The Newcastle Jets soar to new heights

ABC

By Brooke Bannister

At full-time the Jets fans were perplexed, they wanted to stay and cheer on their team holding their trophy at the Sydney Football Stadium, but also wanted to rush back home to celebrate with the rest of Newcastle.

Either way they were euphoric.

Most stayed, keeping dozens of bus drivers waiting, as grateful Jets players sauntered a slow lap of honour past the Jets support base, The Squadron. When they got to the end, the Jets decided to do it again.

The northern end of the SFS (Sydney Football Stadium), where the Mariners supporters had assembled, began clearing out before full-time. One lonely Mariner fan was found walking through the car park and was disappointed but still upbeat, "No tears, a few more beers, we'll soon be right. The beers will help," he said.

For the grand final, the sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky, but that was not the only thing that was golden. Gold-cladded Jets supporters dug-in at the southern end of the SFS flaunting now rare Jets strips.

Gold was the only thing you could see just before kick off when Tim Verscheldon, the president of the Squadron, ordered his supporters to pull a massive gold flag over the heads of about 600 supporters.

The gold flag, about 60 meters square, had the symbolic blue star in the centre and made the flags of the Central Coasts' flags look insignificant in comparison.

Fans from both sides were mesmerised by the size of the flag, most wondered where it started and where it finished. Tim Verscheldon's mother, Helen Verscheldon, helped make the flag and said it was a lot of work, "It took five women six weeks to sew together, but it was worth it."

Another Jets fan had a cheeky homemade flag that read, "They built the F3 to bypass the Central Coast."

Tim Verscheldon was still bursting with excitement just after the game, "We were going nuts. This was our biggest game we've ever played. It was great to see." The impromptu chat outside the gates of the SFS erupted into screaming as Con Constantine marched through the gates triumphantly holding the A-league trophy above his head.

However, the night was not victorious and inspiring for everyone. One Mariner player, defender Nigel Boogaard, emerged from the Central Coast change room, "I'm obviously devastated," he said in a quiet and gloomy voice. "We were the better team all year and we just couldn't clinch it in the grand final, one off game and too many of us didn't turn up and it cost us in the end."

When asked what "turn up" meant, the dejected defender explained, "They were just in the game, they looked a little bit hungrier and they got the result."

The game ended in controversy and was a sore point for the Mariner, "There was a bit of a dispute where there was a handball and should have been a penalty but obviously they didn't give it in the end and that happens," said Nigel Boogaard.

Jets fans quickly forgot that difference of opinion as the excitement built outside the SFS. After being mobbed, Con Constantine escaped the loyal fans and explained how he felt, "Mate, I'm on another planet. How good is this? How good was it tonight? It was a dream come true," he said answering his own questions.

"Newcastle has done it. Maybe we went the long way to get there but we done it, we took the long road. Mate, how good was that," He shouted to everyone, but no one in particular.

"No one can take that away from us," He yelled holding up the trophy, "This is going back to Newcastle and they can say anything they like, this is Newcastle's. New-cast-le, New-cast-le." Con Constantine broke into a chant as he strode toward waiting family and friends.

But it was not the last time fans would celebrate with him on the night. One of the more peculiar sites of the evening was Con Constantine brandishing the A-league trophy out the window of his car to every other vehicle heading up the F3 freeway, Jets and Mariners alike.

Now affectionately known as the "toilet seat", because of its unusual shape, the A-league trophy made its way to the Newcastle United Sports Club at Adamstown where Con Constantine proudly, positioned on the bar to the delight of waiting fans.

The triumphant team were greeted on stage with a thunderous Newcastle welcome of about two and half thousand fans to the sound of "We are the Champions". The only thing that the fans were unsure about now was where they would celebrate with their team next.

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Article source: http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s2171818.htm?nsw