“I don’t even like Football, I’m just here for the Party”

These words ring in my ears, even after I have arrived back in Australia, after a three and a half week tour of South Africa. And I didn’t hear this sort of phrase once, but countless amounts of times. What do you say to this? Do you look down on this person and call them a part timer or do you try to educate them on what football is all about…Here’s my story on some Australian Fans during the World Cup and some education for you non-believers

Why didn’t you just go to Bali Mate, you could have done the same thing for a hell of a lot cheaper” Was my reply to the person who muttered those words in the first line. Majority of the time, these were the same people who were distraught after that fateful night in Durban where our Socceroos got taken to the proverbial cleaners by a clinical German side. I will admit, blind Freddy could have seen that we had 11 passengers on the Park that day, let alone countless amounts of pissed, cashed-up, Bogans. Now I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush because Australia had some great fans over in South Africa, and I for one heard from plenty of praise from other fans from other countries, that they thought Australia had some of the best supporters in the World Cup, but we will pat ourselves on the back and move on.

Simply, coming out of the woodwork and supporting your country by rocking up to a World Cup, paying your money to a Tour Company and to FIFA for your tickets, is not supporting Football in Australia. Yes, it’s supporting the boys on the park for ninety minutes, but support needs to go further than that. How is it that we can get approximately 35,000 Australians to a World Cup in South Africa, but only 20,000 to a Socceroos’ game in our own country? Alas the World Cup Bandwagon is alive and well.

Let’s turn this bandwagon, into a snowball. If you want Australia to succeed in future football tournaments, here’s some simple tips to start the wagon/snowball rolling… It all starts with you…

Get Educated

Now Billy Bogan, Outlandish comments like the following will make you look like a tosser…

“Oh another 0-0 draw, what was the point of the last 90 minutes”- Ironically this comment comes from the same people who will sit around and watch 5 days of cricket to get no result.

“Sokka is for Girls and Wogs” If its good enough for Steve Waugh and Ron Barrassi to support the game, its good enough for you Bruce.

“Sokka is going to kill my beloved AFL” – Get a grip son, they are played at different times of the
Year

“If Australia doesn’t make the World Cup its all over - Wake up Jeff, we didn’t make a World Cup for 32 years, and I guarantee we will miss out again, Welcome to football…

Support grass-roots Football

Buy an A-league membership. Yes even I’ll agree that the A-league has a long way to go, but this attitude that “the standard is crap, so I’d rather stay up until 4am and watch 2 European teams in which I have no connection to over supporting the local lads”. This doesn’t wash with me, how do you expect it to get better if you don’t support it? Supporting the A-league and Grass-roots is indirectly supporting the National teams.

Get involved with your local club, Get your kids involved, you never know, Little Johnny might be spark we need to get one over the Germans in 2022.

Become a football fan

Being an Australian football fan, isn’t just about supporting the Socceroos or your A-league Club or even your local club, its about supporting the good of the game in Australia. Supporting the game at junior level now means will be advantageous by the time those kids hit seniors level, so lets get that snowball rolling and take the handbrake off the bandwagon.

And for the love of god….Save your Aussie Aussie Aussie for the cricket…

Nice read, better than a few of the actual articles that have been coming out over the last week.

Well done, but at the end of the day welcome to Australia, nothing new and it will always be here.


And for the love of god….Save your Aussie Aussie Aussie for the cricket…


As for that....were you at Australia v Uruguay, or any of the games in Germany. The Aussie chants were screamed at the top of everyones lungs and will remember it forever. We do need to keep some Australian things to be unique from other football natons. At least it isnt a Vuvuzela.

This is the difference between The Fanatics and the Green & Gold Army.

Good read mate, well done...

It was exactly the same in Germany as well.

Great read! The missing link is the A League support. The Socceroos are ticking along nicely and grass roots are growing quickly.

The way each of us can support Football directly is put your bum on a seat at an A League game. Really simple!!

Lets shut the Rebecca Wilsons up for good!

Cheers for your comments guys, As this is my first real attempt at writing a piece like this...

fantastic read. Only the other day here at uni did i come accross a guy - serbian - who refused to support Australia because they play shit football, the A-League's shit, NSWPLs shit (despite him saying he's a regular to Bonnyrigg White Easgles games) and yet, he supports "Manchester United", but when pressed he struggled to name 5 players, and still thought Cristano Ronaldo played for them. Yet he also had a Serbian scard draped around his neck, and said Australia cheated to win.

Spent the best part of 30 mins trying to understand why he doesn;t like Australian football and the only argument he could come up with is "oh, cause it's shit" so when i told him sure, it's not as good as european leagues, because they been around for hundreds of years, why don't you give Aus football a chance, why don't you support it's growth, why don't you wanna be a part of you national game, he kept saying "it's shit".


Like trying to have an interlectual conversation with a brick wall.l

](*,)

Sorry I had too.

Great read though and so true, the amount of football supporters in this country that turn their back on A League because "the standard is shit" and then abuse "Band wagon" fans for suppoprting their local A League clubs is insane, its time they get off thier high horses and embrace football in this country no matter its standards. State League fans are excluded from that as their support for grass roots cannot be questioned I'm talking about the idiots who follow European football but turn a blind eye to the football in their own backyards.

Edited by fredsta: 5/7/2010 02:44:30 PM

Heineken. I feel your pain mate. I have a heap of Serbian friends who say the same thing. They hate everything about football in this country except Bonnyrigg. Even though they have a lot of non-Serbian players now and they are doing very well. One is also a Man United supporter. Me and my family being from Manchester love that United have fans all around the world, but when we have fans like eg Serbian fans who want us to sign Zigic, Ivanovic, Krasic the list goes on it gives Mancs the shits.

It is a bit of a brick wall sometimes, but all we can do is get behind Australian football and watch it grow and takeover the other codes.

I was over the moon with our win over the Serbians in the group.

AUSTRALIA 2 SERBIA 1 !!!!!

C'mon Australia!

The difference between the bandwagon element and the 'genuine' fans was evident in Germany. I'd imagine this year was even worse. Glad I didn't go to SA (for various other reasons as well) in the end.

To be fair mate, we heard all kinds of shit coming out of South Africa... its dangerous this, youll get stabbed that, and youll get mugged 15 times...

It all comes down to common sense, the country of South Africa is beautiful, the people, the cultures, the landacape...

You wouldnt walk through a dodgy area in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth by yourself at 4am.... The same as you wouldnt do it in Johburg....

Was a brilliant World cup though...

Thanks for your comments guys...Keep them coming..

And feel free to cut and paste the Article on other sites in order to get rid of the bandwagon and get "them" onside...

Amazing how all the negative comments come from the exact people I have tried to target in my article.....

Not talking about you guys here, but other sites etc

Just got this reply from another forum

---

Good blog. I hate the CUBs, nothing but plastic fans.

There was as story in the Herald Sun about a group of 70 Fanatics that didn't make the trip for the Serbia game cause they didn't think Australia would get out of the group and they didn't want to face a 12 hour bus ride. Why the hell did you make the trip half way around the world in the 1st place? Losers.

These are the people that should be banned from watching any form of football for life. Fairweather followers.

great read there... i cringe at the aussie aussie aussie chants... leave them for the tennis also :oops:

if i bought tickets to the Aussie games i would go to all of them no matter what the situation is... if we lost 4-0 4-0 4-0 i would still be there.


oh and the whole "we failed" as in not going to the last 16... well welcome to football bogans... Paraguay had never made it past the round of 16 until now. This is football nothing is straight forward nor easy... this isnt the afl where half the league is rewarded with finals LOL.

Too Right Vadar!

At the Ghana match,approaching half time and the beach balls come out.Within a minute there is one in each corner of the stadium where Australia had active fans.
I was furious,the ball came near me and I thumped it onto the running track to the jeers of some in our bay.I turned around and shouted "This is not a beach party for the fanatics,it doesn't belong at the football-you've come half way around the world to support Australia,so support them-they need your support".
The support definitely picked up for the rest of the match,and the beach ball remained on the running track for the rest of the day.
Come the Serbia match I had many people come to me in support re that very issue

What if you don't have a connection to an A-League team?

Wow. Douche.

They've come half way around the world, and you won't let them have a little fun at the World Cup?
Shame....

mate, before the start of the serbian game we had beach balls all over the shop in the section.it was great. very unique to australia. once the game proper started, we got on with the support. and great support might i add! yeh, i didn't see any other countries doing the same with the beachballs.. why? because they're not australian. it's ours. i'm sure the players appreciated seeing it in the crowd. the world cup is a party atmosphere.. people are their for a good time and to support their country. sure, some are more passionate about the game than others. but that's the same with other countries too. not just australia. for the record i consider myself a "proper fan". i've followed it all my life. to ark up about a couple of beachballs and say that's why we're shit supporters is a bit silly to me though..

Got no probs with Beachballs...

girtx, would get along quite well the security at some of the australian stadiums - War on inflatable toys :P