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Jump in the Tardis and go back twelve months. Domestically, look at Clive Palmer and the chaos he was causing, Tinkler being talked back into accepting the Jets, Tony Sage on the verge of walking away from Perth.
Internationally, representative sides playing poorly, an aging senior squad. Harry leaving, the naysayers were in full flight.
Today, the Socceroos are breaking broadcast records again, while the A-League with record crowds and ratings. The depth of our various national squads appears strong again. The A-League is going free-to-air for one match a week.
The mainstream media, especially commercial stations and the ABC, and radio, no longer represent Australia as it is.
Rather, they show and report what they want Australia to be. Or maybe their view of what Australia is.
We are part of Asia and few stories other than mining emerge from Asia.
A school in Thailand celebrating the Socceroos going to Brazil and singing the praises of Australia and for one of our players.
Dylan sang in ‘The Times are a Changing’ a great line, “your old road is rapidly ageing”.
The under-25, maybe under-30, generation is not fixed to the Australia’s mainstream media.
It is also this age bracket that has most embraced football and streams matches. Back to the Thai Tims for a bit, if you were impressed by the Rogic/Socceroos/Brazil, how about the Thai Tims signing Waltzing Matilda?
If this does not bring a tear to your eye, then you are not human [the singing of the song]:
Practice
The song
I could go on about the 600 million watching the Japan vs Australia match across Asia but it just does not get reported.
What is increasingly becoming the (new) mainstream media is the web.
Globalisation is a concept the under 30s are used to living with. Buying Holdens because they are made in Australia is a difficult sell to this group.
They argue we pay for our education and most jobs today in small business are part-time or contract in nature.
The under 30s do not feel the country protects them, they pay high prices for houses, and education and the media by and large, aside from a few shows, does not represent them.
Technology and competition has resulted in cost-cutting and staff reduction across most mainstream outlets, resulting in few new positions being created over the last 15 or so years.
Beyond this, those that control the mainstream do not want noisy newcomers that may threaten their jobs and pensions. This results in the mainstream reporting what they are comfortable with.
In terms of sports reportings, it’s cricket, AFL, NRL and a twist of Union.
Football, more than any other sport, in Australia is played, understood and embraced by all cultures in Australia.
Further by a long way the biggest player base, and by light years the most global of codes.
Depending on where you start the count, we are about to enter a new phase of football development.
We are in the World Cup with many players pushing for positions in the side, youth development seems stronger than it ever has been, if the U/20 side is anything to go by.
The coaches in the A-League are light years ahead of the coaches in the first A-League season. The new free-to-air live broadcast of the Friday night match will enhance football even more.
Consider twelve months ago and where we are today, and imagine where we will be in 10 years.
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.