WIN or lose, tears will be flowing once again for local Tiger tragic Craig “Bugs” Parham when the final siren sounds to end today’s AFL Grand Final clash between Richmond and Adelaide.
A 52-year-old Mount Gambier resident, Bugs shot to notoriety last Saturday afternoon when he was shown crying on Channel Seven after Richmond defeated Greater Western Sydney in the preliminary final.
Bugs said he was overcome with emotion when he realised his beloved Tigers were back in the grand final after 35 years.
“When it comes to my footy team, I wear my heart on my sleeve and when the final siren sounded, I wouldn’t have been the only one in the crowd having a cry, but they pulled my mug out of 90,000 people,” Bugs joked.
“After the game we went to get some beers and everyone at the bar said ‘that’s the guy on the TV’, but I had no idea what they were talking about.”
The next 24 hours were mayhem for Bugs when he received hundreds of messages from friends and even strangers.
“I took my phone out of my pocket and I had about 130 text messages with everyone telling me I’m going to be famous,” he said.
“Then we got some petrol on the way home and someone said ‘there’s the bloke who was crying at the football’, it was just crazy.”
While Bugs has tried to soak in all the fame, his attention has turned firmly to Saturday afternoon.
“I saw them win the flag when I was 15 and now I’m 52, so it has just been so long, I remember saying to my partner not long ago ‘I think my days of seeing Richmond ever play in a grand final are done’,” he said.
“I just can’t believe it’s finally happening in 2017, I can’t wait.”
Bugs is yet to secure a ticket to the game, but is not concerned if he has to watch it at home in front of the television.
“If I happen to get a couple of tickets, I’ll obviously seriously think about it, but there is a lot more expenses than just the ticket,” Bugs said.
“It doesn’t make me less of a supporter if I don’t go because I made the effort to make the trip over last week, but we will just see what happens over the next couple of days.”
Adelaide Crows will go into the match slight favourites after finishing top of the ladder and winning both the qualifying final and preliminary final comfortably.
Despite this, Bugs believes Richmond is primed to give it a good shot on Saturday and said the Crows will need to bring their “A-game”.
“I’m quietly confident that we have the players to quell their stars like Eddie Betts, Rory Sloane and Tex Walker,” Bugs said.
“We are on a roll and in my experience playing sport, when you get on a roll, someone has to be pretty good to beat you.”
Bugs said he had been quite relaxed most of the finals, but he expected to feel a whole range of emotions today.
“I will be up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning because I won’t be able to sleep as you can imagine,” he said.
“I will have a couple of beers to help me.”
No matter what happens when the final siren sounds on today, Bugs assured the Richmond faithful his passion for the club will still be as strong as ever.
“They are the best club in the competition and they have been kicked in the guts a few times, but have always got up, so win or lose I’ll still love them,” Bugs said.
“If we are premiers though, I can’t wait to go to the tattoo shop because I have a couple of Richmond tattoos already, but I don’t have a premiership one.”
