Name: Trevor Pangbourne
Carlton member years: 27 years
Favourite player: Mark Maclure & Chris Judd
Memorable match: 1999 preliminary final win against Essendon
In Trevor’s words he is a “tragic” Carlton man.
When Robert Walls kicked a bag of 10 at Princes Park on a warm winter’s day in the late ‘70s, it was at that moment Trevor knew he’d forever remain a Blue.
“I was sold on that day that Carlton was my team,” he said.
Trevor, a 27-year member, has been going to the footy since he was a young boy with his dad, but it was his grandfather who instilled in him the Old Dark Navy Blue.
“It was my grandfather who got me on the Blues. I was a young kid – impressionable – he brainwashed me and that was it,” Trevor joked.
“My father actually barracks for Essendon, so I don’t really know how it all came about,” he laughed.
When he headed down to Princes Park with his dad as a small child, Trevor found himself coming up with creative ways to see the action.
“I can remember being in the outer at Princes Park standing on beer cans – I was only a short kid – and peering through people's legs trying to see what was going on.”
Now a father himself, his two daughters have been “brought up on football” with Trevor taking his eldest to her first game when she was only a toddler.
“My eldest daughter has been coming to the footy with me since she was about three and we’d sit in the old Garden Stands at Princes Park – she didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
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The girls, who are now in their 20s, are both “mad Carlton supporters” and still love going to the footy with their dad.
In a testament to his character, Trevor always stays until the final siren, win lose or draw, and was thrilled to be in New Zealand to see Carlton’s first victory for 2015.
Over the years, Trevor has followed and loved many players, but a few that stand out are Mark Maclure and more recently Chris Judd.
“Mark Maclure I used to love watching because he was so gutsy and Chris Judd was just a champion.”
Trevor has a huge collection of Football Records, keeping one from every Carlton match he’s ever attended.
“Every game I’ve ever been to I’ve always bought a Record, so I’ve kept all the records from every Carlton game dating back to the ‘70s – they’re all in boxes,” he said.
“There’s quite few now, I don’t know where I’m going to put them all!”
Carlton’s three traditional rivals, Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond are the teams Trevor loves to win against and understandably hates to lose against.
“As long as we beat Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond in the same year – that’s always the best.”
With that in mind, the 1999 one-point preliminary final win against Essendon stands out in Trevor’s memory as one of the best victories he’s ever seen.
“I was there that day and it was just an amazing win,” he said.
Trevor, who works in IT, says he’s “old school” and likes to get to the games early.
“I just love the whole atmosphere pre-game. I used to like watching the reserves play so it was good on the weekend when the Northern Blues played Frankston beforehand,” he said.
There’s no doubt Trevor and his girls will be barracking hard this week when Carlton takes on the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
