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I’m a rugby fanatic, that much will never change. I’ve followed “the game they play in Heaven” since my age was in single digits.
One year playing soccer in the under 7’s was enough for me, and since then I’ve always dismissed “the beautiful game” as altogether boring, unsportsmanlike, and a waste of my time. I’ve tried to watch the odd World Cup match and still lost interest.
I’ve never been shy to deride soccer either.
So it is with some humility, a bit of egg on my face, and a large serving of surprise, when I say to all you soccer supporters out there, Congratulations on keeping me thoroughly entertained last weekend.
I found myself at work on a twelve-hour shift with little to do except watch TV and wait for the phone to ring. The phone never did ring, and I found my TV options fairly limited, so I thought I’d put the QLD Roar v Perth Glory game on, merely as some noise in the background while I surfed the net.
Shortly before half-time something strange happened: I found myself actually watching the game more than I was surfing the net.
After the half time break, I was avidly watching the match.
Rugby is still my No.1 but now soccer is something I can easily watch, and I may even find myself heading off to a game.
What happened to change my opinion in just one night?
The only explanation I can give is that this match was played as the game should be played. It was fast-paced. The score ticked over, with Queensland only sealing the win late in the game.
There was back-passing, but it was back-passing with the intention of moving the ball to someone who could do something with it – not back passing just to keep possession while the other team got worn out from chasing the ball.
The crowd was alive right up to the final whistle, and even though I was only watching on TV, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
One thing more than anything demonstrated the spirit of the game.
A Queensland player was felled by an aggressive Perth tackle, but rather than squirm on the ground feigning agony normally only inflicted by the Spanish Inquisition, he immediately got back to his feet and continued after the ball.
And that wasn’t the only time in the game it happened.
The other team played the same way. The players were more interested in trying to score goals than free kicks.
The only small bit of advice I can give to the ardent soccer fanatic is simply that this is the way non-soccer supporters expect the game to be played. I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean that as a compliment and as constructive criticism.
I really do want to see soccer succeed to the point that Australia is a serious and regular threat to other countries at the World Cup.
So I’d like to apologise to those soccer followers I may have annoyed in the past, and I’d like to thank the players of the A-League for showing how beautiful the beautiful game can be.
The codes can exist together. They can all succeed together. Fans can follow more than one code. It just takes some coordination (in Pittsburgh USA, you’ll rarely see the Steelers play NFL the same night the Penguins play NHL) and the administrators of the codes have to also accept that they can succeed together.
So this weekend I’ll be going to a Super 14 trial match, watching the Melbourne Vs Wellington game, entering the NFL and AFL tipping comps in preparation for their respective seasons, and watching the Superbowl on Monday morning.
All they have to do now is resurrect the Wollongong Wolves and the Illawarra Steelers and it will be a perfect world.
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