As parents we take liberties with our newly arrived bundles of joy. Lumbering them with names and spellings of names that are sometimes a burden, tying them to cultural and religious rituals, putting their name down for independent schools, the Melbourne Cricket Club, picking their footy team. The list goes on.

I didn’t get around to the religious sacraments, or the private schools and I failed to submit the signed MCC nomination form for the eldest, who could have been a restricted member by now.

But when it came to that other religion, I took it for granted my kids would share my unwavering passion for Richmond. In any weather, as the theme song says.

I grew up in a Richmond-supporting family in the middle of St Kilda’s then Ballarat country recruiting zone, but it would never have occurred to me to back anyone other than the Tiges. My father had been more partial to South Melbourne but his interest waned when they flew north to become the Sydney Swans in the early ’80s.

My NRL-supporting husband picked up Geelong as his team when he moved to Victoria, notably before I got to him. How does one survive the office water cooler chats in Melbourne without an AFL........

© The Age