Dear Ms Wilson – I write to you regarding your recent article ‘Ending the ethnic turf wars played out on Australia’s soccer pitches is David Gallop’s first task’.
Or, as it is quite a long title, I’ll refer to it as ‘Chip on my shoulder the size of my head’ or ‘Fearmongering 101’.
I’m writing in to highlight the biggest threat to the game in Australia at this time and I’m not talking about off-field violence.
Bigoted reporting is one of the biggest issues the world game faces in Australia and I think we should recognise your role as a ‘Hero’ of such a fine practice.
When you do mention that ‘Administrators love using phrases like a “small minority of trouble makers”’ you neglect to follow that up with the fact that it is actually an extremely small minority.
If it is at bad as you are painting it to be, then all sport must be on the brink of anarchy. I expect to see flames and explosions from the tennis club down the road once the bake sale has finished but I’ll keep writing for now.
At this point you mention that soccer (because using the term football or the world game may give it credibility) is on the brink of ruin.
While I do have a lot of respect for your writing in general, and your spelling is impeccable, are you prepared to add facts to a diatribe or would that be too much to expect?
You seem to have a great wealth of generic phrases saved up just to throw at a wall, just like something else that… oh I digress.
Anyway, it’s not that I don’t think you could be a good writer, it’s just that your blinkered view seems to be fitting for something more like The Onion, or The Oatmeal or maybe the back of a Fantails wrapper. Have you thought about Twilight fan fiction?
Yours,
Chris.
P.S. Loved that red flare smoke reference in the comic. You must have laughed about that for ages.
Futbanous
Guest
I would have placed the NSL(Having watched it from day one) in the second group "Top level leagues which are not fully professional". Having said that yes it brought me a great deal of pleasure throughout its existence.
Kasey
Guest
The old NSL. Was that considered professional or not? Certainly placed side by side with the A-League, many would argue NO. I would and do call it semi-professional. Still it was our top league for the best part of 3 decades. Still, the NSL produced some great footballers and brought a lot of pleasure to some football fans over its 27 year existence.
Futbanous
Guest
Question earlier today about how many fully professional football (Association)leagues there are in the world. Answer 76. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Football/Fully_professional_leagues There are a number of leagues called "Top level leagues which are not fully professional" including some Womens League's. So it all depends whether you consider the NZ or Vietnam league etc worth including.
Camshaft
Guest
It's worked out well that Brazil are able to use the world cup as a warm-up event, before the really big one in 2016. They should be able to iron out any security and logistic issues for when the whole world comes down there.
Kasey
Guest
TC: I used to cringe at the ‘commentary’ of some AFL commentators, it mostly sounded like just a bunch of blokes at the pub sharing in-jokes and almost ignoring the game on display. very unprofessional. Richie Benaud would have had a conniption fit! Give me the dulcet tones of Martin Tyler any day, describes the play accurately, always remembers to do his research and can tell you something useful about the players and what they might be likely to do in certain situations. Can convey the emotion and excitement of the goals in proportion to their importance and relevance to any other games occurring. My kind of commentator. I believe he works in the USA these days; his expertise is wasted on those football philistines. Simon Hill is streets ahead in this country as the best commentator in football, but one man can only be at one game. Would love to have Martin Tyler here for the HAL.
Kasey
Guest
Should we qualify, I look forwadr to the bogan media writing their scaremongering " don't travelto Brazil" aarticles in the lead up to 2014. Which will conveniently change just in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. I wI'm glad I didn't listen to the scaremongering in the leadup to South Africa. Went and had one of the best times of my life at a global celebration of the beautiful game, shame our lads got off to such a terrible start in Durban though, ruined any chance we had of getting through to the Ro16:(
The Cattery
Guest
Bondy Youir are proving the exact point I am making.
Bondy.
Guest
Cattery @ Camshaft. You come here everyday and get bamboozled your on the cusp of an afl final series and nobody is taliking about it ? You come here and explain names from afl most people hear have never heard of ,I know B Mc avenny from track and filed not aussie rules ,see what I mean.
Camshaft
Guest
Bondy - "dumb bloke from aussie rules" - you do know that McGuire has been a media performer for about 20 years now, right? President of the biggest football club in the land, former CEO of channel 9. You make it sound like it was Warwick Capper hosting the Olympics. You are clutching at straws with the non-representative comment, but we will pretend it was never there.
The Cattery
Guest
Interestingly, Australian Football has a very good record of producing some of the best all round sports commentators. I'm thinking of names such as Gerard Whately, Bruce Mcevaney, Tim Lane and Drew Morphett, but there are many, many others. Some of the most respected names in the business (and Eddie ain't no mug himself). Why is that? Apart from being a big game, a big industry, where many positions are on offer and where you can make a name for yourself nationally, I think the game itself assists commentators in sharpening their own game: the fast paced and constant action, the large field, the big number of players, swapping positions, coming on and off, there is such a variety of action and skills on display, the game consists of a series of contests within one very large contest, not to mention thousands of individual statistics to get your head around in the space of seconds. The footy commentator who excels at this sport will excel at all sports.
Bondy.
Guest
Camshaft. I just see Mc guire as that dumb bloke from aussie rules thats all, a non representative sport,i'm sorry it just seems stupid to somebody who doesnt watch aussie rules.
Camshaft
Guest
I forgot about Hong Kong and Singapore. Make that at least 27 then. You're changing the goal posts here. Kasey said 200+ football leagues, nothing about whether they are professional or not. I'm sure most of the soccer leagues aren't professional.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"There are at least 25 Aussie Rules leagues in the world.." And, I laughed and I laughed. A group of ex-pats in Hong Kong or Singapore forming a team of ARF - because they refuse to assimilate with the local customs & cultures - is NOT a professional football league. How many FULL-TIME professional ARF leagues are there in the world? How many kids proudly put "I'm an ARFer" when asked "what is your employment"?
Camshaft
Guest
Fussball - ARF is only an abbreviation that you use, so not surprised you don't get much. There are at least 25 Aussie Rules leagues in the world, couldn't tell you what their attendances are though. The difference is that soccer boast about how big their sport is around the world. Makes me wonder now.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ Camshaft "If the A League is in the top 25, then how low are the attendances in the bottom 25?" Camshaft, can you kindly advise us on the average attendances of the professional ARF leagues that are ranked 2-25 in the world? When I type "World's biggest ARF leagues" into Google, Bing, Ask.com ... I get the reply "ARF ARF ARF". What are the search engines trying to tell me?
Camshaft
Guest
Bondy - no its not a fact. Eddie McGuire is on the board of directors of Athletics Australia. Even if he wasn't, what difference would it make?
Kasey
Guest
How much 'writing' could be involved with presenting a 3minute sports segment?
Camshaft
Guest
Kasey - your last paragraph just highlights that soccer attendances worldwide are really poor. If the A League is in the top 25, then how low are the attendances in the bottom 25? How does McGuire make a fool of himself when talking about soccer?
Bondy.
Guest
Camshaft. Is that fact or not.
Kasey
Guest
Foster is also the Sports presenter on only one day out of 7, the other days sport is presented by Mariana Rudan. I bet she couldor Foz have a basic conversation with Eddie McG about AFL without making a complete fool of oneself. I'll bet McChins was crapping himself that he'd goof when 'interviewing' Mr Lowy on his production and expose his lack of knowkedge of the world game. In kind of the way former CEO Edwin Lugt did to Rebecca Wilson on the ABC show Offsiders when she tried to stick the boot in over crowd sizes. Lugt quite quickly put her back in her box stating that the HAL is in the worlds Top25 of 200+ football leagues by attendance numbers and Top5 in attendance per capita. Champagne Television :)