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The great debate between old sokkah and new football surely died forever at Edensor Park last week. As Australian football’s version of the Berlin Wall came crashing down the only thing missing was a Scorpions power ballad.
I saw 8,000 football fans watching an enthralling game cheering on their respective teams. But wait you say, there were people chanting “Cro-a-tia, Cro-a-tia”.
Well why shouldn’t they? The Croatian identity is synonymous with Sydney United. What did you expect them to sing: “O-lym-pic”, “O-lym-pic”?
The FFA cup has taught us that lower tier football is different. Interesting yet threatening no longer.
So who are these crusty old sokkah hold-outs? There is a small circle of us Sydney FC fans who watch the Sky Blues’ away games at our local club. Joe, a European migrant, now in his 70s with a great knowledge of the old days of Australian football, is surely a candidate.
I mean to ask him next time I see him but as he is a Sydney FC season ticket holder I know what his answer would be. Does anybody actually know a diehard follower of the old NSL who has no interest in the A-League? You can’t tell me those Sydney United fans had no interest in new football, especially as there is such a flow of players between their club and their opponents.
In recent times I have suspected that the “old sokkah” versus “new football” debate has been a bit of a beat up to sell newspapers. Those dwindling number of diehards standing in the queue yearning for the good old days need to take a look around. They may find that there is nobody behind them.
Supposedly the idea of the FFA Cup and recent attempts to engage old sokkah imply a one-way integration. That is, the crusty old fans will come aboard the shiny new football. What has come as a surprise is a level of curiosity shown by “new” fans for second tier clubs.
Come on, admit it, you thought NPL was a card game played at your local pub on a Wednesday night. Go all in on a pair of kings? Then the bloke with the Yankees cap and sunglasses calls you and lays down four aces. D’oh.
To those who may not already know, NPL refers to the eight state-based leagues in Australia. Now we know that Australia doesn’t have eight states (I can never remember how many, I always picture a map of Australia in my mind and count them), but the concept is that the winners of each league go into a knockout series to determine the national NPL champion.
Can something be made of such a great competition? The respective CEOs of the FFA and Fox Sports were seen in amicable discussions at Edensor Park the other night. I would pitch to them the following idea: each Tuesday or Wednesday night during the winter, a match from one of the NPL leagues would be televised live.
Has there been a precedent for televising what would be a second tier competition in this country? There has been a few actually. Fox Sports currently televises the rugby league competitions, the Queensland Cup, NSW Cup and the NRL youth competition. The most relevant example is the NRC or National Rugby Championship.
The NRC is a brand new competition featuring teams from across the country, with one match broadcast live every Thursday night. I have not researched the ratings but it generally receives a thumbs-up from posters on The Roar‘s rugby tab.
One of the advantages of a weekly NPL match compared to the NRC is that teams do not have to criss-cross the continent. TV rights would be as cheap as chips. Basically, Fox Sports would cover the costs of the broadcasts and that’s all that is needed.
Would there be huge costs to the FFA? I don’t believe so, as these matches are being played in existing competitions. The only change would be bringing forward (or pushing backward) one game each week in one of the eight NPL Leagues.
Lighting at stadiums could be an issue but this has been adequately addressed during the FFA Cup. And remember, my suggestion only requires one venue in one state every few weeks as the televised games would be shared around the leagues.
As fans what would we get? Some mid-week competitive televised sport for starters. I for one would sooner watch Tuggies versus Cooma instead of The Farmer wants a Bachelor or Dancing with The Blocks. We would be watching established competitions as opposed to a manufactured one.
And what variety we would have. Adelaide City versus West Adelaide one week, then Sydney Olympic versus Marconi the next. For promotion-relegation addicts they could get their fix as most of the NPL Leagues have some form of promotion and relegation.
Would there be enough demand to warrant the expenses of the broadcaster? I don’t know the answer to this question but I would watch the mid-week NPL match of the round. Would you?
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