Lying in bed, Robbie Williams expressed shock after Carlton’s last-gasp victory over Melbourne in their AFL semi-final on Friday night.
“Wow! Is it like this every year?” asked the singer in a video he posted on social media.
“Because I am so in. My God!”
Watching the do-or-die game on a laptop, the singer, songwriter and Blues fan showed his appreciation for Carlton ruck Tom De Koning, who scored two goals and took a spectacular aerial mark late in the first half.
“De Koning’s in the air, everywhere I look around,” Williams then sang, to the tune of John Paul Young’s 1978 hit Love Is In The Air, in the video since shared on the football club’s Twitter account.
“De Koning’s everywhere, leaving bodies on the ground / And he’s better than his brother, even better than his dad / There’s only one Thomas De Koning and he’s the best one we’ll ever have.”
Nobody:
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) September 16, 2023
Absolutely nobody:
Us this morning: "DE KONING'S IN THE AIR!" 🎶@robbiewilliams' tribute to TDK is the best. Ever. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/nVp4Zo2gxb
Before moving on to a “Vossy pop” for coach Michael Voss, the 49-year-old also shared a screenshot of a Guardian Australia column from June about the team’s losses and his future with the club.
Williams had the MCG crowd on their feet when he performed at last year’s grand final between Geelong and Sydney, in which the Swans were decisively thumped.
The newfound AFL fan taunted the Swans last week after their loss to Carlton in the qualifying final.
“Every time, every time,” Williams sang. “Every time I watch the Swans, the Swans have lost to everyone.”
For Carlton cheer squad member Nic Caruso-Wishart, the video was even more pleasing as Williams happened to be his favourite artist.
“He’s the best entertainer I’ve seen live … and Carlton is my life,” he said. “So when you’re riding high, on a wave of emotion, these videos make you feel so good.
The cheer squad had asked Williams for more chants and invited the rockstar to join them at future games, he said
Williams’ love for the Blues appears to date back more than a decade. He’s been pictured in a Carlton guernsey in 2012 and met Voss last year in the lead-up to his grand final performance, when he was given a new jersey, emblazoned with “WILLIAMS”.
"I'm loving Vossy instead"? 🤪
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) September 9, 2023
The coach's reaction to Robbie Williams tuning in to last night's elimination final win is as good as it gets: he's just a big fanboy at heart 😂 pic.twitter.com/UJnP3WelyU
“I think I’m going for Carlton,” he told Seven at the time.
“They sent the coach … to come and say hello and we had a great chat. They bought me a shirt and I’m easily swayed.
“I also like that white emblem thing they’ve got on the front … [and] the navy blue.”
Nor was this his first rodeo getting behind Australia’s sporting heroes.
In August, Williams threw his vocals behind Tottenham’s new coach Ange Postecoglou, recreating a rendition of Angels that had been belted out by Spurs fans in honour of “Angeball”.
“I’m loving Big Ange instead,” Williams crooned with an acoustic guitar in a video uploaded to social media.
“And through it all, we’re playing the way we want to / Big Ange Postecoglou, whether I’m right or wrong / You can keep your Pochettino, Conte and Mourinho, and even Christian Gross / Cause everywhere we go, I’m loving Big Ange instead.
“Guess I’m a Spurs fan now.”
Asked how he had responded to the moving tribute at a later press conference, Postecoglou replied, “oh God”.
“I love Robbie Williams, he’s brilliant, he’s a great entertainer … The alternative is they make up songs about you that are less than complementary, so I’ll take it for what it is.”
There’s a good chance that “De Koning’s in the air” will heard at the Blues’ next match.
“I can make a promise it’ll be sung with gusto on the weekend,” Caruso-Wishart said.
“These sort of things keep people buoyant … riding this wave of momentum.”
