Julie Goodwin might be better known as a Food Personality and the first winner of the popular TV show Masterchef, but she’s also a huge fan of the Hyundai A-League.
In particular, she is a massive supporter of Central Coast Mariners.
With the arrival of the Hyundai A-League in 2005 and the local side the Mariners, she was hooked. And Goodwin has followed the Gosford club ever since.
Along with the rest of her family, she’ll be in the stands again on Sunday in Gosford as the Mariners host the Wanderers in the rebel Play Football Round.
Julie Goodwin talks football, in her own words…
We got on board with the A-League when the Central Coast Mariners were created. We wanted to show what the Coast can do in terms of supporting a team.
And we fell in love with the game, fell in love with the A-League and have just been avid followers and members ever since.
It’s just exciting to watch. The skills on display, we are constantly in awe of it.
It’s so much more atmospheric seeing the game live. You can see the kind of game plans when you’re looking at the whole field and you get a much better idea of the ball skills that they’ve got.
It’s quite extraordinary, it leaves me in awe.
My husband and I go to all the home games and some of the away games as well, and my youngest son, in particular, he’s just an absolute raving fan.
The Mariners really are a community club.
We’ve got young fellas coming in and I feel as if we try to take them under our wing a little bit. To support them and get to know them as they play with us, and watch them grow and develop.
It’s been great following the club from the beginning, seeing them getting better and better and the winning the championship [in 2013].
They are some of my best moments and memories of all-time actually.
Going down to Kibble Park and the parade for the Mariners after they had won the premiership – it was like the whole of Central Coast turned out and lined the streets and just cheered them on.
I can’t remember a bigger celebration of our community.
The game that got us into the grand final as well is something I’ll never forget.
My youngest son was at the game and he had a flag that his cousin had made with a whole bunch of flags stitched together.
He was front and centre waving this enormous flag – we were flying high!
We’ll be out there on Sunday as well for the game with the Wanderers. We certainly will. We’ll be there with bells on.
We were there last weekend as well. A disappointing result but you have got to take the highs and the lows and urge them on all the time. When they’re not doing so well, we stick by them.
As well as Play Football Round, it’s Family Round for the Mariners, so families can go onto the field afterward and have a kick around.
The number of little kids that turn up and have the jerseys on – these guys are heroes to these little kids.
It encourages the kids to get out, kick a ball, get some fresh air and get them off the couch!
It couldn’t be better.
