How did I get here?

So, mid last year I was contacted by Ladies Who League, a superwoman by the name of Mary Konstantopoulos, who had noticed on Twitter that I was a keen (understatement) North Queensland Cowboys fan. She graciously asked if I would like to help contribute to an article she was preparing for the Women in League round. I said yes, of course I said yes. Mary sent me through some questions and I went to work, answering them as best I could.

Writing about why I am a Cowboys supporter was incredibly cathartic for me. I live in Sydney (I was born here) and all my friends staunchly and fiercely support the local teams, Tigers, Roosters, Parramatta and Manly etc, so I cop quite a bit of flack during the footy season. No one has ever cared about why I support the Cowboys or bothered to listen to my opinion at all. They think I like to be ‘difficult’, or ‘different’. If I ever go to watch Cowboys games with friends, they are at their home ground, surrounded by all their fellow supporters and to say it is fun would be a lie. I now only sit in the Cowboys supporter bays.

It can feel very lonely being a Cowboys supporter in Sydney at times. It has given me a thick skin and if I am honest, I thank those people who laughed at me for being a Cowboys fan in Sydney, as it did nothing but strengthen my resolve as a supporter and I dug in even deeper – that passion that evolved from being the odd one out, may have just been my lucky break. I went searching social media platforms for other Cowboy fans, and boy oh boy did I find them! Facebook pages like North Queensland Cowboys Stampede and SEQ Cowboys Supporters are incredible for fans and it enabled me to connect with literally hundreds of Cowboys supporters. Twitter was another place I went searching for my tribe – I found them in droves. Cowboys fans are a unique bunch, we are an eclectic group from all over the world. Social media has made it possible to find these people, talk to them and connect about our shared passion. There is nothing like sharing the highs and lows with a fellow fan. They just get it. They have also been very supportive of me and my writing, for which I will be forever grateful, I feel like they are on this ride with me.

My article for Ladies Who League ended up being 4 pages long. Once I started I could not stop, it seems I had a lot to say. The article that Ladies Who League was submitting changed somewhat, so my 4 pages ended up being a photo and a paragraph, (which was still unbelievably cool!) but I was given a contact at the Cowboys Head Office to send it on to. I thought that was amazing, I only expected that someone would read it and (hopefully) enjoy what I had written.

They say the rest is history, I have since had three articles published on the North Queensland Cowboys website, I have started a blog and I have my own name to work with – Cornish Comments. Hopefully this year will see me contribute more articles to the team I am so passionate about, not just because they are a team of immense talent (how lucky we are when you look at our roster) but because I truly believe and buy into what the Cowboys sell. They are so much more than just a footy team. They are a family branded, community driven organisation – that is by far what attracts me to them the most.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mary K for asking me to be a part of her Women in League article – I have literally not stopped writing since that moment. I never want to stop writing again. Mary is the kind of woman who lifts up other women and encourages them to be the best version of themselves – she inspires me with her words and her unwavering dedication to the advancement of women in sport, she is a wonderful voice and advocate, incredibly intelligent and a wonderful role model for someone who still has her training wheels on.

Here are the articles that I have had published and are on the North Queensland Cowboys website, so far:

A Cowboy named JT

The Year of Hard Knocks

Milestones, Memories and Mateship

We Stay for the Cowboys

I hope you enjoy the articles (hint – you do not even have to be a Cowboys fan!)