For so many, the football pitch is more than a patch of grass. It’s a sanctuary. The dirt patches on the local field for an all-age Division 12 match can feel like Suncorp Stadium if you try hard enough.
It’s an escape. An escape from a mundane work week, an escape from the kids for 90 minutes, an excuse for a few Sunday arvo beers.
It’s no different for professionals. They sweat through the hard yards of junior football and toil through a week of training, all to be on that hallowed piece of turf come game day.
For some it’s a means to escaping inner demons. For others, it’s the release point of an overwhelming sense of passion that simply can’t be explained.
It’s the same passion that makes every seat in a stadium just as sacred. The passion that will allow fans across the country to breathe a sigh of relief when they wake up tomorrow.
The A-League season is here.
Each year the arduous off-season seems longer than the season itself, even more so when off-field headlines make it difficult to remember the beautiful simplicity of kicking a ball into a net.
Plenty has happened since Melbourne Victory’s 3-0 grand final win against Sydney FC, only some of it good.
The game lost one of its great characters in Josep Gombau, a messy situation at the Newcastle Jets thankfully ended with the volatile mining magnate Nathan Tinkler being booted out, while Kenny Lowe has had to rebuild almost-champions-elect Perth Glory, and the NSW police very nearly sucked the life out of football support as we know it.
The Bakrie Group threatened the security of Brisbane Roar, the Professional Footballers’ Association went to war with the FFA and the governing body caused a storm by keeping its leadership in the family.
For 450 minutes at least this weekend, all of that will pale into insignificance. This is what football fans live for. The chants, the cheers, the boos, the jeers, the victory, the beers. Nothing beats the game day experience.
As fans we have to accept football is much more intricate than winning and losing. But watching the young talents, local products and fresh-faced marquees do their thing is all we really care about.
Though dozens of subplots will continue to murmur in the background, it’s time for the football to do the talking.
Defending champions Melbourne Victory will head in as favourites, European target Graham Arnold will be on the sideline for Sydney FC, rejuvenated Jets and Glory take important steps on the road to recovery and Western Sydney’s fans will be allowed to talk to their pals and some.
All iced off by a Socceroos World Cup qualifier.
This is why we love the game.
Evan Askew
Guest
Thanks Maron. Post hoc, I take your point re Newcastle, too many Geordies appearing on Geordie SHore when they should be working down the cole mines. But in the 89th minute I think I can say that Roars season is looking a lot better.
Post hoc
Guest
Roar AND Newcastle, wow you are going to have a very bad season.
SVB
Guest
So playing out of a stadium that seats 20,000 people at most, you expected more than 16-17,000 members? Are you for real? They already have too many as it is.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
Me marron, I thought WSW had a lot more members than that, going on comments I read last year. I was comparing the two.
cm
Guest
Plenty? 3 from those areas since 2000 as far as I can tell, plus 3 from Pennant Hills, which is part of the broad sweep of AFL support across the north west - you know, that broad sweep that the Giants seem intent on ignoring, by moving away from it or funding clubs on the northern beaches.
Fadida
Guest
That Ange selected the new man gives me great confidence
josh
Guest
ESFC.
marron
Roar Guru
@axle, who was the one who brought up the Giants in direct response to a post about wsw members.
sticks
Roar Rookie
@ Marron, you are the one comparing to WSW, not me.
Midfielder
Guest
Impressive
Lionheart
Guest
Very good. I'm jealous. You just have to take your hat off to the Melbourne public and business, they support their teams well.
Lionheart
Guest
Does the ABC pay for their broadcast rights?
marron
Roar Guru
No worries, sorry for the confusion. The pig and whistle was the one I meant. Good luck - hope the bakries stuff gets sorted out and the members jump back on board.
Evan Askew
Guest
Nah dude, I think you have the wrong guy though I have often frequented the Pig and Whistle at Indooropilly, an inner western suburb of Brisbane. In England I follow Newcastle as that is where my family originally hailed from. (Though in Europe I tend to follow any team that has an Aussie playing for them) And I am a Roar fan, have being since second season. (didn't follow them the first season, spent that being an embittered Strikers fan) So I have seen the lows and the highs. I am actually optimistic about the teams fortunes this season and a good performance by the team will bring the numbers back in the stands as the season goes on.
c
Guest
good points ar
sticks
Roar Rookie
You seem aware of what they are up to Josh, and you don't seem to like them, normal people are also aware and quite a few over a period of time will give them a go, enough will stick.
sticks
Roar Rookie
GWS will find it's niche and I have no doubt will draft kids from WS just as the Swans have drafted plenty of kids from the Eastern and Northern suburbs.
AR
Guest
"MV would be very, very close to matching the 10th best supported AFL club in Victoria, which seems a decent enough effort." No doubt about it, MV has secured itself as the benchmark for the ALeague comp, in terms of how a club is run.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Big afternoon at Crown Palladium this afternoon for MVFC's season launch. 1100 people paid around $150/ticket to attend "Victory in Business" Lunch, which is the largest sporting networking group outside of game day in Australia. Full story: http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/article/victory-in-business-launches-2015-16-a-league-season-in-style/14qu3rw69n5xz1wtxyp2r27p2x#csYBXrxDHuq2RRqK.99
AR
Guest
Does any other radio/TV station: - broadcast ALeague games for free - have streaming for live games and talkback - have dedicated soccer and ALeague shows - conduct daily interviews with players, staff and admin? Didn't think so. Of course, it's all bogus cos it's in Melbourne...or some other nonsense Punter argument.