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Pirtek Stadium has been a hub of activity recently with the stadium having just hosted an Asian Champions League quarter-final for A-League club the Western Sydney Wanderers and a crucial NRL grudge match between the Parramatta Eels and Manly Sea Eagles.
Both games attracted an impressive 17,000-strong crowd, begging the question which code Western Sydney loves more.
The Wanderers, entering just their third year of existence, are already commanding a loyal band of followers. Initial membership numbers for the 2014/15 season are reaching impressive heights, with 13,000 renewals from last year alone. Such drastic growth in numbers means the round ball game may now rival the Parramatta Eels’ 2014 membership total of more than 20,000.
Statistically speaking, the battle between the NRL and football looks to be deadlocked, with the Eels ahead but Wanderers growing exponentially. But what about the passion of these respective fans?
The Wanderers have created many a headline with its infamous Red and Black Bloc, with the round ball game reigniting a sporting passion and active support that the NRL has been increasingly losing. Possibly linked to an embedded love of football in the west, the Wanderers have provided die-hard football fans with an outlet to vocalise this love.
The crowd’s ritualistic 80th minute Poznan, which involves fans linking arms and turning their back on the game in a show of unity, is a spectacle I have personally never witnessed and would never envision seeing at an NRL match. Hell, the closest I get to another person at an NRL game is when someone bumps into me trying to protect their cherished beer.
While the atmosphere at Wanderers’ matches have at times turned explosive, on the whole, the Wanderers’ fan-base is one of immense dedication and pure admiration.
The mighty Blue and Gold Army on the other hand has, particularly in recent years, lost a lot of its colour. Consecutive wooden spoons have undeniably contributed to this less vocal fan-base, but its heart and soul remains intact.
In a spirited Eels performance on Friday night, the Parramatta faithful played a key role in keeping the Eels players slick and slippery enough to continuously outmanoeuvre the Sea Eagles in the second half. It was truly buoying to finally hear the Parra chant again reach through the TV and embrace me in the anxiety of my living room. And although it’s been a long time coming, I’m confident that if the Eels themselves remain passionate, the fans will too.
Form of both teams will and has inevitably altered the popularity of each. Riding a wave of persevering success, it will be interesting to see just how many Wanderers commit their time and voice to a side when they eventually hit a poor run of form. Parramatta, on the other hand, has been wracked by poor form and in turn proven that it has a committed and loyal fan-base that won’t wander when times get tough.
In saying this, I am confident that the Wanderers fan-base won’t go a wandering when times do get tough, but will they still be singing just as loudly?
Alluded to as a battle, it is clear the fight between NRL and football is an unwinnable one. And it is in not having a victor that I believe the two codes will most benefit. Not having to make hefty sacrifices in the heat of battle, both the Wanderers and Eels could be put in an enviable position to broaden their fan-base if they can put their differences aside.
Conversion of Eels fans to Wanderers and vice versa should be a relatively easy process, with each code occupying differing seasons and in turn meeting an omnipresent need for sport within Sydney’s west.
As a football fan first and foremost, it was in the football season concluding that I was left with a massive sport-sized hole to fill. In stepped the Parramatta Eels. Having supported them since birth, I had shunned them ever since I became a Wanderers fan, perceiving it to be a lesser team and sport.
But such arrogance was to my own detriment as I was left empty without a team or sport to follow. Recently jumping back on the Eels bandwagon, I’ve realised that both codes have their respective appeal, with the Eels doing an impressive job of compensating for the Wanderers.
Reaching this epiphany on my own, the potential both codes have if they team up to expand their fan-base has been highlighted. With home games of each side primarily taking place at the same stadium, fans are clearly already in a position to attend games. So surely twin memberships for both the Eels and Wanderers at a discounted price are a logical first step in turning these supposed enemies into allies.
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