The bloke needs and account, Mod and automatic 'Legend' status on here.

Kevin Airs, I'm sure you got his deets.

I'm a big fan of the A-League and find the atmosphere friendly and passionate (I wish my friends back home could experience a Sydney derby). That passion - for want of a better word - doesn't seem to exist quite as obviously in the other codes. Again, I've only been to a handful of AFL matches, so it might be unfair of me to offer a comparison.

I will say this though: the footballphobic media is alive and well in Australia. In the last few months alone, football fans have been compared to terrorists on multiple occasions. There's an undercurrent of racism in that reporting and I don't feel it's any coincidence that the people who grew the game in Australia were mostly of Southern European descent. Sadly, the concept of 'wogball' is still alive and well in some corners of Australia.

Thanks very much, that means a lot, as I am desperate for football to succeed here and I'm glad you recognise that I'm in your corner.
If you look at the mainstream media, it's clear that the old attitudes about football still pervade. The commercial TV channels only cover the sport when someone rips a flare and the coverage the national broadcaster gives us is laughable - a few crumbs at the end of Offsiders at best. Sadly, I feel like football is still seen as 'unAustralian', which really means 'unWhiteChristianAustralian'.
One of the first things that struck me about football in this country is how well it engages with people from all backgrounds and also how many women and families attend matches. The crowds are passionate, but rarely hostile, and I've never been seriously concerned for my safety at a match.
I'm not sure how we go about challenging those old attitudes that hold us back, but I think the continued success of the Socceroos is something that can help. If they were able to progress into the knockout stages of a World Cup, I think that would be a huge step forward.

Only a legend comes back a second day to answer more questions. <3



Edited by paladisious: 27/7/2016 06:11:36 PM