Soccer - still f*cked after all these years

[Bloodstained Angel]

No doubt you have all heard the stories about Carlton and how they are so broke they can't pay their players and they will be wound up any day now in mid season, forfeiting all their fixtures and their points earned in the league so far.

On other fronts, attendances are down, other clubs are broke, the introduction of the Auckland Kingz has been a disaster and the NSL is seemingly smashed to pieces evry year, only to re-constituted with new clubs, in new colours with new names.

The local soccer competition has been through so many reforms that the old Ethnic Social Club roots of the game have vanished to be replaced by outfits that Aussie Soccer Fans can't identify with.

Every year without fail the tired old refrains keep coming up :

"Soccer is the sleeping giant of Aussie Sport"

"Just wait - all we need is for Aus to qualify for the World Cup then Soccer will take off"

"Soccer is played by more school kids than all the others put together"

"All we need is an effective Professional League for Soccer to boom in Australia"

"If only the game was on TV more then it would be more popular"

"Now that Soccver is played in Summer then it won't have to compete with AFL or League"

Hmmm yes I've heard them all, I've also benn told over and over about how soccer will be the number 1 footy code in Australia within (insert number of years here) years.

Look people - forget it.

Soccer in Australia is f*cked.

They've tried everything to get more Aussies to support this game :

- They changed the names of the clubs to try and broaden their appeal away from the old Ethnic Social Club roots.

- They made alot of the older clubs merge - often with their bitter cross town rivals (Adelaide City / West Adelaide eg)

- They shrunk the League down to 14 teams, is going down to 12 next year.

- They started playing the game in summer.

And the game is still stuffed, Carlton is so broke their players haven't been paid for weeks, other clubs are just as rooted and the fans are staying away in droves.

Soccer was, is and always will be nothing more than the Cinderella of Australian Sport. Anyone suggesting this code has a big future in Australia are absolutely kidding themselves. Nothing can be done to encourage Australians to watch this game more.

cheers

 

[Arch]

i pretty much agree with most of that BSA, the thing is, I think alot the other clubs should look at what the Perth Glory are doing as they appear to be the only club doing it right. Apparently attendances are falling a bit here too, but the Glory is pretty well supported with many die hard fans around, you see people wearing glory shirts around town and they get pretty good coverage in the paper, and tv.

Maybe the rest of the NSL could learn something from the Glorys success ??

(however i also think the high population of Poms in perth is a factor too tho)

 

[Arch]

btw-
what made you so passionate about soccers crapness all of a sudden ????

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

Nothing really Arch

... Just like to kick a crap sport when its down

yeah I agree about the Glory - they at least seem to be holding their own, would have like to say the same about Northern Spiorit over here but alas their crowds have plummeted as well.

Arch do you think it is all those British migrants in Perth that get along to the Glory or is it a bit more widespread than that ?

 

[Guest]

I was dragged along kicking and screaming by an Italian mate to watch Adelaide City at Hindmarsh stadium one night. The only consolation was that we had tickets to a corporate box and I was going to be able to drink myself stupid through the game.

To my absolute astonishment I actually got caught up in the atmosphere and loved the game. After watching soccer on TV where you can only see a small part of the ground, being able to watch where the players were running to and how the plays were set up was surprisingly interesting to watch.

I'm never going to be a serious soccer fan but I'd recommend everyone to take a look at a game. If it's a nil all draw game then you're going to need a serious drink to get through but as long as acouple of goals are scored you might enjoy it.

Having said that Adelaide City have screwed themselves up now by changing the name and getting rid of players like Mori and Tobin and are in the process of self destructing as is the league itself.

 

[Don]

Soccer yawn.

All this is despite huge effective subsidies given to that sport by the federal gov't, that AFL does not get.

 

[TigerTank]

Well said gentlemen.

I can't help but think Soccer (like NASCAR and Gridiron) simply doesn't belong here.



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TT

 

[Pessimistic]

But you only need to look at the iterest and crowds for recent 'big' games to realise there is an untapped market there

I must admit I don't know how to get around it either - unless there was Just one melbourne team, one Sydney team etc in an asian league or something which had the clout to retain higher class players.

But the biggest Joke is that Carlton is not ethnic based - one of the most hated AFL teams and it's named after them.

Racism aside I'd say the people who supported the ethnic based teams are intitled to say 'what for ?' because the competition then seemed to be alot better - they just didn't have representatives of certain 'ethnic' groups (Poms, Scotsmen and Aussies, for example)

 

[Frodo]

Soccer is a great game, but not in Australia. There is rivalry between clubs in European soccer and soccer violence by a minority although good spirit between the majority.
But in Australia it is all nasty ethnic hatred and spite. What's more most players would play for their old country rather than Australia if given the chance. This makes soccer very un Australian.

 

[Pessimistic]

Ahah.... What exactly does un-australian mean ? I've been dying to ask someone.

I dare say at one time peple who wanted 'advance australia fair' instead of 'god save the queen' were termed un-australian

Un-Optimistic

[This message has been edited by Pessimistic (edited 05 December 2000).]

 

[Westy Boy]

Originally posted by Frodo:
But in Australia it is all nasty ethnic hatred and spite. What's more most players would play for their old country rather than Australia if given the chance. This makes soccer very un Australian.

Frodo the ignorant gereralising WCE supporter,

I'm a first generation immigrant who avidly follows an "ethnic" (SM) soccer club.... you wouldn't be calling me un-australian would you?

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

Hey Pess

I've done some research into this burning question and apparently you are supposed to be "Un-Australian" if you

- vote for the ALP
- wear a black skivvy
- drink still white wine
- read a broadsheet newspaper
- drink expresso coffe
- go to S11 demos
- Go on 'Walks for Reconciliation'
- voted for a republic
- watch / listen to the ABC
- Think Native Title is a good idea
- Don't want Uranium mining in Kakdu National Park
- Drive an imported car
- Think Trade Unions are a good way to protect working people
- Live within a 15km radius of the CBD of Sydney or Melbourne
- any resident of the Australian Capital Territory
- Read books
- Don't listen to Talkback Radio
- Prefer to rent rather than buy
- Don't own any shares
- Don't watch Channel Nine or read the Australian Women's Weekly.
- Prefer to send your kids to the local High School rather than a Private School

hope that clears up your confusion, now you know what is "Un-Austrlian" I guess you better go out and completely change your lifestyle because apparently we are traitors

cheers

 

[GoEagles]

Bloodstained Angel - I think the interest in Perth Glory is a bit more widespread then the Poms. I've only been to 1 game and the majority of the crowd seemed to be people in their 20s and 30s with a few familys (and the older 60 and 70s poms). I think the Glory were crazy to change their games to saturday night, most people want to go out with friends to the pub or the movies, rather being bogged down to a soccer match every second week on a saturday night. 'Chicken Treat' Tana is looking to change the games back to Sunday arvo's after the New Year.

 

[sbagman]

At first, I was going to defend soccer in this post, but I won't bother. If you want to show your ignorance by posting this rubbish, be my guest. Yeah, soccer isn't perfect. But just remember AFL is far from perfect as well. Oh, and that soccer is the WORLD game.

 

[Arch]

BSA & GoEagles,
I think the Poms are probably not the main proportion of the crowd but are responsible for the "shed" area, along with alot of the Italians, Greeks etc etc. The Shed being the loyal Perth Glory chanting brigade, which I think is what many people actually went to see (hear), and why it got so popular to go see the Glory all of a sudden.

 

[Stealth bomber]

All that pretty much mirrors the same thing that we have in the States.

For years, they've tried to cram soccer down our throats and it hasn't worked. All the same claims are there; "it's the fastest growing sport in America"; "more schoolchildren than ever before play it", etc..

We tried similar stunts. We even hosted a World Cup! And nobody gave a rat's arse. We've had about four different professional leagues go under. The current one is on network TV all the time and has dismal ratings.

I think the whole forced nature of it is a bigger turnoff than the game itself. Not that I necessarily hate it either. I played it as a little kid and enjoyed it and it's fun to play but it's absolutely sh*t-boring to watch.

NASCAR is good-ol boy redneck trailer trash. I can't BELIEVE they're trying to market that crap there.

As for gridiron, I can respect your stance on that too, although would you all ridicule me if you saw me throwing a ball around?

 

[Frodo]

. This makes soccer very un Australian.

Westyboy, READ, I wrote about soccer not individuals. Can't you make a post without personal insult?

 

[sbagman]

Why is soccer unAustralian? Maybe you'd prefer if all the ethnic players changed their names to Smith and Brown, would that make it more Australian?

 

[AlfAndrews]

Originally posted by Bloodstained Angel:
On other fronts, attendances are down, other clubs are broke, the introduction of (insert name of any interstate AFL club)has been a disaster and the AFL is seemingly smashed to pieces evry year, only to re-constituted with new clubs, in new colours with new names. (i.e. Western Bulldogs, Orange Kangaroos, Brisbane Lions)

The competition has been through so many reforms that the old local roots of the game have vanished to be replaced by outfits that Aussie Rules Fans can't identify with.

Australian Rules football is f*cked.

- They started playing the game in summer.

And the game is still stuffed.

(Insert name of almost any AFL club) is so broke their players haven't been paid for weeks, other clubs are just as rooted and the fans are staying away in droves.

Anyone suggesting Australian Rules has a big future in Australia are absolutely kidding themselves.

cheers

I've just taken a few liberties with your post, BSA.

I think it still rings true.

cheers



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**floreat pica**

 

[Frodo]

sbagman, if Smith and Brown aspired to play soccer for Scotland rather than Australia then yes. And if Smith and Brown and family hated all slavians, makedonians etc then that would be un Australian too. I coached soccer for ten years and the hatred was unbelievable.

 

[sbagman]

OK, I have to respond. Some Questions...
(1) Why is soccer unAustralian? Because of the ethnic link? I am ethnic, does that mean I am unAustralian?
(2) Who are these players that would rather play for their "old" countries? How do you know this? Jelena Dokic applies to play for Yugoslavia, does this mean tennis is unAustralian? And those Aussie cricketers playing for England? Is cricket unAustralian?
(3) The following teams in the NSL are non-ethnically aligned: Carlton, Parramatta, Northern Spirit, Perth Glory, Auckland Kingz, Newcastle, Wollongong, Brisbane. Where is all this ethnic hatred in games involving these teams?
(4) Which teams have been forced to merge? Which of these are "bitter crosstown rivals"?
(5) If Australians are not interested in soccer, please explain
(a) around 90,000 1997, Australia vs Iran, MCG
(b) large crowds at Olympic soccer
(c) large crowds Aus vs Man Utd
(d) ratings of English Premier League
(e) ratings of World Cup
(f) interest in foreign leagues
(g) tossers wearing Man Utd shirts in Australia!

REMEMBER: in Australia, people can see the best AFL on offer. But for soccer, the NSL represents far from the best the game has to offer.So people don't go. That may explain why the NSL is stuffed.Please stop bagging the world's number one game simply because you don't understand it. And please stop telling me that soccer is unAustralian. I'm sure anyone who has represented Australia in soccer would express a different opinion.

 

[sbagman]

Frodo, you are a rascist. I am half Serbian, half Italian, I play soccer, I go to Brisbane Strikers games, and I don't hate anyone.

Again, and without generalising, why is soccer unAustralian?

 

[Westy Boy]

Sbagman,
Great post!! Agree 100%!

Frodo,
I did READ it, as you advised, and that was the reasoning behind the "personal abuse".
"Most ethnic players want to play for their home countries"... WTF?? Ignorant and generalising comments! Wouldn't you say?? I didn't call u a moron, or a bigot,.... I didn't personally abuse you.

Your posts imply, like Sbagman pointed out in his first point, that soccer is un-australian because of the ethnic link. What this inadvertently leads to is the thinking that immigrants are un-australian. Tell me I'm wrong, but that's the sentiment I drew from your posts. I take such offence to that, like you wouldn't believe!!! I am as Australian as you! .... i'm sure "reasons" pointing to the contrary are going through your head... but I doubt I'll see you post them. Be honest with us Frodo!

Why is soccer un-australian in your eyes? What the hell gives the right to think that soccer supporters/players/clubs are any less Australian than yourself/club and its supporters?? Because we're a bunch of 'wogs'? Is that it?

I have heard a lot about your thoughts on various contentious issues involving race, and all I can say is that I hope they are false. You're little joke about Kouta going to South Africa, because that is where the knee-grows (negroes) was along the same lines. Granted, a joke, but why the hell would someone draw a non-humourous joke from out of nowhere on a totally unrelated issue? It indicates that your mind is always on that kind this theme, which is fairly sad bud!

 

[TigerTank]

Originally posted by Bloodstained Angel:
Hey Pess

I've done some research into this burning question and apparently you are supposed to be "Un-Australian" if you

- vote for the ALP
- wear a black skivvy
- drink still white wine
- read a broadsheet newspaper
- drink expresso coffe
- go to S11 demos
- Go on 'Walks for Reconciliation'
- voted for a republic
- watch / listen to the ABC
- Think Native Title is a good idea
- Don't want Uranium mining in Kakadu National Park
- Drive an imported car
- Think Trade Unions are a good way to protect working people
- Live within a 15km radius of the CBD of Sydney or Melbourne
- any resident of the Australian Capital Territory
- Read books
- Don't listen to Talkback Radio
- Prefer to rent rather than buy
- Don't own any shares
- Don't watch Channel Nine or read the Australian Women's Weekly.
- Prefer to send your kids to the local High School rather than a Private School

hope that clears up your confusion, now you know what is "Un-Austrlian" I guess you better go out and completely change your lifestyle because apparently we are traitors

cheers

Not bad BSA, not bad at all.

Take out the reference to Channel 9 (doesn't telecast football), state schools (it is un-Australian to send your kid to a private school, you got that one back-to-front), talkback radio (John Laws is a commo, and ABC radio has talkback with the likes of John Faine), native title (don't want to touch that one) and read books (bit of a cheap shot that one, city people only think they're smarter than rural people), and you're pretty well spot on.

But don't you find it a little ironic that several posters who are criticising ethnic stereotypes are quite happy to provide an equally misinformed stereotype of those who disagree with them?

As a matter of fact, I actually don't mind your stereotype (the imported car one was beautifully targetted at me, I reckon). I don't know where you got the private school idea from though (could NOT be more wrong), but throw in an Akubra and a bolt-action .22 and the rest is perfect.

But not everyone "from my side of the fence" looks and acts like your stereotype, just as you probably don't wear a black skivvy (just guessin').


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TT

[This message has been edited by TigerTank (edited 06 December 2000).]

 

[TigerTank]

BTW, barracking for Carlton FC is DOWNRIGHT UNAUSTRALIAN!!!

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TT