Over 80,000 people attended the Collingwood versus Carlton clash at the MCG last Sunday, as two historical rivals re-ignited a competitive fire that has existed for 130 years.
Whether Australian rules football is your thing or not, there is something rather commendable about two suburban clubs drawing such a monstrous crowd and providing a contest and atmosphere that remains unrivalled by any other domestic competition in the land.
If you dislike the code, you will care little for that assessment of the occasion, yet for those who consume more than just a football diet, the match was another example of just how well the AFL has done over the last 30 years in terms of crafting and managing its brand and maintaining an event feel in its big matches.
In contrast, two A-League Men teams with a combined life span of less than 20 years met a day earlier in a grand final that was played in front of 22,495 people at AAMI Park.
It was a brilliant end to the A-League Men season where a fairy tale was written and the even competitiveness of the league was fully on show.
Aside from the two teams involved in the match, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United devotees would have watched with a sense of frustration, knowing full well they were mighty close to participating in the decider and were capable of lifting the silverware that now resides in the Western United trophy cabinet.
In fact, fans of the Mariners and Phoenix might also remain convinced that their boys were a little unlucky not to have advanced deeper into the finals and on reflection, it does seem clear that each of the six semi-finalists had a right to believe they were capable of clasping history on the final day.
(Photo by Dave Hewison/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While I did spot a few Eddie McGuire-type comments on social media, mocking what some perceived as an embarrassing two-thirds-full venue hosting Australian football’s showpiece event, there was nothing about the evening to regret, bemoan or lament, except for Melbourne City fans of course.
The contextual reality is that a modern stadium accommodated every person in Melbourne motivated enough to attend, a few hundred thousand others were watching at home or on mobile devices, and two excellent football teams played out a compelling and entertaining game of ‘soccer’.
And we can expect nothing more.
Aside from the potential participation of clubs capable of putting a few more bums on seats, the A-League Men grand final summed up the size, scope and influence of football in Australia perfectly and we should celebrate that.
It gets a little tiresome hearing people perpetuate the silver-bullet myth that promotion/relegation will magically transform the game in Australia, or that a national second division will somehow be established without the inevitable stress, financial strain and uncertainty.
I’m a little sick of hearing about the newly acquired funds now available to the APL and the wild and unsubstantiated rumours of new marquee signings that will suddenly change the domestic game forever.
Even if true, they would not. Australian football, as all institutions do, lives within a finite space.
There is a finite number of interested eyeballs, players, club members and most importantly dollars to which the game has access.
Not all media outlets are keen to promote football as aggressively and/or keenly as other sports, as the return simply does not merit such an approach.
Those involved in the game at grassroots, local club and A-League Men level have always been so as a result of their passion and not for any tangible or intangible profit.
This has been the case in broadcasting, with the current rights holders constantly citing a vision for and commitment to football as the key motivations behind their long game approach.
(Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)
The A-League Men salary cap is dwarfed by its AFL and NRL equivalents, enunciating the simple and cold mathematical realities that those governing the game face.
Bluntly, the A-League Men is about as big as it can be right now and perhaps less doom saying and more celebration of its assets should be mentioned more frequently in its surrounding narrative.
There is nothing wrong with two clubs playing a decider in front of 22,000 people, nor any problem in accepting the fact that an average attendance of 10,000 for all clubs across an entire season is decent.
Yes, any young boys with immense potential will head abroad to potentially earn coin they could not even dream of in Australia and there is zero chance of A-League Men football being broadcast on free-to-air television stations at the expense of either of the two biggest codes in most of our lifetimes.
Yet those realities don’t stop many people expressing frustration and fury towards those governing Australian football at the top level, seemingly of the belief that if they made a few better decisions the national competitions would magically transform in terms of their international status and standard.
The A-Leagues will transform, over time and in their own time. They are what they are and even so, I find them enjoyable to watch.
Perhaps it is best that fans resist dreaming too big and reaching for the stars, instead welcoming incremental change and understanding that our grandchildren may be the first generation to see just how big the A-Leagues can become.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
As a football fan all I want for football is respect from the local media and fellow sports lovers. Unfortunately because of self interest and preservation of their position in the local sport pecking order we tend to get little respect from either and then they expect us to sit on our hands while they eulogise lyrical their insular codes.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Football supporters pay a lot more for their passion than AFL or NRL, but I guess that’s what the AFL and NRL want. Payback.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Was, Yes true, but Fox also had the A League, They had the Show with Santo and Ed in it, and Bein sports, MLS and the SFL for a while. When they lost Santo and EPL that was the beginning of the end. I have the EPL included in my Optus NBN package but I hate it that it does contribute financially to local football.
Craigo
Guest
"nor any problem in accepting the fact that an average attendance of 10,000 for all clubs across an entire season is decent." The average attendance was 5681 not 10,000 https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp/a-league
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
Already got it since August 2021.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
I can’t claim to be obsessed with promotion and relegation as the answer to any issues. We need a model that is sustainable and it has to be cut to the right size for the demand. MLS has a couple of distinct advantages over ALM though. There are a lot of cities large enough to support teams and the expansion is driven by demand and so it is successful. Atlanta, LAFC, now Austin, Miami, Charlotte, Nashville etc all going ok. The player pool is growing too and MLS is able to attract players from central and South America as well as other parts of the globe and that is proving popular on several fronts. Ted Lasso did a good number on what happens when you finish last in the USA - if you haven’t seen it, it is worth a go although there are some irritating characters in it!
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Fabian, do yourself a favour, spend 8 bucks a month, get paramount and watch some australian football mate. You'll make an old fella very happy.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Lol says it all TSS, what's so exciting about a league where you know that the cashed up gits at City will always win because they can simply out cash everyone else. Not finals series, no unpredictability, just City will win because they have the most cash. Boooorrrring!!!!
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
you bet it will be too much for people. if you are facing a choice of 8 bucks a month or 35 bucks a month which way are you going to go. This might be the A-League's opportunity
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
buy that man a beer!!!
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
All over it Stevo, mate that game showed what's happening in Australia. We have a long string of fearless, talented and football believing kids that are going to emerge in the next few years and it's going to shock the custard out of a lot of people.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Stu, the honest reality in this article is like the oxygen I got in hospital last week. It's such a relief that there is acknowledgment of the requirement for support, investment, construction and time. Sadly, modern sciety suffers from what i call the "want it now syndrome". As much as the technology we are using to have this discussion is an invaluable tool, like everything there are two sides. The "want it now" syndrome that has afflicted society is sad. There is an ignorance, almost numbness of the requirement for hard work, patience and the understanding that nothing comes for free. I personally would have loved to have seen a complete sell out for the GF, but you know what, the football and the atmosphere were still great. In fact the football was excellent. Maybe FA need to start working on slogans like "be part of the football revolution" and "be part of something bigger", or "will you be able to say that you were there in the beginning". I believe that your point about more celebration, less analysis is a good point. Let's shout from the rooftoops. We have an excellent football competition, we have freakin' Dwight Yorke as Gaffer, we have players like Prijovic, Brimmer, Rojas, Penha, Cummings, Tilio, McClaren and the list goes on. Actually, just as a side, I was really disappointed that the excellent advertisement that was used at the start of the season, made no appearance in the GF construct. I would have added some very positive fuel to the occasion. So where to from here? We continue to groom kids to understand what they have in their own backyard. We continue to build the game, we continue to work towards a bigger better, stronger game. We work to continue to attract better players and coaches from around the world, and most importantly, we continue to produce Australian kids that grab the attention of the world. As Postecoglou says in his book, build it and they will come. Let's make next season a step forward from this one. Keep the faith, support Australian football lads. Convert a Eurosnob!!!
Mark
Guest
The MLS is the best proof that suggestions we need to introduce promotion/relegation and scrap the salary cap for our league to be successful are complete nonsense.
Mark
Guest
Well here's some ground attendance stats for the AFL over the weekend which is interesting and some not much more than the grand final. Port Adelaide v Essendon 25,877 (in a football state) Collingwood v Carlton 80,627 (traditional rivals much like a derby) St Kilda v North Melbourne 23,464 (with St Kilda doing well this year) Gold Coast Suns v Hawthorn 7,516 (in Darwin, imagine the A-League having a team up there which has been called for before) Western Bulldogs v West Coast 31,838 Melbourne v Fremantle 29,812 (and this is the reigning premier) Geelong v Adelaide 19,051 (Geelong home game?) Brisbane v GWS 19,051 (and Brisbane is doing well this year) Sydney v Richmond 31,387 (Decent I suppose) Average crowds at the AFL are said to be down by up to 10,000 this year. Just have a look at the AFL site. Finally, I was at the Grand Final, and I reckon it was a good crowd to get 22K, I tipped around $20K. On a bitterly cold night in Melbourne, it was a good effort to get there by all and amazing to see that both WU and City seem to have a reasonable supporter base, they just need to get out to more home and away games. Actually got off the train at the same time as Melbourne supporters for their AFL game and their was vastly more WU and City shirts than Demon fans. If I have to have a complaint apart from City losing is that the half-time entertainment was pretty amateur, and i think we can all say was pretty much ignored by all supporters.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
The A-League will be under the spot light when the Socceroo's fail to qlfy for the world cup, As it is fact your national team is only as good as its domestic league.
James
Guest
I agree with this but I've got friends who support European clubs and they say, 'How can you support a team that was created by a marketing agency?' We've got to stop creating new clubs and start embracing the old NSL ones – many of them have 60+ years of history, have won trophies and produced famous Socceroos. And sadly, nobody under 20 has a clue who they are.
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
Sorry, slight mathematical correction. 9x6 is $54. Don't tell anyone that I am a teacher.
Andrew
Guest
Great article, finally a realistic view and analysis on where the game is at without the unnecessary negativity or finger pointing!
Bludger
Guest
How anyone can be 'passionate' about a suburban Manchester or London club from down here in Australia is just plain weird. You pay 5 times the admission fee you do for A-League too, is EPL 5 times better than A-League? It is still the same sport.
josh
Guest
We don't feel sorry for them, most of their youth products they've pilfered from the Western Sydney region in the first place, not to mention the deals they have in place with some high schools in Western Sydney. About time this happened.