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It was the end of AFL and the end of NRL, and we were faced with the stark reality of the off season. What could we do? Cricket. Well, of course, but is this enough to satisfy out lust for live sport. No, not really.
I had to come up with the solution.
In truth, it came to me after playing FIFA 11, and I tentatively broke it to my circle of friends: football via the A-League. This received mixed reactions.
One screwed up his nose and said “what, wog ball?” I took that as a no.
Another said: “I can’t waste my time watching a game for 90 minutes where no one scores.” Also a no.
I received various non-committal replies, until finally one of my mates thought it was a great idea, which wasn’t a huge surprise as he has Scottish origins and is a Celtic fan.
So I bought two memberships to Sydney FC at a bargain price and eagerly awaited our goodies.
We announced our achievement to our other friends and got a lot of jibes about having to slick back our hair and grow a rat’s tail, be careful not to get stabbed and to get our riot and car-flipping skills up to scratch, and so on.
So with a tiny bit of nerves, but mostly excitement, I attended my first game between Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar, donned in my new membership gear.
Of course, the stereotypes and media representation of football were put down: there was nothing to fear as the crowd was very friendly and well behaved.
Although Sydney FC lost 2-0, largely in my limited opinion due to their inability to finish, I had a great time.
I felt the atmosphere was excellent and the tireless efforts of ‘the cove’ added immensely to this.
We attended the next game against Gold Coast United and what can I say, it was a fantastic game, had everything, many attempts on goal, a handful of yellow cards, the odd time wasting dive, five goals scored and the final via a penalty to give SFC the win in injury-time.
I was barely seated the whole game and, needless to say, we left extremely entertained and can’t wait to attend the next home game against Central Coast Mariners.
So, to sum up, do I regret buying a membership to Sydney FC? No way!
Do I now understand why so many people follow the game? Yes.
What do I have to say to my friends who weren’t interested? I say you should come along and see for yourself and you will be pleasantly surprised and will discover a whole new sport to keep you entertained during the off-season.
More sport can’t be a bad thing.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.