Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian Rules Football club, playing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Port Adelaide was founded on 20 April 1870 and played its inaugural match on 24 May 1870 at Buck's Flat, Glanville. This means that Port Adelaide is not only one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia, it also predates teams like Manchester United, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Cubs.
Based in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, Port Adelaide Football Club took its name from the area of Port Adelaide that is was situated in and developed a strong following amongst the working class denizens of the western suburbs and a strong rivalry with the wealthier clubs of Adelaide's east and south. The success of the club can be gauged by its record 36 SANFL premierships and four "Champions of Australia" titles, as well as producing some of the all-time greats of Australian Rules Football, including Russell Ebert, Craig Bradley and Gavin Wanganeen.
In 1990, Port Adelaide attempted to enter a team in the AFL (the national competition of Australian Rules) but was stymied by legal action taken by the nine other SANFL clubs, which resulted in the formation of the Adelaide Crows, a new club, entering the AFL. Port Adelaide eventually entered the AFL in 1997, using the nickname "Power" (derived from the Torrens Island Power Station, located in Port Adelaide, which provides power for Adelaide), and inspiring an intense home-town rivalry with the Crows.
The intra-city rivalry is caricatured to be partly socioeconomic, with the strongly working-class Power contrasted with the middle-class Crows, a rivalry reminiscent of Port Adelaide's relationship with its SANFL foes. Port Adelaide also continues to field a side in the SANFL, using the moniker "the Magpies."
Port Adelaide Power has performed well in its first years in the competition, and is widely regarded for its strong character. They have not yet, however, won an AFL premiership, but will contest the 2004 Grand Final against Brisbane on Saturday 25th of September.
Port Adelaide have used four home grounds during their existence:
1870 - 1880 Buck's Flat
1881 - 1974 and 1977 - Present Alberton Oval (Magpies)
1975 - 1976 Adelaide Oval
1997 - Present Football Park, later renamed AAMI Stadium (Power)
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