From wooden spoons to the grand final: Jets fever grips Newcastle
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"One word, passionate. Passion about the game," said barber Fadi Hamadeh as he shaved an image of a jet into the hair of a young Newcastle Jets fan.
The man dubbed the "official Jets barber" has been fielding growing requests for the special cut as the spell of finals fever grips the city.
On Saturday, Newcastle will play host to the A-league grand final between the Jets and Melbourne Victory.
"I believe that from the beginning of this season it's been the Jet's year…I'm very confident we're going to win it," Mr Hamadeh said in his shop, decked out with Jets photos, jerseys and signed memorabilia.
"Now is the time for it."
This grand final is no ordinary game for the coastal city, just two hours north of Sydney.
It has been a decade since the Jets have won such a title, with the following years marred by internal turmoil at the club and three wooden spoons, the most recent just last year.
In a remarkable turnaround for the team, the event will be the first major football final in a regional area in the country, and some would argue the biggest sporting event ever in Newcastle.
Fans couldn't be more excited
Lawns have been painted, hair has been dyed, pets have been renamed and the Jets fan-gear is always on.
"I can't take it off at the moment," said Luke Blundell, who also shares a birthday with the Jets' first ever game.
"If you'd said 12 months ago after we finished last that we'd be celebrating a home grand final by the end of the next season, I wouldn't believe you!
"I don't think it's sunk in yet that we are actually hosting it."
Mr Blundell belongs to a group of supporters who even make their own Jets podcast.
One of his colleagues, Dr Emma Beckett, is a molecular biologist, a university lecturer, and of course, a mad Jets fan.
So much so she just got a tattoo of a jet in honour of her team on her leg. A nice addition to her red and blue hair, nails, make-up, dress and shoes.
"It's been a rough, rough ride. We've suffered through a lot of hardship to get here," Dr Beckett said.
"I think someone said, the bad times make the good times even sweeter, so it's nice to finally be here and we're going to savour it.
"Because if the hard times come back again, you want to remember this stuff."
Support shown to the heavens
In a sign of support which perhaps could attract the attention of the soccer gods above, Michael Deamer and his family have painted in giant letters "GO JETS" on their front lawn, hoping that others may gain a little inspiration from the bold move.
"We're in the flight path of the RAAF jets here, so maybe one or two of them might see that and hopefully Melbourne Victory when they fly into Newcastle they come over this way and see big painted lawn," said Mr Deamer.
But the family's support goes well beyond home graffiti. They have also temporarily renamed their pets in honour of Jets players.
"We've got our pet rescue greyhound, he's Harry, we've renamed him Dimi [after player Dimi Petratos] 'cos he's a pretty fast runner being a greyhound.
"We've got our pet python, his name's Phantom, he's now Pato the Python [after player Patricio (Pato) Julián Rodríguez], and we've got too smooth knob-tailed geckos and because they come from the desert in Central Australia they're tough guys living out there, so we've named them Topor [after player Nikolai Topor-Stanley] and Boogs [after player Nigel Boogaard].
On the big day itself, a march of potentially thousands will line the streets as fans make their way to the stadium after watching a replay of the Jets' 2008 grand final win at a nearby club.
Perhaps an unnecessary move to build excitement within an already buzzing home base.
Organiser Michael Body said they are speaking with authorities about any possible road closures.
"We've been talking with police and with Wests to organise a safe manner for us to be able to make plenty of noise and show plenty of colour," Mr Body said.
"And if the fans want to keep their eyes out on Bay one of the stadium we've got something pretty awesome planned that people will enjoy."
Newcastle's back
While the fans would love a win, whatever the outcome of Saturday's match, this journey and has reinvigorated the spirit of soccer and of sport in Newcastle.
Fans of all football codes in the city have been disappointed for years, not just by the drama and grief in its A-League team, but its NRL side, the Knights, have also been languishing on the bottom of the table, winning more than one wooden spoon in recent years.
2018 has seen the Knights finally make their way into the top eight after eight rounds.
Now is the city's time to shine and show off its sporting prowess to the rest of the country.
So, did Dr Emma Beckett's tattoo hurt?
"Less than the wooden spoon," she said.
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