You often hear stories of AFL players reflecting on the countless hours they spent daydreaming of running around on the MCG in their favourite team's colours.
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They can't wait to grow up and be just like the players they see on TV.
But Charlie Spargo's story is a little bit different to the one that's usually churned out.
"We had a funny conversation with Bobby, Paul's dad, on the deck one day when Charlie was about 10," his mum Kate said as she glanced towards the deck of the family's Albury home.
"I think Bobby said 'Charlie, what do you want to do when you grow up?' You'd think a 10-year-old might say that they want to play AFL, but he said, 'I want to be a DJ.'
"Bobby said 'ok, well that's good Charlie.' And now he actually does have his own decks and he's right into it."
Little did he know at the time he would also become a Dee, set for the 2021 AFL grand final as Melbourne take on the Western Bulldogs.
It turns out Charlie and his grandfather Bob have a few things in common.
It's been exactly 60 years since Bob took to the field for Footscray during the 1961 grand final against Hawthorn.
He was just 21-years-old at the time, the same age as Charlie as he enters Perth's Optus Stadium today.
There's a strong football gene that runs through the Spargo family, with the late Bob Spargo Sr getting the ball rolling playing 65 games for Footscray, and ironically two with Melbourne.
He then passed the baton on to his sons, with Bob Jr and Ricky playing senior football for the Bulldogs, and Ray in the reserves.
Paul was next, making his mark at North Melbourne before arriving at Brisbane.
But with red, white and blue heavily part of the Spargo tradition, Bob has found himself torn with where to direct his cheers as he prepares to watch the game from his Gold Coast lounge room.
While one side will inevitably lose, Bob wins either way.
"I'll be barracking for Charlie and the Demons, and I'll be barracking for Western Bulldogs too," he said.
"It's a win-win.
"I'm very proud of him."
But family and football allegiances can sometimes cause some headaches, as Bob knows all too well after leaving Footscray to join West Perth in 1964.
"I was still living at home and my parents didn't want me to go, they said I was silly," he recalled.
"So anyway I went, and it was the best thing I ever did.
"Footscray wouldn't let me go, and they told me that straight.
"Dad got onto the committee and he was the one that blocked me.
"Mum burnt my scrapbook.
"I was in a grand final and won some other things with the state team, and I made the team of the year, so I just had that sort of thing in there, and it all got burnt."
While Paul's brother Anthony and his family are mad Bulldogs' supporters, Kate's side of the family are all jumping on the Dee train, likewise Charlie's brother Abe and sister Annabelle.
Charlie has an abundance of support from Kate's eight siblings and their families, who could just about pack out an arena by themselves.
The Pains also have a history of football success, with Kate's late father Leon an Albury premiership player and two-time club best and fairest winner.
He also played reserves for Essendon.
"But Charlie's speed and prowess didn't come from me," Kate laughed.
However, Charlie doesn't think he got it from his dad either.
"Everyone says my dad wasn't fast, so it must have skipped a generation," he said.
It is perhaps another similarity between him and Bob, who once made the final of the Stawell Gift.
Bob Sr placed third in Australia's richest footrace twice, while Ricky also made the finals.
Most people locally would recognise Paul as a five-time Albury Tigers' premiership coach and the club's coach for the team of the century.
But well before the Tigers experienced some of their glory days, his father Bob had spent three seasons at the helm helping them rebuild.
"When I got there a lot of the players had retired," Bob said.
"We weren't much good then, we were team building and bringing the youngsters through."
Bob left Albury for the warmer climate of Queensland just over 20 years ago, but has great memories of his time on the border.
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He started out as a salesman at Blacklocks Ford before becoming dealer principal.
"I employed a lot of people and made lots and lots of friends," he said.
"I was sad when I left Albury.
"The weather suits me a lot better up here, otherwise I'd still be in Albury."
Bob says he never pushed his sons Paul, Nick and Anthony into football, while Paul also let his kids Abe, Charlie and Annabelle decide their path.
Paul looks back fondly on coaching his sons in The Scots School football team.
"I coached them at Scots for a few years in the juniors," he said.
"The Scots boys were great and they were all different, some were musicians.
"There were five or six footy players and the rest played to help fill the team."
Both Kate and Paul agree that Charlie was the kind of kid who would give anything a go, and was usually good at it.
"He'd do somersaults on the trampoline out the back and watch the telly upside down, he just couldn't sit still," Paul said.
"Anything he had a go at he picked up pretty quickly."
"He was shy and he still is shy," Kate added.
"He'd be running around the oval on the weekend with a big mouthful of Hubba Bubba from the canteen."
His vast interests in sport and music means he also has an escape from football.
"He's got a really nice balance and he's also drawn to people who aren't football lovers," Kate said.
"He's definitely got a life away from football and he's pretty level headed," Paul added.
The Spargos know better than anyone the sacrifices that you often have to make in order to play football at the highest level.
"I remember when Charlie was finishing year 12, everyone was going to parties and he never did that, he was always off playing footy," Kate said.
"All of his mates finished exams and went to Schoolies, and he basically came home, got drafted and was gone the next morning."
Charlie admits he has plenty of role models to look up to, and often turns to both of his parents for support.
"Playing AFL before, dad's helped me with a number of things," he said.
"He's always stressed to me that's it's really important when you're going through adversity in footy to have other things to turn to to take your mind off it.
"He's obviously been there and done that, so he helps me a lot.
"Mum's similar to dad in terms of that balance.
"She's seen dad throughout his career and all of the highs and lows of footy."
Charlie's parents were fortunate enough to have seen several of the Demons' victories early in season, but are coming to terms with not being able to cheer their son on from the stands.
"Kate's found it hard to reconcile that she can't be there," Paul said.
"Paul's much more accepting," Kate added.
They also both have different methods when it comes to cheering.
"I get a bit vocal," Kate laughed.
"If we're at the MCG then Paul's very quiet, but if we're in our own home he lets go a bit."
There's set to be a mixture of nerves and excitement for Charlie and his supporters as he becomes part of the biggest day on the AFL's calendar.
But Kate's confident he will take it all in his stride.
"I remember the night before his first game, we were really excited and nervous and I asked him if he was nervous, and he said nope and just tucked into a big bowl of pasta," she said.
Above all else, his family just hope he enjoys it.
"I'll message him and say to enjoy it and play hard, and he'll give us a ring after the game," Paul said.
"I just think he's so fortunate," Kate added.
"There's so many great players that play for years and never get to do this.
"He's a lucky boy."
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