Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has journalists in every state and territory. Today's is written by ACM Northern Tablelands and North West NSW editor - and Saints fan - Laurie Bullock.
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When I was given my first Saints jumper by my St Kilda-mad father as a child in the mid 1980s, I was too young to understand what I was in for.
As a kid growing up in Deniliquin in southern NSW, I didn't know what family and friends meant when they told me "they're on the bottom of the ladder" as I wore that tiny Saints jumper in the dark days of the 1980s in the Victorian Football League.
By the time I was old enough to understand and follow the game, we were improving. It had become the AFL and we had young players like Robert Harvey and Nicky Winmar - and Tony Lockett in the goalsquare.
But more disappointment was not far away.
Lockett fled the limelight to play for Sydney, and despite making a grand final - which we lost after leading at half time - in 1997, we were sliding back down the ladder by the end of the 1990s.
Better times - and a couple more grand final losses - came in the 2000s, before more barren times over the last decade.
This year the club celebrates 150 years since it began in April 1873.
All past disappointments were forgotten on April 1 this year as I found myself attending the MCG, mingling with some of those great names I had cheered on all my life.
Ahead of the match a hall of fame dinner was held in the MCG's Olympic Room full of people like me, more accustomed to disappointment than success on the footy field.
There were past players, past officials, current officials and plenty of supporters, including the well known ones like Eric Bana and Molly Meldrum.
I took a selfie with Winmar - the player who made us proud when he took a stand against racism 30 years ago in April 1993 - outside the ground.
Lockett quietly slipped into the room later during the function, while Harvey - now back at the Saints as an assistant coach - was busy down in the locker room.
And inside the Olympic Room at the MCG, as former Saints stars Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo were inducted into the hall of fame, there were so many other greats in the room.
Many of their teammates from those 2009-10 grand final years were there.
In 2009 the Saints only lost two close games for the whole year, then lost the grand final in a close one.
The following year we were again in another grand final, against Collingwood, which finished in a draw. We were blown away in the replay a week later.
Our only grand final win came in 1966. The club's sole premiership cup was on display at the Hall of Fame function, and the players from that match were introduced on stage.
There were Brownlow medalists Ross Smith and Verdun Howell (both played in the 1966 team). And the oldest living Brownlow medalist, a Saints skipper from the 1950s, Neil Roberts, was there. Despite that lack of team success, we've had no shortage of champion players.
Roberts, who turns 90 on June 15, had the room in laughter several times, as he spoke about Bill Mohr, the club's greatest goalkicker before Lockett, who was elevated to legend status in the hall of fame.
Originally from Wagga, Mohr was a player in the 1930s who could dribble kick goals as well as the current players Roberts recalled.
But the greatest insight into the psyche of the Saints and its supporters came from Montagna as he was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame, and took the opportunity to describe what life was like for St Kilda supporters.
He played 287 games for St Kilda, but like the overwhelming majority of Saints players he never won a premiership.
Of course he used the words "long suffering". We hear that a lot. There's been more wooden spoons and less premierships than the other clubs throughout the VFL/AFL's history.
There has been times it looked like things were going well and then the board would sack the coach.
Ken Sheldon, Stan Alves, Grant Thomas. They all took the Saints into finals then got sacked. The last two were dismissed in years when their side had played finals.
Each season brings hope and optimism. Most of the time it ends up being misguided.
Speaking to a room full of Saints supporters, Montagna said it's like being in that relationship where all your family and friends say the other person is no good for you. They're unreliable. They always let you down.
But, he said, the fans remain with the Saints, because despite the disappointment and heartache, when it's good, it's really good.
On field it was only fitting the Saints won on the night we celebrated 150 years, kicking the first five goals against Essendon and in the end winning by 18 points.
Following another victory, on Saturday April 8, against Gold Coast Suns, the Saints sit clear at the top of the ladder, unbeaten in season 2023 after four games.
It's only early in the season, but it is one of those times when, despite all the heartache and letdowns, the relationship is really good right now. Go Saints!
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