Nothing compares with the fun, excitement, tension, relief, despair, heartbreak and pure, pure joy of being a Socceroos supporter.
For those who have been supporting this team for more than a handful of years, our journey has been at the darkest end of the spectrum, but the last six years have propelled the Australia national team into becoming a formidable force in world football.
We may not be the best, and probably never will be, but even the best footballing nations in the world know that today, the Socceroos will be tough opposition. One or two moments of lost concentration, and gotcha!
To be an avid Socceroos supporter, standing and singing, chanting, waving your flags in the Australian home end is one of the greatest experiences you can have.
Surrounded by your fellow hardcore supporters, your mates, the soldiers in green and gold who have answered the call to be the Australian 12th man, is an honour, and the pride and passion is so thick you can almost touch it.
Australia at home is electric, but being an Australian away supporter is a total different experience.
Having had the great fortune and honour to have seen most of the Australian 2010 World Cup away qualifiers, I can attest to the fact that the game day atmosphere is very different, probably much less noise, but never ever lacking in passion.
To expand on the previous soldier metaphor, the away supporters draw on that siege mentality, a feeling of being behind enemy lines. The camaraderie between the supporters is intensified as we are all there for the one cause and need each other to work through the inevitable challenges that will be placed in front of us.
Challenges such as, how do we get tickets? Where do we get tickets? Why do we have to pay 25 times more for tickets than the locals? How do we get to the stadium? How do we get back from the stadium? Why have we been denied entry to the stadium? And of course, where do we find affordable beer in an Islamic country?
But the challenges are always overcome due to the collective ingenuity and tenacity of the away supporter. We come together as one, that tiny pocket of green and gold in a stadium full of contrasting colour and intimidating noise.
But we sing louder and longer than we ever do at home. That tiny band of brothers and sisters (sometimes numbering less than your fingers and toes) trying to drown out thousands of locals on their own turf. We probably never do, but it sounds pretty bloody loud where we stand, that’s for sure.
And the beauty of being an away supporter doesn’t end there. It’s not all about football (did I hear someone yell ‘blasphemy’?). Due to my away game travels I have also experienced the Pyramids in Giza, Petra in Jordan, sumo wrestling in Tokyo, ice skating in Dubai and a dhow cruise in Doha.
Not to mention finding affordable beer in those latter Islamic countries! I have also met some of the most wonderful people of many different cultures I would never have possibly met before. It has been the most fulfilling of experiences and I cherish every moment.
As we move into the next decade and the qualifying games for Brazil 2014, I would like every true Socceroo supporter to keep an option open to travel to at least one away game to experience the difference and excitement being an away supporter in enemy territory. It will be a life experience you will never forget.
And for me?
I’m praying for Tehran and Pyongyang.
Josh
Guest
I've been dreaming of traveling to N Korea for awhile and have done a fair bit of research into going. Unless things chang due to us playing there, unfortunately as things stand you can't just travel there independently. You have to go as part of a pre-organised government tour. The chances of the dates of one of those trips lining up with the game...
Terry
Guest
Absolutey true. Unfortunately i never got to any Away games during the last WCQ, but this time I want to do at least 1 each year, '11, '12, '13. You are a true supporter CB and it has been a pleasure catching up at various Socceroo matches and WOrld Cups :) Hopefully we will be going to Pyongyang.
Kasey
Guest
Bondy, No follower of football in this country expected anything different:(Despite the excellent fare on offer last night that did a lot to reassure fans that it wont be all doom and gloom in the quest for 2014, the good old Official mouthpiece of the AFL chooses to focus on the game?, a bit of "hey we got a bigger crowd than crappy Adelaide" traditional VIC/SA banter? No of course not, had to be the Flares. was any body injured? did anyone die? or is it just different from your docile suburb name-suburb name clap-clap-clap AFL 'chant' to make the locals feel inadequate again? It begs the question: Is Melbourne the anti-sokkah media epicentre of the country? I doubt we'll ever get the same level of coverage as The UKs Guardian newspaper anywhere in this country, but I think the Herald Sun even outdoes the Daily Telegraph(NSW) for anti-sokkah OMG riotz!!11!! garbage reporting. thoughts? On that basis, I can't believe I'm going to say this...but respect to the tards for continuing to generate a large crowd base in the face of such a hostile press. when they;'re not boycotting etihad like children I suppose:)
Bondy
Guest
apaway. Another article on the way perhaps soon please.
Bondy
Guest
Kasey. I watched the Football tonight and thought to myself the most destructive thing in Australian Football for the past 5 years has been Pim Verbeek . Though he could very well go down with the most impressive C.V. / successful Australian gaffer since joining the Asian F.C. in relation to qualifying for World Cups. Football is both weird and wonderful . Oh by the way Lads The Herald Sun's back page today , yes you guessed it the FLARES are on the backpage nothings changed and nothings going to change.
Bondy
Guest
Cbead. What a great read i love the , going into foreign territory with a seige mentality, with the soilders in the green and gold army acting as the twelfth man. Just to take it possibly to another level the green could be replaced with khaki to really get into the swing of things but leave Pyongyang out of it, it may get a bit heavy there.
Kasey
Guest
ASIO/ASIS...God, what an exciting thought, pity I'm just a humble engineer(not a boring PC salesman like Arnie;) but a humble desk jockey. I work in and about the Defence community though which means my security clearance is directly tied to my employ-ability:( I Checked DFAT and apparently DPR Korea is Okay to travel to if you "exercise caution" so only one level above the USA then:) Bring on Pyongyang! How mental would that be? Aliens? more likely to be employed by AD to find AFL journos who don't knock Sokkah enough - Big Brother is listening Mike Sheahan, you've been warned! PS anyone that knows me would now my mouth is just too big to work as a spy:)
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Well he's not ASIS at least, otherwise he'd be encouraged to go. Maybe Kasey listens for Aliens out at Pine Gap :)
apaway
Guest
You gotta quit that ASIO job, Kasey!
nordster
Guest
it looks like an interesting place, the climate and topography there in particular ... being so different yet so close to Saudi, must be a popular spot.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Apparently their peak tourism season is during the rainy period when all of the Saudi's come down to enjoy the downpour and cooler temperatures.
nordster
Guest
well back to the cycling ... ahem ... sorry just been getting into the Criterium du Dauphine this week lol ... Oman i can say having watched their Tour on the tele earlier this year is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL country. Did not realise how picturesque that part of the Arabian peninsula is.
Kasey
Guest
Thanks for the Aerbaijan knowledge, Muscat, Oman would be nice, kind of ironic as a United fan though wouldn't you say:) Kyrgystan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would be interesting I reckon.Interesting as in I don't imagine they are tourist meccas like Bangkok is. Its a pity that some of the most interesting countries to travel to also have pretty good footballing teams(CHN/JPN/Korea), meaning as the interest level goes up, so can the difficulty in qualifying for the Socceroos:(
lfc.mvfc.trfc
Guest
Azerbaijan qualify through UEFA. Shame. Gorgeous women.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Azerbaijan is in UEFA. Oman would be nice though. I've heard good things about Muscat. EDIT: Just re-read that... Muscat the city, as in Musqat, God Dammit :)
Kasey
Guest
Iran would be epic...they have that 100,000 seat stadium Azadi and you can guarantee the bogan-tiki mob(Fanatics) won't go near the place with a barge pole, they'd have to refrain from carrying on like drunken idiots in public and the boganista's might have to cover up their Aussie Flag bikinis:) In summary my dream football travel list(tough qualifying group though): Iran - imagine seeing all the Persian museums...IIRC a few Aussie women snuck in the last time we played there. HK scored, but we know how that tie ended up:( Japan Sth Korea China Thailand/Azerbaijan Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is out for me as it is a DO NOT travel by DFAT country(explained above why I care)
dasilva
Guest
Let's remember this Argentina lost 5-0 to Nigeria with an experimental youth side in a friendly The boss Grondola then told the coach that there will be no further experiments If the likes of Argentina can get upset over a "meaningless" friendly and the need to maintain respectability in those encounters then so does Australia. Therefore Holger has to transition the youth in the team slowly rather than a rapid dropping of senior players
lfc.mvfc.trfc
Guest
This WCQ process will finally be the one where I have the time the resources to travel for a game. Of the possible teams and destinations likely to get to the 3rd round, Tehran, Seoul, Japan (are all their qualifiers played in Tokyo?) and Doha interest me most. Jakarta or Bangkok would be good for a cheap trip.
Kasey
Guest
Malaysia could get through to phase 3(where Australia enters) :) 1st up is Chinese Tapei then H&A vs Singapore, but I imagine Malaysia would play a big game vs Australia somewhere in KL. then again, I don't know a whole lot about Asian football, still learning as we journey along:)
Kasey
Guest
The FFA program has blank squares for you to write in the players kit number as it is read out during the introductions. Helped me to point out just who that good number 9 for Australia was to the old guy behind me not up to date on Josh Kennedy's new-ish haircut(no more ' Jebus' Kennedy in the short term..still Nagoya is a very high level and he could very well provide us with the strike power we need to get to Brasil. At 29 this August there is not much chance of him turning out for the roos in the Samba nation at full speed, unless he has some Roger Milla genes in him;) I'm still hopefull a young striker will pop up from the numerous underage squads doing well at the minute. Djite? Either way, as long as he doesn't get shorter as he gets older, he could still play a sub role I suppose. With a header like his someone from the defence has to man-mark him at set pieces.