With the two giants of English football about to grace our playing fields, which teams will be the best supported at the grounds come game day?
Will the blue of Melbourne Victory dominate the red of Liverpool at the MCG, and will the red of Man U be uppermost against the… um, whatever of the All Stars?
Regardless of the answer, it will provide an interesting insight into the current psyche of Australian football fans.
Liverpool to me is football.
I grew up first in a small country town and then later a nearby city where the only type of football was played by 13 men per team, bashing into each other with little regard for an odd shaped ball.
In my primary school, with over 800 students, less than 25 boys tried out for the one and only soccer team, while over 250 would literally weigh in to try and play for one of the ten rugby league sides.
I didn’t even know what soccer was until, one fatefull day when I was about nine or ten, my mother bought me a jumper with a big print of the Liverpool coat of arms on the front.
Through one of those quirks of memory, 40 years later I can still remember picking it out, simply because it looked a little better than the rest of the generic selection available.
I had no idea what either Liverpool or soccer was, but that jumper sparked an interest that has become one of the defining pillars of my life.
The irony of supporting football in Australia is never lost on me. I would cut off one arm, and bludgeon myself to death with it before I would support England in any way, in any other sport. I know I am not alone.
Yet many of us will quite happily follow an English football team, or even support England in the World Cup.
Why?
Quite simply, it is the famous Aussie cultural cringe at work.
Our football was not good enough either administratively, domestically, or internationally for us to be truly proud of.
England, and English football, for a long time provided the most accessible surrogate to fill that need. It allowed us to dream about what might be.
Fortunately, things are changing. The A-League is a competition worth supporting, and with three successfull World Cup qualifying campaigns behind them now, the Socceroos are a team we can boast about.
So, before you pull on your replica LFC or MUFC jersey and head down to the stadium, just ask yourself, what am I really doing?
Am I blindly supporting a team to which I have no real connection, or should I support the Aussie team on the pitch?
While I am not hopefull of seeing anything other than a sea of red at both matches, this is literally an opportunity to stand up and be counted.
Do we want to portray ourselves as nothing more than colonists still paying homage to the mother land, or do we want to show we are Australians who are proud of our players, our league, and our football?
The world will be watching.
Allan
Guest
Yeah the spirit of leeching, talk about an irrelevant team trying to get in on the action.
Midfielder
Guest
GIANT TICKET OFFER http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/2013-07-16/giant-offer
pete4
Guest
Even GWS Giants getting into the spirit? WSWFCNews tweeted: "If you have a ticket to the #aleague All-Stars game tonight you get free entry into the GWS game at Olympic Park"
AZ_RBB
Guest
looking forward to cheering on everyone on the pitch tonight except Emerton and Berisha.
Bondy
Guest
Nice read Dino, I'm sure our A League will acquit itself well, with ten minutes to go and the AStars in front it could be interesting ?. How times have change for receiving results Fuss the pools. Dino I think Liverpool won't have a to good a season with out Suarez if he leaves they go backwards. I'll be supporting both Australian teams for these friendlies.
Evan Askew
Guest
I hate Melbourne Victory with a passion but I will be going for them over Liverpool and the A league all stars question shouldn't have to be asked. And iff I was to watch an overseas league or national team it wouldn't be England. Rather it would be Germany or Spain or France or Italy.
Cameron
Roar Guru
I would ultimately go for the Roar, but watching them take on Liverpool would leave me with someee conflicting thoughts. Still would wear Orange though. Glad to know of Roar/Liverpool supporter! :D
Cameron
Roar Guru
Regardless of difference in opinion most of the time, I am happy to say we are both passionate A-League supporters and it is people like you Fuss that will help to bring this game to another level. Look forward to our next debate ;)
AZ_RBB
Guest
i will be there tonight at training and tomorrow night with my new Man Utd jersey and WSW scarf. Much like Fuss i fell in love with football through EPL and United have been my favourite team since primary school. i think i have a tiny size 10 jersey somewhere with "Sharp" emblazoned across the front. but i'll never lose my love for the Red Devils. but i'm in my early 20s with no family and a semi demanding job. somewhere down the line i'm sure priorities will come into play and i might subconsciously steer towards WSW more. until then i shall proudly sing GGMU :)
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Really enjoyed reading your piece dino. I particularly liked the fact you were candid and honest and just told your story without denigrating 'the others', the ones who didnt/ dont like or dont get football. Great insight, well done.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I fell in love with The Beautiful Game, watching English Football in the 1970s. The only team I supported for 30+yrs was Man United. There was no internet, no Sunday morning TV news with English football scores so, to find out who won, lost or drew I'd patiently wait for 10:00 a.m. and dial the "Soccerpools Results" line, with my Soccerpools Form in front of me. The recorded message would tell us which numbers (i.e. games) were "home win", "away win", "score draw", "scoreless draw". That was it. That's how we found out, the scores in the English football. Then at 6:00 p.m. on 3LO, after the news, we'd get the BBC World News: Sports Round Up. Now, we'd finally get detailed scores. The perfect English accent would read out the scores for every match in the 4 division of English football plus the 3 divisions of Scottish Football! So, yeah ... I was a committed Man United fan for 30+yrs. Then, along came the A-League. Whilst ManU is still my favourite team in England, my interest in their results nowadays is superficial. Now, football passion is: MVFC, all the AUS National Teams, other ALeague teams when MVFC isn't playing ... then all other football around the world. A-league is my football league. Manchester United represents a regional city in England that I've never visited and, to be honest, visiting that part of England is way down on my "places to visit before I die".
Gavin
Guest
From someone who supports both oz football and LFC I would happily wear a socceroos shirt and an LFC scarf (unless they were playing the Roar ha then it would only be orange). Yould would never see me in the navy and white! Nothing wrong with making sure the EPL Sides know they are appreciated for making the trip