Jason Lyne is as true a sports tragic as you'll find.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He's always played, watched and loved sport, from running around with the round ball playing football as a junior to tackling nearly every challenge under the sun as part of the Eight Day Games, but his true love is his beloved Parramatta Eels.
And - like all good self-labelled sports tragics - he's still full of hope for the Eels despite the past three decades providing all the evidence to the contrary.
"Nope, we'll be right. I've been a supporter all my life and we cop it every year, but I can't wait for it," he said.
"I'm never going to say it's finally the year, I'll believe it when I'm finally there and can witness it."
Mr Lyne travels to as many home games - and some away games - as he can and he loves the atmosphere and the chance to take his nephews Bailey and Will into Sydney each weekend.
"People say I'm mad but I enjoy it."
The love of sport permeates nearly every facet of his life. Mr Lyne manages the greyhound racing track at Bathurst and will head along to whatever local footy - league or union - he can get to and support anyone who's on the field.
"Pretty much any sport, give me a crack at it and I'll follow it," he said.
His love of the Eels comes from living around the corner from Parramatta legend Steve Ella before moving to Orange, and his love of sport came from a family which was involved in anything and everything up to their ears.
It's something he's continued all through his life, most notably in the Eight Day Games.
He and Ray Clark were studying at TAFE when Eight Day Games legend Gail Pringle recommended they give it a shot. Two and a half decades later, they're still going.
"I've missed two years due to injury but 25 years later I'm still going," Lyne said.
"All my best mates are through the Eight Day Games."
Mr Lyne said he's "never had a bad day" at the events, despite what his body or the results sheet might say when the sun goes down, and will never forget the day he somehow - miraculously - beat Australian darts champion Dave Whitmore at his own sport in a mystery event.
"It was a fluke, I was throwing darts with no idea," Lyne said laughing.
It hardly needs saying with Lyne as an Eels fan, but he's hard darker times in sport, too. Outside Parramatta, the "shock and disbelief" of the greyhound racing ban in 2016 was one of the most difficult professional and personal times of his life.
"I was in shock, my phones were flat in three hours, watching the news and taking calls," he said of the time.
"It took a long time, but there was a lot of relief when it was overturned ... having the Nationals lose the byelection was a big part of that."
Mr Lyne said greyhound racing is part of an old fabric across the Central West, with families at Clergate, Cudal, Spring Hill and surrounds having the sport in their blood.
"There are a lot of trainers in the Central West, it's a hub and it'll never die out here," he said, harking back to the days of dogs racing around Wade Park - although he admits those days aren't coming back.
That said, the community is still going strong based out of Bathurst, and between that, his beloved Eels and the Eight Day Games - the ever-smiling face of Jason Lyne wouldn't change anything for the world.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...