The whole of WA has been gripped by grand final fever.

But it’s easy to forget that not everyone will be lucky enough to sit among the 60,000 when the Melbourne Demons take on the Western Bulldogs in the historic Perth match.

In fact, with thousands of tickets allocated to club members and then the AFL selling a huge amount of corporate packages, only 10,250 tickets were available to the WA general public.

It’s no surprise these sold out within nine minutes of going on sale last week.

So the truth is that most local footy fans were unable to buy a ticket for the greatest sporting event to be held in Perth for a long time.

For this reason, The West Australian is very grateful to the generous benefactor — who wishes to remain anonymous — that provided 16 family passes as part of a giveaway through our newspapers.

Over six days, winning golden tickets have been inserted into newspapers.

And the heartwarming stories behind those who found a golden ticket have been a reminder of just how much sport can bring us together.

Brett Wilkinson, from Geraldton, said he had never even been to a game at the stadium.

Now his first experience of Optus Stadium will be the greatest game of all.

Geoff Walker, from Perth, was one of thousands who missed out on getting a ticket online after seeing he was “somewhere around 59,000th” in the queue. He has also never been in the ground before.

Linda Watson said she was feeling lucky after reading The West Australian online so decided to go into her local newsagents to buy a copy in the hope of winning.

She said it was a gut feeling that led her to buy a third copy before she found a golden ticket. She now plans to take her footy-mad grandsons to their first AFL game.

Father-of-six Allan Boot, who also struck gold in his copy of The West Australian, said he was “beyond stoked” to be able to go to the “once in a lifetime game”.

Diane Edwards, 67, said she was in shock when she found she had won.

“I rang my husband straight away and told him the good news. I just couldn’t believe it and neither could he,” she said.

“I rang my mum afterwards and she was beside herself. She was just so excited for us.

“I’m just in disbelief, stuff like this doesn’t happen to us. There are so many people and so few tickets ... I’m just shocked.”

They are all everyday West Aussies who absolutely love their footy and will now get to experience this historic event.

WA is known for many things, but our generosity and community spirit should always be at the top of the list.

This Saturday — among the footy festivities — the State will also be reminded that Telethon is just around the corner.

Last year, the children’s health and research charity raised a truly staggering $46 million in the middle of the COVID pandemic.

This year it may top that. What makes Western Australia so special is how we band together — through thick and thin.