra training time, he plays every Saturday morning. We generally try and get an NRL game in if it is local if not he watches most games on TV for the weekend. If he is in the car he asks for us to put it on. He buys the Big League every week and RLP every quarter. He runs his own footy tipping competition and the only Wii game he plays is Rugby League 3. He has taught our poodle Pepe to chase him up and down the yard or lounge room with a footy and when Pepe gets hold of it Harry chases and tackles him….Harry lives and breathes Rugby League.
So this weekend was like nothing he could ever imagine or dream up. I know that Harry will be a Storm Supporter forever and the memories will be with him for all of that time! When you get to meet your hero at aged 7, you know you are very blessed. The Storm family made this happen for Harry – so you can call them what ever you like…we call them AMAZING!
After The Best Day Ever:
Harry took a Power Point Presentation to school with all his photos to show his friends and teacher. He isn’t keen on getting up to talk but this time he was really excited to do it!
On Facebook, he has had Storm fans sending him messages, really lovely heartfelt messages. We even found one Storm supporter that had changed his profile pic to the picture of Harry out on the field and written a little story about it on his page. Another complete stranger took a heap of pictures of Harry and emailed them to me!
I have had so many people comment that they hated the Storm but can’t believe how well they treated Harry so have changed their opinion of them. Harry is pretty well loved at his school and within his own football community. His team mates have always had a real respect for him so they all rallied around him after his experience. But they have always questioned his love of the Storm.. and he has always explained to them that Storm are the best. But after his weekend, the part of this whole experience that has made me laugh is his friends are now deciding that maybe their parents are wrong and Storm aren’t so bad! I noticed a couple of friends join a Billy Slater fan page on Facebook and one even wrote “Hi Billy Slater, Im Harrys friend!”. One of the boys mum told me that they went shopping and he begged her to buy him a Storm ball. When she reminded him he followed the Raiders he said “Nope not anymore.. I want to follow the same team as Harry.”
