I wish I was writing about the on-field battle that will take place between Perth Glory and Sydney FC this Sunday, but this constant talk about how Optus Stadium will be full of 45,000 ‘bandwagoners’ is really bugging me.
As soon as I left HBF Park on Friday night, I immediately heard, “It’s got to be here, we don’t want a stadium full of bandwagoners”.
And when I went home and looked on Twitter, I saw chat about, “We may fit 40,000 event-goers in, but why would we want that?”.
The decider had already been booked at Optus Stadium, so I don’t know why they were still talking about it.
The reason this upsets me is that I am one of those people they are talking about – but if these people met me, they definitely wouldn’t put me in that category.
I only attend five games a season, and I’ve only been doing that for a few seasons. I can’t afford to attend more.
But I watch every game, I watch most women’s matches, check the club website every day, check the club Twitter feed every day… but apparently I’m a bandwagoner who only cares about the ‘sokkah’ on grand final day, and deserves to miss out on attending the big match.
What’s even sadder is that most of these comments are from Perth Glory fans. People are attacking. They want to lock out their fellow supporters from the grand final.
It’s this sort of stuff that doesn’t make me feel welcome as a Perth Glory fan.
The supporters want me and a lot of other people locked out of the game because they haven’t been with the club through thick and thin.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
I’m starting to lose patience. What’s funny is that the smart comments are not from Perth Glory fans.
They point out that not all fans are members and that people have other priorities in life and can only attend one match per season.
Family, distance, money and time are all factors.
And even if there are a lot of bandwagoners in the stadium, so what? They can attend a football match if they want to.
The belief is that if the match was played at HBF Park, all the bandwagoners like me can miss out, and will then be encouraged to get a full membership for next season.
I don’t see it that way.
Out of the 20,000 or so bandwagoners in the stadium, most of them are probably our great friends known as Eurosnobs.
We’ve all heard their lame excuses. “Oh, the quality is poor. It’s like watching paint dry. There’s no atmosphere”.
Well, this is the perfect match to show them the possibilities of Australian football, and then maybe they will consider buying a membership for next season.
The football community needs to open up.
We need to open up to everyone and show them what the world game can do in Australia.
Eurosnobs, Cross-coders, people that don’t have much interest in sport. A grand final with 60,000 in the stadium is the perfect way to do that.
According to reports, more than 53,000 tickets have been sold, with only tickets in the upper tier left.
I’ll be there to cheer on Perth Glory. Good luck to both teams and let’s hope for a full house to show what this game can do.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Hi Harley. Yes they were a small minority but i couldn't stop bumping into them. Thanks for replying!
Harley Mitaros
Roar Rookie
Hey Jordan. I work with Perth Glory in the Social Media/Marketing Department and have been reading a few of your articles. Just remember a lot of social media comments are only from a small pocket of our most vocal fans - the negative minority were dwarfed by the majority of fans loved the 56,371 that turned up for the final. Most were young kids with their parents and feedback we got was that they loved it. I admire your passion and dedication mate. Ever want to know more about the club, feel free to reach out to me anytime. Harley
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Historically some people treat finals as "an event". The place to go & be seen. No idea of the game however players would prefer to play in front of a big crowd with the atmosphere created. The ideal scenario would be that some "first gamers" become fans however from experience it's people like you who derive the most satisfaction when your team is successful due to your passion & support. I'm a neutral however will be watching & hope Glory belt them!
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Yes that is a strange phenomenon that only Victorians know the secret of! In Sydney, there would be a published list of excuses to choose from for not attending although to be fair there will be about 150.000 people playing football each weekend and when you add in all the other field sports, it probably doubles.
Anthony Ferguson
Guest
Could not agree with you more. The Grand Final should be as big as possible. Everyone welcome.
Nemesis
Guest
A-League competes against 33% of the AFL & NRL seasons - the most important part of those seasons, since it's the only time all teams still have hope of making the finals. A-League accounts for less than 1% of the organised football played in Australia. The other 99% of organised football played in Australia competes against the entire AFL & NRL seasons. The season when A-League had its biggest ever crowds A-League was played on the same days as each AFL & NRL final and also we played games on the same day as the AFL grand final and we played 2 matches on the day of the NRL grand final. Yeah. Sokkah is really scared of AFL & NRL.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
We do get hung up about all sorts of subjects surrounding the game we love. Whilst I have a certain sympathy for an argument that says play where you feel you might have an advantage and make sure your regular fans are able to secure tickets, I must remember that the final is the showpiece of the season and it is important to make it available to as many people as possible. Forget the headlines about money grabbing FFA and forget about who is going to attend. Focus on a big event that everyone who wants to (in WA) can get along to and enjoy. If the attendance is 60.000 and of the crowd on hand just 2.5% decided they like what they see and buy memberships or season tickets or just a handful of tickets next season, that could add 1-2k to a typical home game - not to be sniffed at surely? If it was easier and cheaper to get to Perth this weekend, I would have bought a ticket. I’m not even a fan of the form but I’d be there just to be part of something new and unfolding and to cheer for Chris Ikonomidis of course!
Daz
Roar Rookie
I didn't think any aussie soccer fan would want to miss out on a 60,000 crowd. Great effort to sell 53,000 tickets already. Well done to all involved.
anon
Roar Pro
Winter doesn't stop 95k turning up a the 'G.
Paul
Guest
It is hard on the players but I'd rather sit in the stands in a T-shirt and shorts, ice cream in one hand, cool drink in the other, enjoying the late evening sunshine than rugged up with five layers on a frigid, dark night. Winter is all yours. I'm happy spending my winters in my cosy home watching Netflix.
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
Good article Jordan. The finals series is a recognition of the clubs that had a successful regular season and a chance for all of those fans throughout the season to turn up at the same time to celebrate that achievement, and hopefully continue their success. And yes, they will have won new fans by making it to the big one. Each final, we get many, many more eyeballs on the game than we usually would, who will hopefully have a good time, be impressed by the standard and be inclined to come back again next season. What clubs need to do is acknowledge those semi and non-regular attendees and try to incentivise them to attend more regular season games the following season. People have pointed to Brisbane Roar as an example of how spurious these finals crowds are, but who would be encouraged to show loyalty to a club that immediately followed its on-field success with such poor administration off it? Same can be said of the Mariners and to a lesser extent the Wanderers. These 'bandwagoners' will show up more often, but they expect a more positive, proactive ownership in doing so.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
Great article Jordan. Isn't football a game for the people? Surely Perth Glory represent the people of Perth. This game is a showpiece - let's get it out of the garage and put it on the big stage.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Nice one Jordan! It goes to the heart of what it means to be a football fan and a supporter of club and how the broad brush, cookie cutter approach to support just doesn't apply to all. Another way of looking at it is would it be better to limit the fans at another venue? Certainly if the stadium was half empty that would give some another point to take issue with, possible the same mob would lament as to why the general populace doesn't support Perth/WA/all things not-East Coast. Supporting a club can be complex: economics, distance, family, circumstances etc. mess with priorities and attendance every week would be nice but can be a luxury. Enjoy the week, they don't come around all that often for some fans. Your experience with your club is a personal one. Unfortunately some forget theirs is not the yard stick they wish it to be for all.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Your greatest comment yet Waz. Awesome.
anon
Roar Pro
Soccer is a winter sport yet the majority of the season is played during the brutally hot Australian summer. Soccer does not want to compete with the AFL and NRL. I do like the idea of the best side earning a home ground Grand Final though.
Nemesis
Guest
Biggest crowd of the season will happen after 7 months of A-League, right smack bang in the middle of the AFL, NRL, Super Rugby seasons. A-League is the only sport that has the confidence to compete against every major sporting competition in Australia and every sport in Australia - apart from Ice Hockey and Snow Skiing. No other sporting competition in Australia does this.
anon
Roar Pro
Soccer is its own worst enemy in this country. It's a 10 team comp with a season that goes on far too long. You can't expect to have big crowds.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
The SCG is truly awful for watching football. Hopefully they'll play all games at Kogarah - good view and good transport.
Nick Symonds
Guest
50k+ at Optus will look a lot better on the news than 20k at HBF, it's a much better advertisement for the game. How could anyone complain about that?
AGO74
Guest
Sydney have started doing that this year - but this has been more driven by the Kogarah/Leichhardt arrangement than anything else I think. Have to say if they do that again next season then I will strongly consider dropping my full season membership down to Kogarah (I only made 1 non-Kogarah match this season whereas I only missed 1 game at Kogarah).