25 September 2026 Relationships

Grand Final Season and the Loneliness of Not Belonging

By Chrissie, ACA registered counsellor

The MCG empty on a cloudy day, the oval and stands waiting for a crowd

Grand Final weekend has a mood of its own. There's tipping comps at work, colours in the office, family gathering around a screen with beers and snacks. For most people it's a welcome kind of togetherness. For some, it's a reminder of exactly how disconnected they feel from everyone around them.

Belonging has a season and this is one of its biggest

Footy finals create an unusually intense, unusually public form of shared identity, built from team colours, banter and a common language everyone seems to already speak. When you don't share it, whether by choice, circumstance or just not following the game, it can feel like the whole culture briefly closes ranks without meaning to.

Grief doesn't pause for finals week

If you're dealing with loss, a hard year or a stretch of low mood, a weekend engineered for communal celebration can land harder than an ordinary Saturday. The forced cheer around you doesn't cancel out what you're carrying. It can make it feel more isolating, because everyone else seems to have somewhere to put their feelings and you don't quite have that outlet.

Not belonging isn't the same as not being welcome

Often, people who feel outside the footy culture assume they're being deliberately excluded, when really it's more that the moment simply isn't built with them in mind. That distinction matters. It's not usually personal, even when it feels that way.

Small ways back in, if you want them

You don't have to fake enthusiasm for a sport to take part in the gathering itself. Showing up for the food, the company or just the ritual of everyone being in one place is a legitimate way to participate. Equally, opting out entirely and protecting a quieter weekend for yourself is just as valid. Belonging doesn't require pretending.

If this weekend has you feeling more alone than connected, that says something about timing, not about your worth. There's room for more than one way to spend a Grand Final Saturday. And support, if you need it, doesn't take a weekend off.