There’s a radio clickbait headline if ever I’ve written one, but it’s true – 2GB‘s John Stanley has embraced Only Fans, but not as you will be expecting.
The Nights host, and a devoted fan of the Red V himself (the St George Illawarra Dragons for the uninitiated) is exploring, through John Stanley’s Only Fans, other well known Australians deep and enduring love for the beautiful game that is rugby league.
This is John Stanley, intimate and unadulterated (though biased when it comes to the greatest team in the comp) now with a dedicated forum for fans only, taking intimate look at the love, loyalty, and heartbreak that comes with being a true believer, plus the enduring obsession that keeps us coming back again and again for more when the ref robs us of a Grand Final win though a not heard six again (sigh).
John said:
“I’ve always been intrigued by how and why people became fans of their team as it is almost always a life long thing that is about the only thing it is unacceptable to change. You can change everything politics/ religion/ life partner/ hair colour/ hair/ sexual orientation/ gender without complaint but changing your football team is the ultimate betrayal.
Then the superstitions – fans believing that what they wear influences the result. The name Only Fans…..ie only fans…not players or coaches….is the perfect name and a better descriptor of our show than that other thing. So far we’ve learned that Ray Martin as young reporter in New York for the ABC in the late 60s early 70s was wearing his Souths jumper on the streets there and may be the original ‘random Souths guy’. He even flew home for the 1971 grand final.
Ian Leslie took a sickie as a young reporter for Channel 10 to queue for Grand final tickets and had to hide from the 10 cameras covering the ticket rush. The Premier of NSW Chris Minns lives next to Kogarah Oval – is the member for Kogarah – is married to a St George supporter – but has stuck with his lifelong team the Bulldogs.
Then Anthony Field the Blue Wiggle tearing up as he spoke of his love for Leichhardt Oval…
I’ve made sure to apologise to those who’ve tuned in on a Friday night expecting something else!
It’s everything I ever hoped from an Only Fans account, and more.
You can find John Stanley’s Only Fans wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes every Friday ahead of your sporting weekend.
PS: John and archivist Frank Iuston, every Wednesday night, are playing audio from the classic days of radio. Since the segment began listeners have been contacting the station in their droves with precious audio, much thought lost, that they had recorded at home on cassette, from the 70s through to the late 90s. Should you have any contributions – you can get in touch with the show here: https://www.2gb.com/show/nights-with-john-stanley/
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo. Email: [email protected]. You can subscribe to this publication for just $199 per annum (less for community stations, students and pensioners) and support local media. Celebrate Radioinfo in its 30th year.