His long, blonde trademark mullet quickly led to Wayne Weidemann becoming a cult hero at Adelaide.
Each time he went near the ball, the crowd would roar with “Wee-eeed, WEEEEED’’.
But from the moment the former utility was recruited to the Crows, he only cared about one thing - playing footy.
Speaking on Triple M’s The Crows Radio Show, Weidemann says he still can’t understand how he became such a sensation among supporters.
But he said he would always cherish the memories made in the tri colours.
“It was one of those things - all I wanted to do was get a game of footy and whatever happened after that sort of happened,” Weidemann said.
“I was a little bit different from them (Modra etc) I had the hair going, I had to have it (the mullet).
“I was sort of a bit rough around the edges, I was sort of a country bloke, got along with everyone and I think people latched on to that a bit.
“It’s a bit like anything, it started with a little bit and then gathered a bit of momentum and then it turned into something that none of us could control, really.”
Weidemann, now 55, grew up in country Victoria and played for Fish Creek Football Club.
He spent some time with Collingwood and then St Kilda vying for that AFL contract but was not picked up by either club.
Weidemann then decided to try his luck in Canberra with Eastlake Football Club and was later scouted by then Woodville-West Torrens coach Andrew Bennett during a carnival in Tasmania.
“I spent two years - 1988 and 1989 in Canberra,” Weidemann said,
“Andy Bennett who was coaching West Torrens at the time was down in Tassie and I was down there representing ACT in a state carnival.
“I had a pretty reasonable carnival and I came under the attention of Andy and he caught up with me after the last game and wondered whether I’d be interested in coming across to West Torrens.
“I had obviously missed out on getting a game or getting a contract with Collingwood or St Kilda, so I thought the next place to go would be South Australia.”
After toiling away in the SANFL, Adelaide recruited Weidemann and he went on to play 68 AFL games between 1991 and 1996, finishing his career with 26 goals.
Weidemann said former Adelaide assistant and ex-Collingwood player Michael ‘Kingo’ Taylor had the biggest influence on him during his career at the Crows.
“He was actually at Collingwood when I was there and had a tough job taking training with 120 blokes trying to make the cut at Collingwood,” Weidemann said.
“I was first introduced to him there and then caught up again when I was on the initial list at the Crows.
“Michael Taylor was one that sort of sat back, took it all in and gave some pretty good advice. He was really good.
“He was able to sit down and talk to you man-on-man in a little bit more relaxed atmosphere and sort of pointed you in the right direction.”
Tune in this Sunday at 9am on Triple M Adelaide for the next instalment of Sauce and Thomo.