Mike announces amazing baby news to the grand final audience after his wife gave birth today.
Only hours after his wife gave birth, Mike saw Collingwood win the AFL premiership, calling it “one of the happiest days of my life.”
After two daughters in his first marriage, Charlie and Chelsea, McRae, 50, received his first child, Maggie, on Saturday morning with his wife Gabrielle.
After that, he oversaw the Pies’ thrilling four-point triumph over his old team, the Brisbane Lions, in front of a packed MCG, earning Collingwood its 16th premiership.
“My wife is fantastic,” McRae continued in an interview with Channel 7. She told me nothing about going into labor yesterday afternoon; she simply stated she wasn’t feeling well.
This morning, at around quarter to six, I received a call telling me, “You better come to the hospital; this baby’s coming.”
“Wow, this is the best day of my life so far—it just seems to be getting better.”
This week, The Herald Sun revealed that the couple was due to give birth to their first child together in mid-October.
“Collingwood coach Craig McRae gets the mic drop moment announcing his wife gave birth to their first child on Grand Final morning,” tweeted Jon Ralph of the Herald Sun. “Which AFL coach on the victory dais will ever top that moment?”
“I would want to pay my respects to Fages [Chris Fagan] and the Brisbane Lions,” McRae continued.
You guys have always had a special place in my heart, and this is one of the best games I’ve ever played. This group has always struck me as quite exceptional, and now that they have won a premiership, congrats!
When we launched this campaign two years ago, one of our main goals was to involve the fans, and it has been an incredible journey.
Gabrielle, whom McRae married the previous year, was there in the rooms after Collingwood defeated GWS in their preliminary final last week.