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There is one story in Adelaide that seems to be bigger than Ricky Henderson’s junk – the stadium deals between the SANFL and the two South Australian franchises.
There is an alleged ‘magic number’ that the teams have to hit in order to cover the cost of running AAMI stadium.
Looking around the internet I couldn’t find an actual number, but it’s reported to be around the 27-30,000 mark for Port Adelaide.
If they don’t make that number then the chequebook has to come out. After the GWS game and the reported official attendance of 25,122 the chat rooms went a bit tinfoil hat-crazy.
The SANFL had fudged the numbers in order to make money out of Port Adelaide. There were amusing calls for people hiring aeroplanes and taking aerial photos. Presumably so people could count the heads.
Port Adelaide has 40,000 members, but even if all members turned up the stadium still wouldn’t be full.
Partly because the membership numbers are supplemented by the AAMI stadium members and partly because dogs can’t go to the football.
As unbelievable as it may sound there are a couple of memberships held by our canine friends.
The question being asked is, if you add the membership numbers together and get decent walk up numbers then why can’t Football Park sell out for a showdown?
The simple answer is that society today has too many options when it comes to watching football. There has been an increase in the cost of parking, beer and pies.
If you choose to go to AAMI in your car and take a family prepare yourself to eat cheese and ham toasties for a week, or at least be comfortable with living with only one kidney.
The couch is comfortable and you can drink a beer, out of a glass, that you actually like. The pub is also a good option.
I accept those reasons for not going to the footy. As much as I would love to follow the Alberton Army, I can’t as shift work and rugby coaching get in the way.
But this weekend I have taken time off work and will be there. So why are the Adelaide supporters not going?
The overwhelming response coming from Crows fans is that they won’t be going to the showdown because they feel that as a Port home game, it isn’t their responsibility to attend.
I have no problem with the Crows fans, the Australian rivalry is tame compared to the ones I faced in the UK.
However the idea that Crows supporters won’t go to a Port-hosted showdown seems very bitter.
Listening to talkback radio I hoped that this ridiculously shallow reason for not attending a game was unsubstantiated. It seemed to be true though as fans called in and the overriding attitude was ‘why should we support a Port game?’
There is nothing better in sport than marching into an opposition stadium and drowning out the home fans. The Crows supporters have one chance to do this in really big numbers.
It is also an opportunity as a state to give a one-finger salute to the haters who live to the East. South Australian has a rich football history and yet we seem to be treated like a red-headed stepchild when it comes to decisions made in the corridors of Gringots – sorry I mean AFL – House.
The Crows have a motto plastered across their training facility; ‘The Team for All South Australians’ this is incorrect.
I know at least two Port Adelaide fans and the Crows are not for them.
Extremely pedantic semantics aside, the showdown is a ‘Game for All South Australians’ this is our chance to thumb our noses at our Victorian cousins.
The Melbournians love to laugh at our perceived quaint ways, an intrastate argument over filling a stadium just seems to be biting our noses off to spite an already battered and bruised face.
Hearing the barely concealed guffaws from across the border should be enough for all of us from Adelaide to gird our loins and fill Footy Park.
This is the only chance that fans of the Adelaide Football Club get to see their players run around in white shorts at an easily accessible location.
The 19th man of Adelaide Football Club seems to be sulking and refusing to play because the boy next door is having a birthday party in their back yard.
So come on you Crows, come out and play on Sunday and show the strength of South Australian footy. I’ll certainly repay the favour later in the year.
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