06/05/2026
❤️ Feel Good Friday ❤️
Sometimes, footy reminds us that the world isn't nearly as big as we think it is.
In this photo are Joe and Paula, two people whose paths should never really have crossed.
Joe is an "AusMerican" — his dad is Australian, his mum is American, and he grew up in North Carolina, recently graduating from UNC.
Paula is an Aussie. She grew up on the other side of the world in the country town of Wangaratta, Victoria. Population of around 30,000 people.
The two met this year at our first NC Tigers game for the season. Joe, plays for the Tigers. Paula is the face behind our social media posts and the wife of Pete, who wears the #4 jumper. A chance conversation between Joe and Paula uncovered something pretty special.
Joe's dad was born in Wangaratta.
Not only that, but both families share deep roots with the Wangaratta Rovers Football & Netball Club.
Joe's grandfather Peter McCudden was affectionately known as "The Voice" of Wangaratta footy, calling Rovers games on local radio for more than 20 years. His uncle Mark played 20 senior games of footy for the Hawks. Joe's dad's cousin, Jason Gorman, pulled on the brown and gold jumper 152 times.
For Paula, the Rovers have been woven into the fabric of her family for generations. Her grandfather Len Hill, dad Kevin, brother Ross, uncles, cousins and cousins' kids all played for the club. In fact, her brother was inducted into the Wangaratta Rovers Hall of Fame just a couple of weeks ago, after playing over 300 games for the Hawks.
Thousands of miles from Wangaratta, in a place neither family could ever have imagined, two people discovered they were connected by the same town, the same club, and many of the same stories...at a game of footy.
It's funny to think that without footy, Joe and Paula would probably never have met.
But that's what makes our game so special. Footy isn't just about what happens on the field. It's about the families, friendships, and connections that somehow find a way to travel across oceans and decades.
From Wangaratta to North Carolina, footy built a bridge between two families and two lives.
And if that isn't the magic of footy, then what is?! ❤
