HDU Members Spotlight: Sam Atwell (TAS)

Mark Davis
Jun 19
3 min read

Updated: Jun 24

Next up in our Hoops Down Under Member Spotlights, we head across the Bass Strait to West Hobart in Tasmania where we get to meet Sam, who's been supporting the Rs since 1982!

*Sam's son Toby. He's a Hoops Junior Member as is his daughter Imogen.*

Q: How's it going Sam? So how long have you been a QPR fan?

A: Been a fan since 1982. I was allowed to sit-up and watch the FA Cup final & I chose QPR because their top looked more like a Aussie Footy top.

I’ve been a long suffering fan ever since....(Parents should intervene with their kid's team choices sometimes!)

Q: What is your most favourite QPR memory to date? A: Bobby Zamora's iconic goal in the 2014 Championship Play-Off Final secured promotion for Queens Park Rangers to the Premier League! Let’s face it we’d pretty shit for most of the game...QPR reduced to 10 men, Zamora scoring in the 90th minute, our only shot on target, the “shut the Fxxx up” scream from my wife...it was 1am here and the noise I was making wasn't appreciated 😅 All in all a wonderful night!

THAT GOAL IN 2014 🥰 — *THAT GOAL IN 2014* 🥰

Q: Who is your all time favourite QPR Player? And Why?

A: I’ve always had modest heroes - Charlie Austin for me, not the greatest by any stretch but will always be a fan favourite with me. He actually engages on Social Media - I was excited when he came to play in the A-league thought I might meet him...but then he left. I still claim Eze as ours and he’s a close 2nd!

*Charlie Austin scored 58 goals in 137 appearances across two stints at QPR.*

Q: Who is your all time favourite QPR Manager? And Why?

A: Harry Redknapp. At the time I believed we could grow as a club with him at the helm.

Q: Who is your current favourite QPR Player? And Why?

A: Daniel Bennie - Aussie Aussie Aussie!! 🦘 Hopefully he hangs around a while and grows the love for QPR there!

David Bennie on the cover of the QPR v Swansea Hoops Magazine earlier this year "I just want to keep playing as much as possible and helping the team get results. In the long run I want to put my foot down and really stamp my name on the team."

Q: Where would you like to see QPR in say, 5 years time (2030-31)? How do QPR reach this achievement? A: It’s the Hope That Kills You.....Life as a QPR Fan!

Being a QPR fan is like entering a long-term relationship with someone who constantly forgets your birthday, calls you names, burns your dinner and yet, every now and then, turns up with a six pack and makes you believe this time it'll be different.

You start the season with optimism: “We’ve made some good signings. The new manager is going to better. This might be our year!” Fast forward six games and we’re bottom of the table, two red, and our striker thinks the goal is an abstract concept.

Then suddenly, BAM! We win away with a 94th-minute winner and you go to the online QPR Shop to buy a new top with said scorer's number. You know it’s a trap. But you fall for it. Every. Single. Time.

Then January comes, and we sign a left-back who last played competitive football in 2016. By March, the manager’s been sacked, the fans are fighting each other on Facebook, and we’re desperately calculating how many points we need to stay up!

And yet, on the first day of the next season, there we are again — scarves up, pint in hand, saying, “Tell you what, I fancy us this year!”

It’s not the losses. It’s not the chaos. It’s the hope that kills you.