The football journalist, who has been working in the game for 50 years, admitted he was left aghast at the purple presence in Melbourne during Grand Final week and on Grand Final day last year.
“I loved it,” he said.
“The atmosphere that the Fremantle fans bring to the footy is, it’s not unique, but it’s very distinctive and it’s enjoyable.
“They are also not hostile. They’re passionate, but they don’t seem to want to fight people or kill people like some of the other supporter groups.
“When Freo is in town, it’s a very happy, vibrant place.”
While he is not a Freo supporter, Sheahan admitted he was cheering for the club in last year’s Grand Final against Hawthorn.
He said it was the rags-to-riches narrative of a club that was now knocking hard on the door of success which he found so romantic as a writer and a fan of the game.
“I like the ethic,” he said.
“It’s been hard, (the club) started from scratch, lots of hard years, lots of disappointments.
“That makes the team better when they get to the top because they’ve earned it.
“I really like that and I’m very happy for them to do well.”
Sheahan said the club was now very relevant in the Melbourne media; a market Fremantle had barely raised a headline in over the years, save for news of a sacked coach.
“We’re more inclined to want to watch Freo now, because they are good,” he said.
“And even though some of the games can be tight, lockdown, uninspiring stuff, their best is very good.”
Sheahan said Freo had five or six players he really looked forward to watching at the footy.
“I’m a Sandilands fan, and I want to see (Nat) Fyfe, (David) Mundy and (Hayden) Ballantyne, I’m a Ballantyne fan.
“There’s something distinctive about the team now and we see more of it and, therefore, we feed off it and they are worth watching.”
Who does Sheahan think will be the AFL’s most influential player in 2014?
