Prevailing Issues: Rotten Apples and Stupid Comparisons.
Disgusting behaviour must be accounted for – rotten apples spoiling the barrel.
Disclosure: I was not in Melbourne last night, and thus my opinion on events has been formed purely through examination of videos and word of mouth.
While many, including myself, have complained about the heavy-handed approach of police experienced as a Wanderers fan in recent months, we can have no excuses anymore after the events which transpired in Melbourne last night.
The video circulating today is both shocking and upsetting. In my near two years supporting the club, I’ve never seen such behaviour – not to say it hasn’t occurred before – but for it to happen in such a public place and in such embarrassing fashion is humiliating for our fan base as a whole. Of course, the blame can not be laid solely on Western Sydney fans, as it was in fact those of the Melbourne variety which approached the Wanderer’s designated pub and provoked the incident. However, this is inconsequential and blame games as useless as code wars – those involved should hang their heads low.
There are very few reasons to start a violent brawl on the street, and none of them involve supporting a franchised football club which was created only last year. Such behaviour is indicative of a distinct lack of care in the success of one’s football club, and contrasting excitement derived from a desired hooligan culture. I don’t care what anyone tells me, but in the end, football ultraism should be designed around football, and not ultraism.
I’ve asked myself many times in the past twenty four hours about how much emphasis should really be placed on this seemingly isolated incident. To paint all of us with the brush forged by a handful of idiots is unfair and upsetting, as much as that excuse is clichéd. Calls for Wanderers fans to be banned from away trips seem stupid at first. The excuse for a “football ultra” I described in the previous paragraph is certainly not descriptive of Wanderers or Victory active support as a whole. However, for those of us feeling so hard done by, perhaps accepting some sort of heavy punishment is a small price to pay if it is to deter the existence of an idiotic minority.
At the same time, another issue I feel I must address is that of police presence. Understandably, many (including myself in the opening paragraph) have highlighted the irony of complaining about the amount of cops circulating the RBB at any one time, despite constant breaches of legality. We must not let incidents such as yesterday distract us from underlining and important issues that still exist in this regard. There are ways to regulate flares and violence without an overhanded and disruptive approach. In fact, the police in Parramatta have appeared to do a very good job of just that in recent weeks. Their security checks at the gate have been more thorough, helping to eliminate flares. However, their presence within the bays of the northern terrace has been notably toned down. There are plenty watching us from up top, but not as many pacing between aisles and stirring trouble. Where in the past I’ve literally felt less safe by their over the top company, in recent week’s things have been much more comfortable. Unruly (often drunken) behaviour within the bays both less common and more effectively dealt with.
Big Bash comparisons are wasting your time and mine.
Perhaps the most aggravating “debate” occupying my timeline in recent weeks has been that of whether the Big Bash’s success is equivalent to A-League failure.
My first issue with this discussion is the idea of “A-League failure”. Its certainly true that Gallop has used colourful words in describing his aspiration for football over the summer, “unstoppable” being one of them. But has football been stopped? Certainly not. Attendances, though not as red hot as in the opening fixtures (aided by numerous derbies), are still fairly healthy. Free to Air ratings aren’t great, but the fact that the A-League is finally on free to air is a triumph in its own.
The buzz around Big Bash (or as my great uncle and former cricketer describes it, “close your eyes and swing”) has not affected my enjoyment or anyone else’s enjoyment of the A-League. I have not been paralysed by surprise over the fact that cricket is out-rating football in Australia. The A-League is still enjoying its most successful season ever, and so am I.
If you want to go on about comparisons, the average crowd for the Big Bash League in its opening two rounds has been 16553. The average A-League crowd (including a team from Wellington) in the opening two rounds was 17675. That’s a stupid comparison though, like most between the two sports.
Code wars achieve little more but to further football from the hearts and minds of Aussie larikans across the nation. Gallop must be careful not to incite such a thing with his comments, although his enthusiasm is much appreciated. At the same time, BBL fanboys (including one hosted on the Cricket Australia website) using their applaudable ratings to bash football should learn from Stuart Broad’s mistakes and trot off.
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