World Footy News

Like any diehard fan, when Timmy Brown was given the opportunity, he named his team the Fairfax Kangaroos and gave them the Blue and White of his favorite AFL club. What is a little bit different is that Fairfax is a suburb of Washington DC, Timmy is a 25 year old American and the Fairfax Kangaroos are an Ice Hockey team. Teams in other sports have been known to be named after AFL clubs - Lindsay Gaze's Melbourne Tigers in the NBL for example, and of course there are footy teams in other countries named for AFL clubs. There are the Nashville Kangaroos, the Golden Gate Kangaroos, the Calgary Kangaroos, the Reading Kangaroos, even the Etobicoke Kangaroos. But I'm not sure there has ever been a team in another sport in another country named for an AFL Club (although Formula One team Minardi chose the black and white stripes of Collingwood).

In 1999 Timmy was watching the local "international channel" (now called MHZ Network) and on came the 1999 Preliminary Final between the Roos and the Brisbane Lions. With Wayne Carey kicking the goals and Denis Pagan at the helm, the Roos defeated the Lions and then went on defeat the Blues in the Grand Final. Even though this was his first footy game, Timmy was hooked. He had become a huge Kangaroo fan.

In 2005, Timmy was given the opportunity to name his hockey team - and so he named them for his beloved Kangaroos. The team played four seasons with Timmy in goal, and ended with a 28-49-6 record. The team also had two games at the home of the NHL's Washington Capitals - the Verizon Center in Washington DC. The Kangaroos disbanded before the Summer 2007 season.

Timmy decided to use the name for his all-star team. The first games they played were against the Highland Capitals of Inverness Scotland. They had 1 win and 4 loses. The only win was in the "Main Game" for the Quaich Cup. They won the game 7-4. In that game the Kangaroos played for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and the Highland Capitals played for the Highland Hospice. Timmy is planning to have the Fairfax Kangaroos play in more games in the coming years.

Timmy loves his footy and watches games on MHZ whenever he can. Although Timmy is the footy fan of the family, his dad will sometimes join him for the games. In 2006 Timmy and his dad took travelled out to LA to see the Kangaroos in person. Before the game against the Swans, Timmy went to the North Melbourne Breakfast and met North legends Ron Barassi (pictured with Timmy) and Dr Alan Aylett, as well as current Kangaroos including Coach Dean Laidley. Timmy is very much hoping that the Kangaroos return to the US for more games.

So what do his team mates think about their team name? According to Timmy, "I don't know what the team thinks about being named after a AFL team but I have to tell them about the team name from time to time."

Their website is Fairfax Kangaroos Hockey Club