Would you paint your house for your team?

Most of us agonise over a paint colour for weeks. For some sports fans, the decision is made the moment their team makes the final.

Last week Newcastle, north of Sydney, turned red and blue. The Knights made their first NRL grand final in 25 years, knocking out our own Warriors on the way, and homes and shops across the city were painted in the club's stripes. Professional painter Lachlan Gray did his own house while his fiancée, who co-owns it, was at work. He'd told his mates he would if the Knights made it, but didn't think she believed him.

The stripes didn't quite work. On Sunday night the Roosters beat the Knights 19-18 at Accor Stadium, with a late field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans the difference. In the stands, plenty of fans took a less permanent approach and painted their faces instead.

In 2013, Richmond fan Jason Mariniello painted half his front fence in the Tigers' yellow and black, and the other half in the black and white of his wife's team, Collingwood. Whichever team went out of the finals got painted over.

The following year, Peter Ward from Wagga Wagga painted his whole house, mailbox included, in Rabbitohs red and green the morning after South Sydney made the grand final. He said he was in no hurry to change it back, because they're "Christmas colours too".

In India, tea seller Shiv Shankar Patra painted his house near Kolkata in Argentina's sky blue and white. When Diego Maradona died in November 2020, his family gathered there to light candles beside photos of the football legend.

In Dortmund, Germany, house fronts around Borsigplatz, the square where Borussia Dortmund has its roots, carry paintings of club legends. And in south-east Türkiye, Galatasaray fan Mehdi Keskinkilic painted his house in Silvan in the club's red and yellow, as a tribute to the team and its striker Mauro Icardi.