Society & Culture Things in life you just don't understand - Part 2

[perthblue]

A-League final 6.

Two elimination finals:

3v6, winner plays 2 in semi final
4v5, winner plays 1 in semi final

Winner of each semi final to the GF.

Sydney FC had 20 wins and 6 draws from 27 games and finished effectively 6 wins clear of 2nd and their reward in the finals series is a week off to start then a sudden death semi final. Doesn't seem like much reward for finishing top. I would've thought with a final 6 you'd have 1v2 first up with a chance to earn a week off later in the piece. Or given it's a 10 team comp have a final 4 or 5.

well the reward for finishing top is being the premiers, which is something I don't get about the a-league. Why have 2 awards? Its happened 4 times that the premiers haven't won the championship, can't help but feel that this would diminish it a little bit.

 

[Cruyff14]

well the reward for finishing top is being the premiers, which is something I don't get about the a-league. Why have 2 awards? Its happened 4 times that the premiers haven't won the championship, can't help but feel that this would diminish it a little bit.

Australia is obsessed with finals series, so stupid.

 

[perthblue]

Australia is obsessed with finals series, so stupid.

it makes sense for the A-league though, given the league is too small to have promotion/relegation, and I'm not sure how much teams really care about Cups. Sydney FC sewed up the premiership a month ago, the past few weeks would have just been pointless soccer for everyone.

 

[Scotland]

well the reward for finishing top is being the premiers, which is something I don't get about the a-league. Why have 2 awards? Its happened 4 times that the premiers haven't won the championship, can't help but feel that this would diminish it a little bit.

I dunno. If you have finals then finishing on top doesn't mean that much, even if you try and push it as a thing. The AFL has tried to make winning the McLelland trophy mean something but really no one GAF. Thinking back to last year I know the top 4 was Syd vs GWS and Geel vs Haw in the prelims but I don't think of Sydney as the minor premier being any different to the other 3.

Agree that the A-League needs finals. Not every year has a runaway top team but teams like Perth would've given up months ago if there was no top 6 to chase.

 

[Gough]

In an ideal world they'd double the size of the A League, and have promotion, and relegation. Adelaide haven't had anything to play for since Christmas, at least a fight to stay up could have breathed a bit of life into a moribund season.

 

[Gough]

talent pool already too shallow as it is ATM, though I suppose the advantage is soccer is an international sport, if the league got enough money they could just buy a bunch of kids from south american ghettos.

You might have something there, we could use them as coke mules as well.

 

[perthblue]

You might have something there, we could use them as coke mules as well.

damn you quoting my post before I deleted it, I was gonna re-write it into something better. no point now.

 

[perthblue]

I think as soccer slowly overtakes footy as the code of choice in this country, the league will expand to follow and we'll eventually have a second division. the Polish league seems like a good format to follow.

 

[Scotland]

Second divisions don't work in Australia. People just don't get behind second tier sport.

 

[the_interloper]

Second divisions don't work in Australia. People just don't get behind second tier sport.

Women's footy seemed to get a fair bit of support.

 

[GreyCrow]

I think as soccer moves like a glacier to overtake footy as the code of choice in this country, the league will expand to follow and we'll eventually have a second division. the Polish league seems like a good format to follow.

It will never overtake it. So I FTFY

 

[gaskin]

Women's footy seemed to get a fair bit of support.

Wait and see how much they get in the coming seasons- particularly if they start charging to get in.

 

[iluvparis]

Move to France, that will end your need to have milk in your coffee. They have no ******* idea when it comes to cappuccino or any coffee with milk. Havent had milk in my coffee for years now.

I truly think Aussies do coffee better than anyone.

Reminds me of Sardinia when a mate ordered a latte and all he got was warm frothy milk

General rule of thumb is when in Europe order espresso only.

 

[iluvparis]

I started drinking black coffee when I was a kid, and we were staying with one of my folk's stupid hippy friends who only had soy milk. There's no way I was putting that s**t in a perfectly good cup of coffee

Reminds me of my first and only experience with it. Nothing in the house to drink except my sisters soy chocolate milk. I figured it couldn't be that bad so found the biggest glass in the house and poured myself a tall glass. Had one sip and threw the rest down the sink.

 

[Gough]

Reminds me of my first and only experience with it. Nothing in the house to drink except my sisters soy chocolate milk. I figured it couldn't be that bad so found the biggest glass in the house and poured myself a tall glass. Had one sip and threw the rest down the sink.

I don't drink milk anymore, but I had a glass of soy once, and it tasted like someone got a normal glass of milk, and dissolved a couple of teaspoons of dirt in it.

 

[Exambolor]

I don't drink milk anymore, but I had a glass of soy once, and it tasted like someone got a normal glass of milk, and dissolved a couple of teaspoons of dirt in it.

Lactose free milk also tastes bad. It just tasted like a watered down version of regular milk.

 

[BotsMaster]

Lactose free milk also tastes bad. It just tasted like a watered down version of regular milk.

Is lactose free milk a preventative to The Willo_ Effect?

 

[Scotland]

Women's footy seemed to get a fair bit of support.

Not really, otherwise players wouldn't be paid $10k for the season or whatever it is. Also it was free to get in, and if women's footy is your thing it is the highest standard.

People hold on to a romantic notion that second divisions would work here but they just wouldn't. We're a nation of theatregoers. Comps like the A-League and NBL struggle for crowds competing with better leagues that don't even run here. If we had a 12 team AFL and 12 team AFLB people would lose interest in the B teams quicksmart.

 

[perthblue]

It will never overtake it. So I FTFY

mate the AFL is already killing itself. with equalisation and constant rule changes and poor coverage. Equalisation is the big killer, it's one of those things that people say they want, but in reality nobody wants it. Nobody wants to see the title won by Malaga, then Bilbao, then Granada etc etc, they want to see Barca and Real Madrid smash everyone in sight, because then it adds more weight when a lesser teams play them, it gives the rest of the comp an enemy, and it makes it more special when a genuine underdog comes through and wins the league, like Leicester.

Soccer is growing, Australia is producing more and more quality players, and as the national team gets better, the domestic support will increase. the trouble will be retaining quality Aus players in the domestic league. it seems playing in a mid-table EFL Championship team or siting on the bench in Belgium or Turkey is more desirable than playing in the A-league.

but Scotland is also right that 2nd div. would struggle to generate much interest (considering the 1st div struggles as is) theatregoers is right. People will get up at 3am on a Tuesday morning to watch some team from across the world play, but won't take the trip into town on the weekend to watch their local team play. not sure how to remedy this really.

 

[peternorth]

but Scotland is also right that 2nd div. would struggle to generate much interest (considering the 1st div struggles as is) theatregoers is right. People will get up at 3am on a Tuesday morning to watch some team from across the world play, but won't take the trip into town on the weekend to watch their local team play. not sure how to remedy this really.

valid points. I know plenty of people who will watch man utd games cause they're "huge utd fans" despite never playing the sport, or watching local (state league and down) or the a-league. it's beneath them, beneath them despite never having the ability to play.

 

[perthblue]

valid points. I know plenty of people who will watch man utd games cause they're "huge utd fans" despite never playing the sport, or watching local (state league and down) or the a-league. it's beneath them, beneath them despite never having the ability to play.

I don't understand why, if you love the sport, you can't watch both? I follow Everton & Bayern, and Perth Glory games basically never clash with them. plus I think live sports are the best way to experience sports. If you're a soccer fan why wouldn't you want to go and sit with thousands of likeminded fans and cheer on your local team? because they aren't as good as the top 10 clubs in the world?

 

[iluvparis]

Because with due respect the quality of the A-League is complete gash to the soccer leagues around the world.

At least you know when you are watching AFL (especially the mighty blues) you are watching it played as good as it can be on earth.

 

[Gough]

Because with due respect the quality of the A-League is complete gash to the soccer leagues around the world.

At least you know when you are watching AFL (especially the mighty blues) you are watching it played as good as it can be on earth.

At least when you went to the old NSL games you could usually be guaranteed a good punch on based on the perceived or actual injustices of pre twentieth century Europe.

 

[perthblue]

Because with due respect the quality of the A-League is complete gash to the soccer leagues around the world.

there's plenty of s**t leagues around the world. probably more s**t leagues than decent ones. and even in the decent leagues there's plenty of garbage clubs. doesn't stop folks from getting behind their local lads.

 

[Scotland]

People who watch soccer all over the world watch Man United, Barcelona etc. so it's not limited to Australia. A good mate of mine is from Glasgow and follows Rangers and he went down to Man United vs Chelsea the other week.

The A-League isn't really in competition with the Premier League and other top European comps as it's played in a completely different time zone. As perthblue said you can easily follow an A-League team and a Premier League team just like people follow an AFL team and a Premier League team or an NRL team and a Premier League team. The A-League's competition on the ground is the winter footy codes and the other summer sports (NBL, Big Bash etc.) competing for an audience. Where it struggles is when people dismiss the product quality because the Champion's League is better, and the limit to how much soccer and sport in general people want to watch.