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Football is what I live for, when I’m on the field or at a game I can’t control my passion. There’s something deep inside me that emerges when I see a round ball.
The recent friendly between Greece and Australia just highlighted to me the complete and utter shameful reaction by the Australian public and the police. I am not having a go at the fans, in fact their passion makes me a proud football supporter.
Victoria Police are threatening five-year bans and criminal charges for simply lighting a flare and potentially being too passionate. Are they serious? The rest of the world is laughing at us.
Have they never seen a Greek derby between Olympiakos versus Panathinaikos, where Flares are as common as flags. The raw emotion and passion expressed by fans in Europe far exceeds anything that occurs in Australia.
Wanderland has an unbelievable atmosphere, it made me feel alive to yell “We sing for Wanderers,” when they versed FC Seoul in the AFC semi-final, even though I’m not a Wanderers fan it was exhilarating to be a part of the atmosphere. Yet, we demonise these people for showing passion and categorise them all as hooligans.
This criticism of football fans is like when there’s a Mexican wave at the MCG and the wave reaches the members stand and everyone boos as they spoil the fun and the atmosphere.
Well sorry to break it to all those who criticise football fans, you are the members stand, you have no idea on what you’re missing out on, you’ll never understand the passion of football until your team becomes your life. Until your weekend becomes your sacred time to support your team. Until everything in you screams for your team.
People kept saying to me all day after the game “why do they need to light flares, it’s just stupid,” “what’s wrong with those people?” “I don’t understand those idiots.”
Australians are asking the wrong questions from the outset, instead of asking how to find the same passion and how to be more like them, they criticise the people assuming they’re crazy, uneducated or just different. Newsflash, they’re not the weird ones.
The difference between the AFL and football is the fans, the reason why the AFL struggles expand and grow, is the fans. It’s the stigma behind those who show too much passion is limiting the game.
You don’t want less crazy people at game you want more, you want people to ditch their wedding rather than miss their team play in the grand final, you want people to religiously follow their team. Football is a religion in Europe and South America, and until AFL becomes the same, it’ll never explode as a sport.
Football is a way of life, to punish supporters for being passionate is beyond idiotic, it’s disgraceful. Who do you sing for? We sing for football!
Go the Socceroos!
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