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Before I begin, some context. I’m an active Perth Glory supporter in The Shed, I have a strong interest in English football – even below the Premier League – and I’m fascinated by supporter culture. Far from prudish, I’m aware that football fans in this country and globally support their teams in different ways to those of other sports.
Yet too often, football supporters in Australia are slated by the mainstream media. This is not news to anybody, but when words like ‘hooligans’, ‘riots’ and the dreaded f-word ‘flares’ occupy headlines in our major newspapers, it is easy to feel we as supporters are fighting a losing battle. A recent article in the Newcastle Herald highlights the tendency of our media to take a cheap shot.
By and large, the sensationalist media do not support the growth of football, and supporters have an ‘us against them’ mentality as a result. But would things not be better if we had the media on our side?
Our supporter culture is one which involves considerable noise, some colourful language, and both travelling to and watching matches in groups. Like it or not, it is foreign to supporters of other Australian sports. Regardless of actual eviction numbers and incidents at football compared to other sports, we will always be perceived more negatively.
For as long as we are perceived this way, there will be elements of Australian society that do not accept football. If we want to become the number one sport in this country, we need to get as many people onside (pardon the pun) as possible.
We need them to embrace the game, and this means creating an environment where we will give the media no reason to print negative headlines. This does not mean abandoning what makes football support great. But the few seconds of enjoyment a fan gets from lighting a flare can lead to sanctions for both them and the FFA, and deliver another blow to football’s reputation.
Personally, my experiences of supporting Glory involve ‘marching’ from the pub to the stadium in a group. We chant as we travel the streets to the match, and some language is generally involved. We are conscious that there is no hint of threatening behaviour from us to any passing persons and the most common reaction to us marching is one of bewilderment.
But conversely, it only takes one person to ruin this in their desire to impress their mates. One foul insult directed at a passer-by, one intoxicated attempt to damage some property, and as we know, negative press spreads quickly and our reputation is tarnished. As a collective, we walk a perilous line, and we must be conscious of how we are perceived.
I am not a Celtic supporter, and am aware the Old Firm derby has an underbelly of sectarianism. But I point to a moment from the recent Celtic v Rangers match as an example of how, if done in the right way, active football support can provide a surreal experience enjoyed by every single patron, and unrivalled by anything else.
Watch the video below. You’ll see an entire stadium chanting and jumping without offensive language, flares or violence, and you’ll see it can be breathtaking. I challenge any football fan (supporters of Celtic’s rivals aside) to honestly say they wouldn’t wish to be part of that.
Enjoyable active football support does not need to be conducted in ways that will lead to negative headlines, and by working towards achieving this will we grow the game in Australia. And what does growing the game mean? It means larger supporter bases, so the atmosphere is only ever going to get better.
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