- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
A number of years back while sitting in a practical anthropology class the question was posed by the lecturer: “What is the single biggest factor about Australian culture that is unique?” The overwhelming response was our nation’s mad love affair with all things sport.
The reasons for Australia’s love affair with sport are hard to put the finger on.
Perhaps it is that we are a nation descended from underdogs and we love the chance to come from behind and win.
Perhaps it is that we want to be noticed by the world, and as we are a small country, sport gives us a chance to punch well above our weight in the world, and be noticed.
In Australia, there seems to be no city that has a bigger love affair with sport than Melbourne.
Perhaps the reasons for this can be found in Melbourne’s rapid rise to become the richest city in the British Empire on the back of the 1850s gold rush. The rapid rise in income turned Melbourne into Australia’s biggest city and gave people a lot of free time for recreational activities. It was in this climate that the sport of Aussie Rules Football was born and rapidly spread across the country.
Sydney had a different nature to Melbourne, its growth was more gradual.
Rugby Union came to Sydney in 1864, yet Aussie Rules did not make it there until 1877. Nevertheless, there was a large uptake of Aussie Rules in Sydney, so much so that the Waratahs club and Sydney University petitioned the NWSRU to change to Victorian Rules Football.
This was a little too much for the upper class Rugby Union administrators of the day, and the status quo remained. In 1903, Victor Trumper, the Australian test cricketer, set up an Aussie Rules football league in Sydney. In 1907 Trumper changed his mind and promoted Rugby League instead due to the potential money to be made from the game.
Sydney has always had more of a fractured football environment than Melbourne has. Until the dawn of Rugby League, there were two major football codes: Rugby Union and Australian Rules. After the decline of Aussie Rules, there was then League and Union.
Now in the early 21st century, Sydney again faces a fractured football scene. There are now four football codes competing for the Sydneysider’s attention.
Over the last 26 years, the Swans have made themselves a strong home, with many Sydney people warming to them and claiming them as their own.
Over the last 12 years Sydney have enjoyed Rugby Union at a professional level.
Then, over the last few years, Sydney have warmed to the new Sydney FC.
When the big picture is taken into account, professional sports are less attended than in the past. State of Origin Rugby League matches are no longer selling out. Rugby League attendance averages are hovering around 17,000, with some clubs failing to average 10,000. David Gallop, NRL Chief Executive, has warned that many Sydney clubs are facing financial crisis.
Rugby Union is not immune to struggles either. The sport is also struggling, and will sorely miss the $25 million that was denied to them in the recent Federal Budget.
The Sydney Football Club has had some high attendances in recent years. Most notably, the game against LA Galaxy attracted 80 000, although many argue that the majority were there to see David Beckham play.
But even the Sydney FC has not performed as well as Melbourne Victory. Sydney FC played to average crowds of 16,373 in 2007-8, while Melbourne Victory played to average crowds of 26,064.
Are Sydney people losing an interest in sport?
Perhaps Sydney people are overwhelmed and confused by four codes competing for space in the one city. Still, Sydney is increasingly becoming a cosmopolitan international city with its eyes towards the world. Perhaps it is forgetting its Australian cultural sporting roots.
Others have argued that Sydney traffic and public transport is so horrendous that people would prefer to stay at home and watch the game on TV.
Perhaps Sydney people do have less time for sport these days. The trend would suggest that the Sydney population may eventually support professional football codes to the tune of 1 or 2 AFL teams, a Rugby Union team, 1 or 2 A-League teams and 4 or 5 Rugby teams.
There are troubled times ahead for Sydney’s sporting landscape.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.