Is the Gold Coast’s Sean O’Hara the BOQ’s # 1 Brisbane Lions fan!
Monday, 05/07/2010
73 year-old Sean O’Hara has seen a lot of AFL in his life. He remembers laughing when, on relocating from Melbourne in 1986 to the Gold Coast, he heard a persistent rumour that Queensland was to host their own AFL team. He thought it was a joke.
Three consecutive Premierships later, the Brisbane Lions are no joke, and Sean O’Hara has only missed six of their home games since their very first at Carrara. That’s a fan! Could the Gold Coast’s O’Hara, a Foundation Lions Member, Members Hall of Fame Inductee and President of the Gold Lions (the Gold Coast Supporters Group of the Brisbane Lions) be BOQ’s #1 Brisbane Lions fan? BOQ aims to find out, having launched a national search to find their leading fan.
Brisbane Lions Vice-Captains Luke Power (pictured with Sean O’Hara) and Simon Black, Assistant Coach Jade Rawlings, former Brisbane Lions great Richard Champion, and BOQ CEO David Liddy launched the national search to find BOQ’s #1 Lions Fan - the person most passionate, the character most colourful in their commitment to the Club, and the one who most lives and breathes the Brisbane Lions! The search will finish on Wednesday 18 August at 5pm and BOQ’s #1 Lions Fan will be revealed on Friday 20 August.
The reward for such unbridled Brisbane Lions loyalty will be fan-fare like no other. BOQ is rewarding fans’ loyalty and passion for the Club by giving them the opportunity to win the ultimate Brisbane Lions experience including special access to a Brisbane Lions training session, seats near the interchange bench alongside the umpires and ground manager, inner-sanctum access on match-day and much more. This type of access into the heart of the Club has never been offered to a Brisbane Lions fan before.
Sean O’Hara was born and bred in Melbourne yet moved to Benowa on the Gold Coast in 1986 for business reasons. He had previously followed South Melbourne since he was nine years-old. The rumour he heard back then, about Queensland entering the AFL competition - one dominated by southern teams – was fact, and he was one of the first to sign up as member of the then Brisbane Bears who were based at Carrara, just around the corner from his home.
“Saying I am a proud Brisbane Lions Fan is an understatement. I’ve seen the team be formed, merge and then thrive and win three consecutive Premierships. I have only missed six home games, plus I’ve flown down south a few times to see the boys play away,” Mr O’Hara said.
Sport is in this man’s blood it seems – on Sunday he competed in the Gold Coast Half Marathon – being the 18th consecutive time he has been in the event, having walked 15 times and completed the half marathon three times!!
Club Captain Jonathan Brown and the entire Brisbane Lions team are also behind BOQ’s search to find their biggest fan. “When you’re out on the field and almost exhausted, the collective cheers from our fans and the roar of the grandstand definitely gets you going,” Brown said. “They are the ones who make you run that little bit faster and push that little bit harder. Our fans help get us over the line. We know our fans are passionate – and some fanatical. It’s these people BOQ want to find and thank for their unwavering support of this great Club and its players. It’s a great opportunity to reach out and give back to those who have supported us so much,” he said.
The BOQ #1 Lions Fan will be rewarded with the following money-can’t-buy experiences surrounding the Brisbane Lions’ Round 22 match against the Sydney Swans at the Gabba:
1. Gain special access to the final Brisbane Lions home match training session and receive a football to be signed by the players
2. Take a friend to the Brisbane Lions pre-match Inner Sanctum experience to see your team warming up
3. Run onto the field with Brisbane Lions mascot Bernie ‘Gabba’ Vegas
4. Be interviewed by the Match Day MC in front of the Gabba crowd
5. Take a friend to sit on the sidelines alongside the umpires and ground manager for the first half of the match, then enjoy the exclusive and fully catered BOQ Blue Room suite for the second half of the match
6. Get a pair of Brisbane Lions player’s footy boots creatively painted by a child from the Royal Children’s Hospital
7. Walk away with a great Brisbane Lions merchandise pack
How to enter the Search for the BOQ #1 Lions Fan:
1. Fans can upload their photos, stories and/or videos to the official BOQ #1 Lions Fan micro-site - http://www.number1fan.com.au/
2. Fans can record a message and enter at the #1 Fan Locker-Room which will be set up at the Gabba’s main entrance at the following homes matches: Saturday 10 July (Round 15 v St Kilda), Saturday 31 July (Round 18 v Melbourne) and Sunday 15 August (Round 20 v Adelaide)
3. Fans will also be able to enter via roving photographers located around the Gabba precinct at the following homes matches: Saturday 10 July (Round 15 v St Kilda), Saturday 31 July (Round 18 v Melbourne) and Sunday 15 August (Round 20 v Adelaide)
