The halftime whistle goes at the Emirates Stadium and a bumper WSL crowd heads for the concourse. Queues have already formed for stadium food that traverse the walkways, the line for the women’s bathroom snakes out of the door and merges into those patiently waiting for their nachos.
There’s no way of getting a drink, there’s no way of easily navigating the concourse either with those food queues blocking the way. There are people everywhere. Surely this is not normal. Heading back to my spot, an incredibly high-backed seat in the home end, the game restarts with only a fraction of fans back in place.
Post-game, an Australian flag is held aloft to attract the attention of the Aussie contingent in the Arsenal team. Despite flags of every nation surrounding the field depicting the Arsenal supporters’ clubs of each country, including the flag being waved, the security team descend to pounce on the perpetrator. The situation in Gaza has deemed that any flag is forbidden, regardless of the nationality.
Fast forward 48 hours and we are spat out into the concourse by an instrument of torture masquerading as a turnstile at the G-Tech Stadium for a low-key international involving two neighbouring countries from 17,000 km away. The concourse is heaving with people, despite this being a small crowd.
The queues block the walkways, getting from one end of the stadium to the other is a trial, and once in place, security are straight on to the Australian Active fans to make sure that any attempt to support the team and be heard is quashed.
We think of the United Kingdom as footballing nirvana. In terms of passion, loyalty, football quality, proximity and drama, it probably is. However, the stadium experience, other than in your seat watching the game, is most certainly imperfect and in any other situation involving a gathering of people would simply not be tolerated. The fact that these fans have shelled out a minimum of $100 for a ticket, the expectation would be of a safe and well-managed stadium experience.
The football tour ends at my beloved St James’ Park, revelling in the atmosphere as Newcastle United dismantle Crystal Palace. Heading down to relieve the pressure after a marvellous pregame around the town, the concourse is a sea of happy jostling blokes, two tides of people clashing, and getting to the sanctuary of a bathroom is quite the trauma.
We’re almost ready for kick-off by the time I make it back. I try to imagine being the father of young kids trying to negotiate that half-time chaos. It’s certainly not the pleasant experience of entering an oasis of food and drink outlets to while away the 15 minutes of half time.
Western Sydney Wanderers’ Lachlan Brook celebrates a goal with team mates. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Now, watching live top-flight football in Australia is fraught with obvious issues. The tyranny of distance between clubs means that a Perth Glory away game in Brisbane might cost close to $1,000, with return flights, accommodation, not to mention two lost days travelling across the country. It is certainly a bigger investment than travelling from Middlesborough to Plymouth. A definition of a die-hard A-League fan would be a season ticket holder who might get to one or two out-of-state away games during any given season.
The quality of the football and the on-field drama is certainly not an issue for the A-League, we have that in spades, we have active supporter groups, atmosphere and singing at the games and we have healthy rivalries despite the lack of history throughout the league. Hell, we even have security to rival the Emirates Stadium.
So why do we look at the A-League in a different way to the English leagues? What is it about the experience over there that is so much more appealing to the Euro-snobs and national team bandwagoners? Is it just that we live in the lucky country and there is so much going on to detract from attending live football games?
Is it simply the fact that the demand for tickets is not there and if it was, everyone would want to go? Is it too cheap and easy? Do people want to see desperate fans scrambling for tickets for every game? Is the sub-standard concourse experience and the unavailability of beer at your seat all part of the experience?
I challenge you doubters to attend an A-League game, with as much knowledge and context that you would take into an EPL game. Get to know the players before you go, find out who might be the stars of the show, buy yourself a beer, sit in your seat or join the active section and enjoy the top-quality football action. You’ll find that it’s a refreshing experience and you will definitely want to go again.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Great article Texi - just saw it. I’m presently on a little Indonesian island named Bin Tan. My overseas holiday is coming to an end, but that’s OK because… I can’t wait to get to the Macarthur game on Friday night (after flying in Friday morning) and then the derby on Saturday night. It was also great to see that the A Leagues games are being shown in Indonesia and Singapore (probably India as well). While in India (the supposedly cricket mad country) I attended a “world cup” cricket game. There were about as many people as there are at a Macarthur game! You’re right - we don’t know how good we’ve got it!
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Relegation would mean Ange would get sacked first season. My opinion is clear promotion and relegation has a lot of negatives certainly more than the positives. That its impractical for Australia as well is a side issue.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Relegation would a massive shot in the arm though. If the A-League is big enough, the bottom team goes down to be replaced by the winners of the second tier, the second bottom team joins the second, third and fourth teams in the second tier for a play-off series. With the final being hyped up as the 'most expensive game in Australia' or something. Of course, we know that pro/rel has its challenges in Australia due to geography, but if we give incentives to those states who only have one team (or even none if relegated) then we can really make the second division an attractive proposition. Given context, I wouldn't mind the tension of a conservative performance if it meant my team stayed up.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Agree! And those Eurosnobs would say it was great because there was an atmosphere. Colombia v South Korea anyone? Midday on a Tuesday and the place was going off. The marketing of the A-League is a tough one though - definitely needs some eager minds behind it.
Texi
Roar Rookie
So true. Now, with a bit of history behind us, we do have those rivalries. The Original Rivalry, the Distance Derby, F3 Derby, Sydney Derby and Melbourne Derby. The Big Blue. We even have the tour of duty, where supporter groups nominate away games to circle in the calendar and make the effort to get to en masse. There is a football culture in this country that just needs some love from the outside and this thing will take off.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Ah, yes, if you're looking for an atmosphere, Melbourne City might not be the first club to tick that box. The big name players are there, but yes, we could use a bit of star power, a cult hero or a known name from a 'big' league.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Hey, I'm not saying don't watch other leagues, but I applaud your dedication.
Texi
Roar Rookie
...and have a look at the entertainment that was served up this weekend. The good times are coming for the A-League, mark my words.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Wow, you'll be happy with that result. Not sure if being able to spread out a picnic blanket at a game is really a good thing, but we've seen it at Kogarah and Leichhardt. Problem with the hill is that it's empty when it's raining!
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
I think since Ange came along, A-league coaches are more likely than anyone to experiment . Elsewhere its can you save us from relegation playing conservatively here its do something really different and try and win the league, not sneak out of the relegation zone.
Kitwally
Roar Rookie
You’re absolutely right FIL. I showed my Mum and her parter a highlights video of Irankunda’s goals and they got quite excited. The average person has no idea of the excellent standard of the A-League.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
Great article Texi. IMO, there are a combination of reasons why more people don't attend but the main one is lack of visibility in the mainstream media of local football. This is the biggest obstacle to attracted the "casual" fan (I do not consider the Eurosnobs casual fans). It definitely isn't the standard as many Eurosnobs say as the vast majority of these Eurosnobs jumped on the WWC bandwagon and attended multiple matches, where the standard of play was well below Aleague standard. They are simply unaware of the Aleague standard because they never attend matches. I feel the solution lies in marketing/PR. The APL and Aleague clubs need to spend big in increasing the size and quality of their media and marketing teams in order to attract both the casual fans and Eurosnobs.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
I have always believed that we don't appreciate how good we have got it. The quality of football is good, Hindmarsh Stadium even when full, you can get a drink, food or take a trip to the loo without too much drama. Getting into and out of the ground is straightforward and parking is so easy. We are blessed. But tell that to a fan who has never been to an A-League game but lives and breathes EPL and I get laughed at. I get told I don't know what I'm talking about and that the games in the EPL are so much better, the teams stronger, the grounds better, so many historical rivalries, etc etc etc. I don't know what the answer is to convince those types, but I appreciate how good we have it.
Saffi
Roar Rookie
Excellent piece Texi. Totally agree that the A League is a great spectacle and the quality is excellent. I don’t know why more people attend games. A close friend said if the crowd was there he’d go because he loves the atmosphere. Unfortunately, he’s a Melbourne City supporter, no crowd! I’ve got no answer to getting more people other than the sugar hit of some big name players coming on board. Even TEN broadcasting did a massive job advertising the A League ad nauseam over the last cup week, but did any non believers even notice? Oh well, I’ll be supporting Victory tonight v Wellington.
mrl
Roar Rookie
I do not watch any other leagues...unless Adelaide United are in ACL.
Kitwally
Roar Rookie
Good article Texi. I’m abroad most of the year but I always try to support the A-League by attending matches when I am in Australia. More people that call themselves football fans need to attend matches rather than finding excuses. The standard of football is excellent and as Texi mentions in his article, the stadium experience is better than it is overseas in most cases.
Simon Kelly
Roar Pro
I think you may have hit the nail on the head with the 'so much going on' comment. We do live in a country with usually great weather and an outside living culture, wether that's the beach or the bush. I grew up in England and loved the terrace culture. In saying that I visited Middlesbro's Riverside (a relatively new stadium) and the concourse was narrow and there was no elbow room having a pre match beer. The seating was tight and I yes it was freezing cold!! All the grounds I've been to in Australia are roomy and you can sit back and enjoy a beer in your seat. You could even pick a hill at Newcastles Turton Road ground and put your picnic blanket out if you like. I'm one of those A League die hards, heading for Ballarat for Newy's game against Western United. The sunblock and beer money are at the ready!