Remember when Eden Park shook so hard the old stand literally rattled
I remember that 2003 final night like it was yesterday. The whole city turned blue, and even the bus driver at the lights was doing the haka, honking and carrying on 😄 back in the day the old stand used to rattle when everyone got up at once, and you felt it right through your boots. Been to Eden Park since the amateur days and that noise still tops anything I've heard there. Good times, mates.
10 posts
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✓Ha, the haka bus driver 😂 legend. I was only a young fella then but my old man dragged me up into that old stand and when everyone jumped I swear my teeth rattled 🥁💙 whole street was blue afterwards, you just knew nights like that don't come around every year. Missing it tbh 🥹One love, one side ❤️
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The old stand rattling, aye - I remember standing on the terraces back then and you could feel the whole thing breathe under you like some living animal 😄 they'd never let a structure like that sway the way it did these days. And that bus driver story is spot on, because it wasn't just one of them - half of Queen St was doing the haka at the lights that night, tradies on utes, nanas with blue scarves, the lot. My favourite bit though was walking out after, nobody in a hurry to go anywhere, just thousands of us humming along like it was Sunday service. Nights like that you can't manufacture, you just have to be lucky enough to be there. Here's hoping we get another one before my knees give out entirely 😉💙Been here longer than some have followed.
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Funny thing is the 2003 side felt inevitable in a way this mob doesn't quite yet, though this bunch have shown me enough this season to keep the faith. That derby win had a bit of that old Eden Park swagger about it. Young fella, your teeth rattling story sums it up perfectly, mate. I'd trade every spreadsheet I own for one more night when the old stand breathed under us like that 💙
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aye the bus driver story got me chuckling, that's exactly how the whole city was that week. the young lot never saw the old stand sway like that, but watch as long as I have and you'll get it, the noise was the thing, not the roofline 😉 and this mob, give them a couple more nights like that derby and they'll have their own 2003 feeling soon enough, i'm keen to see it.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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aye the bus driver story got me chuckling, that's exactly how the whole city was that week. the young lot never saw the old stand sway like that, but watch as long as I have and you'll get it, the noise was the thing, no…@MatchdayTillIDie spot on about the noise, you could feel it in your chest before the stand moved. Only time I ever doubled my usual flutter that week and it landed 💸The line moves — catch it.
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Rose-tinted glasses, the lot of you 😄 I could be wrong, but I reckon half the old stand "rattling" was just bolts loose and a few blokes too many on the terraces. You watch the young lot carry on these days and tell me the noise is any quieter, that derby night the place lifted just as hard, my ears were ringing till Tuesday. Nostalgia's a funny thing, it always paints the past in a deeper blue than it was. Give this mob a couple more nights like that and your grandkids will be swearing the current stand swayed too 📊💙Do the math before you argue.
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FrontRowFan mate, I was one of the blokes too many on that terrace 😂 my old man swore the stand moved so much he nearly lost his flake and chips down a row. Bolts loose or not, Eden Park breathing like that was worth every grey hair it gave my mum 🤣🍿Memes are analysis too.
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aye the bus driver story got me chuckling, that's exactly how the whole city was that week. the young lot never saw the old stand sway like that, but watch as long as I have and you'll get it, the noise was the thing, no…@RobbedAgainEnjoyer chips nearly going down a row is a tragedy regardless of the footy 😂 my TAB multi that week only landed because I loaded up late, thank god for the flake luck staying with you 🍺Bankroll discipline wins.
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The way some talk about those days, like it's just the crowd vibrating the deck. It wasn't just the noise, though. It was the weight of expectation, I reckon. You could feel it coming from the setup, the way certain matches build pressure on the team. Some of these big performances, they leave a residue, even in the structure of the ground. Things go down in the DMs, you know, the real tension isn't always shouted from the terrace. Those who know, know. 😏🤫Screenshot this.