In a new series, we uncover the moment when passionate Swans members fell in love with the red and white. First up, we speak to media personality, maths wiz and Swans Ambassador, Adam Spencer …

How Adam Spencer became a true blue Swans fan

Adam Spencer grew up in Sydney as a rugby league supporter. Following his father’s lead, they were a Balmain Tigers family.

But his father wasn’t one-eyed when it came to the different football codes. So when the then-Victorian Football League staged exhibition games at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the 1979 and 1980 seasons, he took young Adam along to watch.

“Carlton were playing and I liked their black jumper so I went for them,’’ Spencer recalls. “I realised later that it was actually navy blue! But that was the start of me following Carlton in a casual way from Sydney.’’

In 1982 when the Swans moved to Sydney to play at the SCG, Spencer didn’t take too much interest. While he stuck with his decision to follow Carlton, at the time he was more interested in soccer and league.

But then, in the late 1990s, he became breakfast presenter on JJJ, co-hosting with fanatical Western Bulldogs supporter, Wil Anderson.

Their banter often turned to Australian football and Spencer’s interest in the sport was re-ignited. He remembers the excitement when Carlton beat Essendon by a point in the 1999 preliminary final.

But his love for the navy blue didn’t last too much longer. And it was a decision made by his heart, rather than his head.

A couple of years later he went to the footy in Sydney with his dad, to watch the Swans take on Carlton.

As the Blues power forward, Brendan Fevola, lined up to kick a goal, something strange happened. Rather than cheering for Fevola to kick straight, Spencer found himself jeering, hoping he’d miss.

“I desperately wanted Fevola to miss, and the Swans to win. Without even really knowing it until that moment, my transition was complete,’’ Spencer says.

“I remember how much pain I felt at the end of that season, in 2003, when we lost the preliminary final to Brisbane.’’

The red and white had seeped into his soul and has stayed there ever since.

“My love for the Swans grew from that moment and I really got on board.’’

Adam is now one of the Swans most ardent supporters, regularly hosts club events, and was the number one ticket holder in 2016.