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It was hard to resist the temptation to comment on the issues in Australian football throughout the course of the past week.
The flares, the statements made by both club and supporter group, as well as the subsequent whack with a wet lettuce leaf dished out to the Western Sydney Wanders, all dominated the football headlines for a few days and I guess it was to be expected.
My mantra for the week was simple, ‘I ain’t going there’. My reasoning? Some of the inflammatory, ill-informed and opportunistic content from unusual sources was disappointing, yet not unexpected.
Knowing what was in store over the course of the upcoming weekend of A-League action interested me far more, as did the opportunity to attend the National Premier League launch at the Ultra Football Store in Sydney on Saturday.
Mingling in a crowd that included ex-Socceroos such as Alex Tobin, brilliant young women like Jada Mathyssen-Whyman and all the committed and dedicated heavy hitters of the NPL clubs, it was strange to hear very little discussion on the rather souring events of the seven days prior.
Put simply, football people aren’t surprised by the wider media’s interest in so-called hooliganism and violence and generally just ignore it, knowing that any balanced commentary is highly unlikely.
However, as I stood in the room while Adam Peacock interviewed players, charmed the guests and fired up interest in the new NPL season, it struck me that we really should have been talking about the week that was the RBB.
Not condemning them or firing barbs at writers and media outlets who were no doubt salivating as soon as the red smoke plumed after the opening goal against Sydney.
But reinforcing the simple facts that A-League fans aren’t thugs, the match day environment is a predominately safe one and the overall experience is positive; all the while, admitting that these realities aren’t part of the broader public perception.
That perception is everything, and sadly, the stock standard view of the A-League from those outside the game is one of a mostly well behaved and passionate group that includes around five to ten percent of violent idiots who intimidate with word and actions.
Rather than lament this situation, or ignore it, football in Australia needs to address it. The way to do it lies in an anecdotal tale about kids sport.
Unfortunately, my daughter’s netball club is on the verge of folding. Being an A-Grade player, finding a new club was a priority. On Saturday morning she rolled up as an untested stranger, surrounded by a group of chatty officials and players returning for another season, with the task of proving herself against those who had done so previously.
I explained to her in the car that she had no leverage in the grading session in which she was about to participate. There was no scope to prance onto the court, straight up to a selector and spruik her skills.
As a member of a representative development squad, that would be easy to do, expecting instant gratification, however, it wouldn’t be forthcoming. As a foreign intruder to the club, she would need to show proof and potentially be held to an even higher standard than those who had ‘runs on the board’.
As is the case with Australian football. Rather than launching vitriol at the narrow minded and colonial nonsense that emanates from some quarters whenever football becomes topical, the game should approach things differently.
Just as my Sarah was infiltrating an established status quo, so too must football. I don’t intend that to be a pithy line full of self-sorrow and victimisation, merely a statement of fact that other codes are culturally more entrenched.
I celebrate those codes and one of the true benefits of being an Australian fan is the broad array of sports we can watch every single day of the year on our first world, big screen televisions.
To alter the perception and alleviate some of the cynicism that comes the way of football when a stereotypical incident occurs, the game needs to hold itself to a higher standard.
Football has to be better than what it currently is. The players are blameless; role models they are, yet the fans indiscretions do more damage than they are prepared to admit.
What mainstream media lusts for are the collective moments of madness from dark haired packs of immigrants, refugees and ethnics that put the fear of God into the Anglo-Saxons from the most insular of suburbs.
Every now and then, buffoons add weight to that appalling stereotype and we all suffer.
The smartest thing football could do, is realise that simple fact and set the standard of expectation higher than ever before, monitor it from the inside, thus boring the insatiable mainstream media to tears.
When AFL or NRL players cross the lines of class and social decorum as they often do, the governing bodies step in, the spin doctors launch into gear and fans forget in the blink of an eye.
Sure there are a few days of interest yet the game always triumphs, as the following weekend’s matches begin. Football doesn’t have that luxury and must eliminate that unsavoury stereotype which is the reality for many.
My allegiance to and support of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL is well known on The Roar. At one time, our supporters were the most horrific example of active support in the country.
A bold CEO set the bar higher than ever and removed every locatable culprit who had, by their actions, brought the club’s reputation into absolute disgrace.
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Some feared a destruction of the supporter base yet ten years on, the fans are plentiful and the game-day experience is more pleasant than it has ever been.
Initial fears that the trouble-makers would be missed were proven incorrect.
It is time for the Western Sydney Wanderers and the FFA to do the same and set the bar at a level that some A-League fans seem incapable of reaching.
The game needs to learn that when you are attempting to infiltrate a new landscape, you have very little leverage; in fact, you need to shut up and show your quality, just like my little Sarah did on Saturday.
Until the game as a whole realises that, it will always be cannon fodder for those looking to perpetuate a stereotype, or get a few clicks and make a few bucks.