Western Sydney Wanderers looked as though they had cracked the code until a media campaign carpet bombed the entire terrace.Western Sydney Wanderers looked as though they had cracked the code until a media campaign carpet bombed the entire terrace.t the peak of his powers, Mark Viduka once said the only ambition he had as a kid was to play for the Melbourne Knights, his boyhood club. It is the sort of tribalism the old NSL engendered, and the A-League tried to build on.
I like the idea of fans... And home... I do miss the big Sydney Derby days with the kids and the banter and do I say the awful language... But most of all the singing... They will be back
Step 1 is a move away from Foxtel. For people to be emotionally invested they need to be able to watch the game on something that isn't a dying platform run by jerks.
One of our founders attended the southern leg of the 1984 NSL Grand Final (South Melbourne Hellas v Sydney Olympic) as a VIP guest & enjoyed the passion of both clubs' Greek patrons. Now can't imagine Australia's premier sports city without powerhouse Melbourne Victory (est 2005)
Even as an inaugural gomvfc member, I still to this day remember the away games supporting smfc at Connor Reserve, Summer Street. Even though those rivalries where ethnically driven it was a surreal experience. One of pride & presence. All it needed was work through education.
can't manufacture atmosphere, passion, emotional investment, tribalism - yet the right context conditions can be set that allow these to develop, grow & flourish inc authentic clubs in leagues prorelforAUS, fans engagement, boutique stadia, improved scheduling etc simonhill1894
simonhill1894 nice piece Simon. Important themes - identity | belonging | connection | community Coheres with MarcosFlores85 talking to LucyZelic NickStoll today...Marcos suggesting the primary focus should be to grow a 'club' rather than a 'business model'
simonhill1894 how much did the hatamoto ffa led crushing of active support with the help of incorrect policing have on the growth of a culture and sense of belonging?
Hey Simon! Do you think a scaling down of the league post COVID-19 will encourage clubs & the league to invest more in club & fan culture? And in particular will a change in broadcasting (eg: OTT streams or even FFATV) expedite the process of building fan culture?
Good article Simon. I’d argue though that the closest the A-League has come to emotional investment is the Adelaide vs Melbourne derby, which you curiously omitted from your list. It’s waned now, but those were the only games with genuine heat.
Over 40 years old and the only football club I have had emotional investment(and financial) in is Sydney FC. So disagree with that comment from simonhill1894
💯 on the money again simonhill1894