With fair-weather conditions expected for the Grand Final, Sydney will again be awash with mint-condition guernseys, as the city rechristens the Swans "we" for 48 hours. Beer gardens more accustomed to the clink of cocktail glasses and the mild groove of chill-out compilations will soon resound with cries of "ball", shouted half-a-second behind the crowd at the ground.

Swans fans: no sweat, tears or Bloods

"I can't wait until kick-off," says the twenty-something marketing man, riding high on a wave of forced enthusiasm. "That feeling when the whistle blows, and the game starts - there's nothing else like it on TV."

Stewart will be watching the game at an Eastern suburbs bowling club, a venue he has not been to since last year's Grand Final involving Sydney. Beset by Swans fever, he has spent the past week cribbing key player names from media reports, and plans to drop the three he has managed to remember into conversation on match day.

Stephanie Edwards, 24, will also be a vital member of Stewart's three-quarter-length-pant-wearing coterie on game day. "AFL has the hottest guys," she says, a sentiment she last expressed twelve months ago.

Edwards will contribute to the festival atmosphere by asking whether Warwick Capper still plays for the Sydney, a suggestion that will be scathingly mocked by male members of her party, several of whom believe Paul Kelly and Tony Lockett still play for the team. She will then lose interest in the game half-way through the second quarter. But until that moment comes, she's as one-eyed as they come. "Go Swannies," she shouts, for the tenth time in as many minutes.

Asked about the Swans' chances, the inner-city cheer squad are unanimous. "If the refereeing is good, and Robert Thompson has a good game, then we're going to win the Championship," Stewart says. "Who are we playing again?"