The Boxing Day derby did more than settle a local grudge match, it also marked the appearance of a frequent visitor: the anti-football nutter. What is it about this time of year that brings out the anti-A-League brigade?
It seems we can’t go a single summer without a random ‘sports fan’ arriving at the earth-shattering conclusion the sport’s best players don’t play in the A-League.
The latest in a long line of detractors is journalist Cate Swannell, who yesterday wrote a bizarre editorial for the Gold Coast Bulletin.
”FFA and Fox can tell us how good the Australian competition is as much as they like, they can’t hide the fact that our best players go where the money and the quality play is – Europe and Asia.”
Really? And to think we A-League fans had never noticed!
She went on to write, “the NRL and AFL are the best competitions in their sport in the world.”
I would have thought they were the only competitions in their sport in the world (the English Super League notwithstanding) but don’t worry, Ms Swannell assures us she has “watched more football and heckled more referees than most of you have had hot dinners,” so she obviously knows what she’s talking about.
Or does she?
Because it seems to me she’s fallen into the trap of assuming A-League fans only support the competition because they want to watch the best football in the world.
They don’t – they watch it because they want to support their local team – and I’m yet to see a single A-League detractor make this fairly obvious connection.
I felt sorry for Ms Swannell as she backtracked desperately in the online comments section of her piece, stooping so low as to cite AFL flag-waver Greg Baum’s recent piece about the LA Galaxy as vindication.
What the Galaxy have to do with the A-League I’ll never know – maybe I just haven’t had enough hot dinners – but it wasn’t the only example of bizarre logic employed in relation to the showdown between Gold Coast and Brisbane.
After the match, a Queensland Rail train driver reputedly stopped a train shortly after it departed Robina station because he was frustrated by the singing of Brisbane Roar fans.
The driver is now under some scrutiny because an eyewitness alleges the Roar fans were doing nothing more than engaging in some post-match singalongs.
Not surprisingly, Queensland Rail dispute this theory and several days after the fact have now claimed ”doors were being rattled and passengers were using foul language.”
I wasn’t on the train so I can’t comment on whether that’s true, but I can relate a personal experience from several years ago.
Before the A-League kicked off in 2005, I caught the train with several other Sydney FC fans to Gosford to watch the pre-Oceania qualifying tournament for the FIFA Club World Cup.
After the Sky Blues beat the Mariners in the final, our CityRail train driver stopped and warned Sydney fans he would ”throw them off the train” if they did not stop singing.
There was no rattling of doors, there was no foul language and there was certainly no violence.
There weren’t even any other passengers arounds us because, let’s face it, how much demand is there to catch the train from Gosford to Sydney on a Sunday afternoon?
All I saw that afternoon was another member of the anti-football brigade desperate to throw their weight around and remind football fans they are viewed as second-class citizens.
For comparison’s sake, I’ve caught public transport after State of Origins and international cricket fixtures and have never experienced such behaviour.
It’s a shame football fans are repeatedly singled out due to the bigotry of a vocal few.
As A-League supporters, all we can do is stand up, keep singing and call them out.
PeterK
Guest
UK Steve, the inferiority complex is historically an Australian thing -- not limited to one part of the Oz population -- though I'm pleased to observe that it is diminishing over the years, even if ever so gradually. and re the good, better, best bit: journos can be good (like you say) without being the best, and so can the A-League be good, without being the best! I repeat here for all to see, what I wrote previously: Other people's opinions of me (or us) are none of my (or our) business!
PeterK
Guest
A bit hard to invite friends to matches when they're on or south of "The Brisbane Line"! The nearest matches to where I live in NQ are now about 1000 miles away (1600 km), and there's plenty of Australians living further from their nearest matches than I am.
PeterK
Guest
Hear! Hear!
PeterK
Guest
Other people's opinions of me are none of my business!
Roon
Guest
No-one was arrested. The driver was said to have made a call to police. There were security guards with a dog, stationed at that next station where the train stopped. Police attended - without dogs. The police made enquiries and the train moved on without incident. QR denied the driver made a call - Police confirmed the call came from the driver. Because the driver stopped the train without serious reason, he is under investigation by QR. The rest was media beat-up.
Roon
Guest
Sacrilege! One should not touch a latte' after midday!
Football lover
Guest
Another crybaby whinge-fest from paranoid Aussie Soccer fans I see. Funny how many are hypocritically the biggest trashers of other codes as comments on Roar regularly show and while they jump up and down about any negative articles from moronic journos they cheer on the constant AFL bashing of Foster, Cockerill, Masters and co. The Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald write anti-AFL articles all the time of how it's a "WAR" and how the evil Aussie Rules is creeping upwards through NSW invading the minds of kids and planting 4 goal posts everywhere like a virus. "Batesman Bay has been taken over so get out and stop the invasion before it's too late". But of course to paranoid Aussie Soccer fans it's only their sport that cops moronic articles from journos seeking attention and publicity to peddle their own interests and careers. FFS News Ltd modus operandi is to create anger and division so you end up reading and watching their stories. You've been sucked in again. Lose the almighty chip on your shoulder Aussie Soccer fans for god's sake. Yawn!
Kasey
Guest
It gets worse, 'this' idiot actually works for ESPN and gets regular face time on camera,ESPN is a powerful network that actively shapes the sports viewing habits of a majority of Americans...And we think we have it bad here;) At least Fox Sports supports the game here:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwW4FC8mEaI
The Cattery
Roar Guru
In pop/rock music, the same sense of competition exists. You have top 40s and album charts, and generally speaking, when the pundits review a particular year, they are influenced by those same charts, and inevitably it will be the UK and US charts that they look to. So to me it applies equally - the song that only made it in Australia remains very important to Australian audiences, but the UK and US pundits will not rate it. Similarly, the Roar record will be close to top of the list if looking at sporting achievements from an Australian perspective, but if looked from another perspective, it may not rate. I suspect the American sporting journos, in compiing their lists, will fill it with American professional sports, and why not, the biggest sports market in the world, the wealthiest sports market in the world - who is to say whether the Americans are right or wrong?
UK Steve
Guest
Wow, that's quite a character assassination you did on me. As of next week I will be able to change my prefix to Baltic, but I don't want to come over as pretentious, so I probably won't. Ever walked across a frozen river, its a weird feeling. The fact is, those journalists have been critical in the past of other sports (when warranted), but it appears that soccer fans are the only ones to take it to heart. I'm sure that there will be a time when you are mature enough to accept criticism and not to look at everything with rose coloured glasses.
UK Steve
Guest
They are writing for Aussie rags because they are Aussies living in great cities like Melbourne and Sydney. Where exactly are the highest paying, most prestigious journalist jobs then? I wouldn't have a clue as to how much Greg Baum makes compared to Simon Barnes from The Times. He is also one that has been critical of soccer in the past. Does that make him a crap journalist? The biggest selling newspaper in the UK is the red-top rag The Sun. Would it be more prestigious for Aussie journos to work for that paper or for the other piece of rubbish, The Mirror?
Lou
Guest
Have you read some of the UK rags? They're terrible. The Age stands up to many papers worldwide. Cultural cringe rearing its head again.
Lou
Guest
Why is AFL "in trouble" just because they have had recent rule changes? AFL has changed a hell of a lot in the last 15 years. One of the biggest is the growth of the number of full time assistant coaches. This has led to a huge ramp up of improved tactics in the game. The change in rules are to catch up and keep up with the huge change in tactics and strategies. The previous 15 years has seen more tactical change than in the previous 50 years. I'm all for the A League and the article by Cantwell was poor, but let's not turn this ignorance into more ignorance re AFL. There seems to be a very anti-AFL feeling amongst many soccer fans. Disappointing, just enjoy the sporting diversity we now have in theis country. It's great!!
Dean
Guest
UK Steve if Baum & Hinds were such terrific journos, then why are they writing for Aussie rags? The high-paying, prestigious journalist jobs are not in Australia. Or, maybe, UK Steve you are going to try to convince us that The Age, SMH, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun are the amongst the most prestigious and biggest budget print newspapers in the world?
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Are you suggesting that no-one has the right to question the A-League's standard of play because it's rude to do so? I'll add that you know what's worse than some journos talking shit about the league? Journos not talking about it at all.
Kasey
Guest
and despite your pahetic attempt to sound more worldly by prefixing your name with UK, you sound like your stereotypical xenophobic Aussie bogan, in that everything 100% purely Aussie is solid Gold and anything from O/S is automatically distrusted and to be poked fun at. An excellent sports journalist would be able to write about a variety of sports without offending one group of fans, so by that definition, they are far from excellent sports journalists. YOU think they are because they reinforce what YOU want to believe about the world game. YOU hear what YOU want to hear so you think they are great. We don't agree with a lot of what they write because they recycle hackneyed old cliches about the game, without contributing any actual analysis or original thought. No original thought....no wonder they appeal to the masses.
Kasey
Guest
Honestly, how many times does it have to be said that football moved to a sumer schedule to align itself with the global football calendar? The fact that Summer also gives our local product a bit of a clearer run at some media attention is a happy by-product. Other happpy by-products are that our O/S Socceroos could be availale to play home internatioals(in the days prior to the FIFA mandated international dates) and that with football being the #1 participation sport, the devotees of the game can play in winter and watch top level local football in Summer. Why would FFA change to a winter schedule? Can you come up with just one logical reason?
UK Steve
Guest
Sounds like you have an inferiority complex. It's a common thing with Aussie soccer fans, they mistakenly think that everything overseas is bigger and better. I think Greg Baum and Richard Hinds are excellent journalists. Just because you don't agree with everything they write, doesn't mean that they are not good.
UK Steve
Guest
Sorry Roger, but its the truth. Those same insecurities come out when someone calls your game soccer. It shouldn't matter to you, but it does. As regards to the constant AFL rule changes. That is the AFL administration being pro-active in ensuring that their game remains as entertaining as possible. Nothing wrong with that.
dasilva
Guest
I think with music, Simply choose the songs or albums that best match your personal taste. If that includes Australian artist or other artist that doesn't influence the world or did not have global success than so be it. In the end a great artist that weren't influential or popular is more of the fault of the rest of the world rather than the artist itself. I mean for me, Midnight Oil are considered one hit wonders outside Australia but there's no way I'll put a top 100 albums of all time list without Head Injuries (which is no.19 on my list) However I'm not too sure that translate that well into sports. music is a form of art which is very much dependent on your own personal subjective feelings toward it. Therefore the background and country of the listener should have a stronger influence to how you rate music. Sport on the other hand, although sports does arguably have some "artistic" component. Primarily it is competition and it's about being the best person/team of the particular sport. Therefore sports with a more widespread competition probably deserves greater recognition in the best sportsperson of a year as there is some degree of objectivity within that, Nevertheless, we can't completely separate your own personal interest (and of course the personal interest of your targeted audeince) from your "greatest sportsperson of the year" list and inevitably there will be some local sportsperson that doesn't have a widespread popularity but there should be far less of that in a sport person list than a music list. I may have no personal interest in athletics but I would be a fool to not mention usain bolt in a greatest sportsperson list as objectively they are top performers in a highly competitive field and that is the essence of what sport is about.