Jackson Irvine may be a fully-fledged professional footballer, but he is still a fan at heart.
The 29-year-old is a student of the game and possesses a great sense of reverence and respect for his predecessors.
Speaking on the Countdown to Qatar Podcast, Irvine explained how he is still star-struck when meeting former Socceroos and legends of the game.
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Currently plying his trade with FC St. Pauli, Irvine recounted a recent interaction with ex-Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina while traveling to Brisbane for the New Zealand friendly in September.
“As I flew into Brisbane, I was sitting on the plane coming in from Germany,” said Irvine, who has 49 caps and seven goals with the national team.
“And somebody appeared in the seat above me, you know and you’re kind of not expecting anything, and you have to do this little double take and it was Jason Culina, who was flying back from Europe with his family.
“And I went into like absolute fanboy mode straightaway. I was like, ‘oh my god’.
“… We had a really good chat, and it was really one of the most refreshing chats I've had in a while.
“We’ve never met each other before. Obviously, he was one of my heroes growing up and straight away, I was telling him I was in Sydney in 2005 (for the penalty shootout win against Uruguay), and I was in Kaiserslautern in 2006 (for the FIFA World Cup). And he was telling me stories about the players."
Irvine’s passion and love for the game is clear, and as the pair exchanged stories, he quickly realised both himself and Jason are ultimately ardent football fanatics.
“… We talked about playing for the national team. And you know all these experiences and stuff,” he continued.
“I think we both kind of came to the conclusion that first and foremost, we're both football fans at heart.
“Before you're a player, before you’re a member of the team, you're just a fan of the game and a fan of the team and yeah, really, we were just exchanging stories about people in common and experiences of playing for the Socceroos.
“I think that really just takes you back into that mode of when you were when you were a kid… I still have that fan mentality. I suppose it never really leaves you.”
That mentality was made evident when Irvine encountered former Socceroos captain Paul Wade in Brisbane, the day after Australia’s 1-0 win over the Kiwis.
“Obviously with Wadey (Paul Wade) it was probably one of the, you know, iconic players through the late 80s and early 90s, in particular," he said.
“Just such a humble guy and, you know, to have a relationship and be able to be in touch with these guys know.
“Some of the guys were in Brisbane for the centenary celebrations, Josh Kennedy and a few others who I got to have good chats with. As I said in that interview, I suppose you have to pinch yourself sometimes to realise it.
“Now you're a part of that history as well. And yeah, I suppose that really for me is the key part of my relationship with the national team; is that first and foremost, I'll always be a fan of the team before I'm a player or, or a member of the group.”
While Irvine looked up to and idolised the players that came before him, he too is inspiring the next generation of youngsters.
It is a concept that the ex-Hibernian man admits is still difficult to comprehend.
“The thought that that's even in the realm of possibility is still absolutely bizarre to me,” he conceded.
“But you know, the fact that somewhere out there, yeah, there is that kid who's going to be, as you say, sitting in this position in 10 years’ time having the same conversation.
“And if you can give them some small piece of access to that to that world or show them that it's possible – that it can be done.”