Unlike many Collingwood supporters, Stephen Nguyen didn’t get his love of the Magpies from his parents.
They had come to Australia as migrants from Vietnam, so Australian Rules was very much a foreign game to them.
Nguyen was first exposed to the idea that everyone in Melbourne should follow a footy team when he started primary school in 1996.
And it was then that he jumped aboard the black and white bandwagon.
“I went to school in Alphington, so the closest club was Collingwood and it seemed that all my school friends went for Collingwood,” he recalled.
“I was like, ‘Alright, that’s my team.’ I went with the majority.”
Nguyen’s parents happily encouraged his new passion for the Magpies, and his mother who took him to his first Collingwood game – the ANZAC Day clash with Essendon in 2002.
The Pies won by 33 points in the wet, and Nguyen loved the experience.
“That was the highlight of my life as a Collingwood supporter so far,” he said. “It was incredible.
“It was really overwhelming to be in a stadium with almost 100,000 people. But the whole feeling of ANZAC Day was quite amazing.
“Although I was born here, my parents came from a different country and I don’t think they really understood ANZAC Day that much.
“For me to be able to take part in the formalities that day gave me a real sense of what the ANZAC spirit is all about.
“Being part of the minute’s silence and hearing the last post and the national anthem, it was really significant for me.”
Mark McGough is congratulated after winning the ANZAC Medal in 2002 (AFL Photos)
Having been left disappointed at the end of the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals, Nguyen was delighted when the Magpies broke their 20-year premiership drought by defeating St Kilda in the replay in 2010.
“It was great to enjoy the success,” he said. “That was a great moment.”
Nguyen has found himself somewhat frustrated by Collingwood’s “ups and downs” years”, but he has stuck by the club, even encouraging his wife to join the black and white army.
“She was a big fan of Dane Swan and she proudly wears her Collingwood jumper to every footy colours day at her school,” Nguyen said.
Stephen Nguyen and his wife at the 2014 ANZAC Day game
No matter how the Pies go each weekend, Nguyen, a Melbourne-based web designer, feels proud to be part of the Collingwood family.
“You feel that connection,” he said. “To share the spoils of a win or share the disappointment of a loss with a wider community, whether you know them or not, is just an incredible thing.
“My family are proud Australians. But to be part of the Collingwood family, I feel like it’s an even stronger feeling than being Australian.
“That’s how I feel.”
