Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Wow, 3 weeks .....
Gee, time flies when you are busy. Or perhaps it flies when you aren't that busy either.
I got into the habit of updating my blog on a thursday arvo, when I was doing the church newsletter. I now no longer do the church newsletter, so I have lost my thursday arvo routine.
Sorry for all those who check regularly (who am I kidding?), I am not dead or otherwise incapacitated.
Last wednesday I went to see my first live football game since Aus v Turkey last year. It was a practice match with Melbourne Victory playing Bulleen Zebras (a Vic Premier League side). It was good, and very exciting to see the A-league coming together.
Then of course I tried very hard to tune in to listen to the Victory v Adelaide United game on saturday night. I was disappointed (for more than 1 reason) because I could pick it up beautifully in the car, but none of the radios inside would pick it up.
I could only get a clear signal using Melissa's mobile and the bead head as an oversized antenna.
She was trying to sleep, so I would just run in and check the scores.
I am a bit disappointed with what I am hearing from some of the 'fans' of the Victory on one of their forums. The FFA is doing so much to try and clean up the game of football and rid it of the crowd violence that has marred it in the past. Basically crowd violence in Australia has been based on ethnic rivalries, the teams are ethnically based and so the supporters clash with people of another ethnic background.
The A-League has created new clubs, to move away from ethnic affiliations and allow for broad based support.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that playful jibes at the opposition players and supporters is part of the soccer experience. Chanting "You'll never get a job" to the tune of 'you'll never walk alone' to the Adelaide fans on Saturday night is an example of this.
The reports back from Adelaide say that the supporters got on relatively well, even getting together for a drink after the game.
What disappoints me is the post of some people on the forum who are still promoting violence against opposition supporters when they come to Melbourne.
Probably alot of this is stupid posting by 15 year olds who are trying to convice themselves they are brave, but the under current is saddening.
The FFA is trying to market a product that has had a pretty bad image portrayed of it by the mainstream media. What they don't need is idiots spoiling it.
True fans want the game to succeed in a hostile market. They want the game to break the dominance of other football codes and claim an equal footing.
This will never be acheived while there is an attitude of violence amongst the so called 'fans'
I got into the habit of updating my blog on a thursday arvo, when I was doing the church newsletter. I now no longer do the church newsletter, so I have lost my thursday arvo routine.
Sorry for all those who check regularly (who am I kidding?), I am not dead or otherwise incapacitated.
Last wednesday I went to see my first live football game since Aus v Turkey last year. It was a practice match with Melbourne Victory playing Bulleen Zebras (a Vic Premier League side). It was good, and very exciting to see the A-league coming together.
Then of course I tried very hard to tune in to listen to the Victory v Adelaide United game on saturday night. I was disappointed (for more than 1 reason) because I could pick it up beautifully in the car, but none of the radios inside would pick it up.
I could only get a clear signal using Melissa's mobile and the bead head as an oversized antenna.
She was trying to sleep, so I would just run in and check the scores.
I am a bit disappointed with what I am hearing from some of the 'fans' of the Victory on one of their forums. The FFA is doing so much to try and clean up the game of football and rid it of the crowd violence that has marred it in the past. Basically crowd violence in Australia has been based on ethnic rivalries, the teams are ethnically based and so the supporters clash with people of another ethnic background.
The A-League has created new clubs, to move away from ethnic affiliations and allow for broad based support.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that playful jibes at the opposition players and supporters is part of the soccer experience. Chanting "You'll never get a job" to the tune of 'you'll never walk alone' to the Adelaide fans on Saturday night is an example of this.
The reports back from Adelaide say that the supporters got on relatively well, even getting together for a drink after the game.
What disappoints me is the post of some people on the forum who are still promoting violence against opposition supporters when they come to Melbourne.
Probably alot of this is stupid posting by 15 year olds who are trying to convice themselves they are brave, but the under current is saddening.
The FFA is trying to market a product that has had a pretty bad image portrayed of it by the mainstream media. What they don't need is idiots spoiling it.
True fans want the game to succeed in a hostile market. They want the game to break the dominance of other football codes and claim an equal footing.
This will never be acheived while there is an attitude of violence amongst the so called 'fans'
