- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
From a Brisbane-born football fan’s perspective, this is why all Queensland A-League expansion bids should not be painted with the same ‘maroon brush’.
Regarding expansion bids for the A-League, the general sense is that any other club in Queensland has to be distinct from Brisbane Roar.
If Brisbane City gained entry into the A-League, this would definitely not be the case.
Brisbane is a city on two sides of the river – north and south.
City are based in the heart of the north side and would firmly establish themselves as the club for those who’ve grown up there, like myself. I never actually played at City, but at other clubs in and around the north-side that, sadly, don’t have the means to field a team in the top flight.
While I’ve been a faithful supporter of the Roar since their inception (as Queensland Roar), my support for an A-League club would shift to City in a heartbeat. And I’m definitely not alone.
I and many fans have felt alienated from the Roar over the years because of multiple bad decisions by the club’s management.
Having to constantly watch games in a cavernous Suncorp Stadium with terrible food, overpriced beer and a generally poor match-day experience, as well as the club now being based in Logan, has not helped.
Eric Bautheac celebrates in an empty stadium. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Roar fans going to games at the back end of the 2017-18 season may have felt the same bemusement I did, seeing a giant endorsement below the replay screen reading something like: “City of Logan – home of the Brisbane Roar”.
A few of my mates and I have recently been going to games supporting our local NPL club, Olympic FC, and have absolutely loved it.
It’s invigorated our appetites for an authentic fan experience and an attachment with a club close to its community. The quality of the football is high, the Mythos is cheap and the yiros is bloody tasty. It’s a stark contrast to going to a Roar match.
Similarly, City are a proud Italian club and would no doubt deliver this sort of experience. I can still remember the taste of woodfired pizza after playing at City in the Under 13s and sincerely hope they continue this at Ballymore if their bid is successful.
(On a side note, this leaves me in a tricky spot in the short term, with Olympic FC potentially having to play City in the next round of the FFA Cup.)
If City came into the A-League, they would be the team for north-siders and those living closer to the city, while the Roar might pick up support in the south side and Logan. Or, at least, this is what the Roar should be trying to do, as well as engaging more fans from Richlands, where the club was founded.
Providing there’s the same excitement post-expansion as the first couple of seasons, which drew 20,000-plus crowds to Suncorp, the Roar and City could capitilise on crowds by dividing that number in half – not a bad outcome.
It’s worth noting as well that Brisbane has grown substantially since the start of the A-League more than a decade ago. This city can definitely support two football teams.
I won’t ever donate my Roar scarf to an op-shop and I’ll still hold many fond memories as a fan, but the lure of a club with real history, real atmosphere at its games, and a connection to its fans is too enticing.
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.