HAWTHORN small forward Paul Puopolo says he can’t wait to represent his family during the AFL’s Multicultural Round this weekend.
Like many Australians with Italian heritage, Puopolo’s father and his family migrated to Australia from Italy for a better life.
Arriving after a three-month trip on the boat with little more than a suitcase and a dream, Puopolo’s father’s family embarked on their new life.
The story was similar for his mother, though she was born in Australia after her parents went on the same journey as his dad’s.
It wasn’t all easy, however, coming to a new country where people at the time, perhaps didn’t fully understand the Italian culture.
Without going into too much detail about the hardships faced by his family, Puopolo says he’s extremely proud of the achievements and life his family has built in Australia.
“My family had to start from scratch over here, so they went through some pretty hard stuff,” he explained.
“They came by boat; it took them three months to get here so it was an extremely long journey.
“When I look back and see and understand the hard things they went through to give us a better life, I’m so grateful and proud.”
Puopolo speaks with love for his family and it comes as no surprise that Hawthorn’s speedster can’t wait to run out in his home state and represent the Puopolo family on Saturday at AAMI Stadium.
“It means a lot to me (Multicultural Round), it’s something to be proud of and I’m really proud to be part of,” he said.
“Obviously they don’t have this sport in Italy and this is the biggest sport in Australia and I’m playing at the highest level – they (my family) always tell me how proud they are of me and how I’m representing them.
“I’m so happy to be with Hawthorn and celebrating this round.”
The Hawthorn forward revealed he has been the victim of racism during his junior playing days, but is grateful to the AFL for the work done in educating Australians on the issue.
“I did get a lot of that racism and comments when I was younger but as I got a bit older it dropped off and at this level there’s not much of that stuff,” he revealed.
“When I was growing up as a kid, I did cop it all the time.
“It’s a credit to the work the AFL have done at this level, they do great work in educating people about different cultures and backgrounds.
“I am strongly against racism so I try and support their work as much as I can.”
Puopolo still lives and breathes popular Italian traditions, particularly those surrounding the making of traditional Italian sauce and sausages.
He says he has even tried to educate some of his teammates on the art of sauce-making.
“My parents still do the sauce but they live in Adelaide so we have to get it sent from Adelaide so my parents jump in the car and we do the sausages as well,” he said.
“I try to help out when I can but they don’t want me doing that kind of stuff, they try and make me avoid it so I don’t do an injury. They don’t want me doing something crazy with the sauce.
“I try to give them (teammates) a few hints when we go out and eat – I say ‘this doesn’t taste right’ and they always come back with ‘this doesn’t taste like nonna’s’. It’s pretty funny.”
