World Game

[hybrid_tiger]

You don't think that you thinking that you're better than someone because they don't like Soccer could have something to do with the way they react do you?

What does Soccer have to be arrogant about in this country?

One game every four years and a League that hasn't played game one yet?

LOL

I never said you had to like it, EA.

But why do you feel the need to bag it at every given opportunity? If you don't care about the sport in this country, why waste your breath and if you do, well then obviously you are worried...

 

[Raider Ultra]

Nail on the head. The only reason soccer cops such a bagging is because people are worried about it's potential. Why doesn't baseball, or even hurling cop such a bagging?

 

[Copa]

From the FIFA website in regards to WC 2002, ' The 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ was the most extensively covered and viewed event in television history'. I was wrong about the final audience, it was actually watched by 1.1 billion people worldwide, 1 in 6 people on the entire planet, not bad.

Did you hear the one about the 2 billion who watched the rugby union world cup final? (that was actually only 23 million)


see the report http://www.trends.be/attachmentstendances/epingles%5Cmedias%5CBiggest%20Sporting%20Events%20of%202003.pdf
These reports are put out by impartial media tracking companies.

It also says in the beginning:

However, to place this in context, the final of 2002’s Football World Cup was watched by 217 million individuals.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

I never said you had to like it, EA.

But why do you feel the need to bag it at every given opportunity? If you don't care about the sport in this country, why waste your breath and if you do, well then obviously you are worried...

Well, you obviously haven't read all my Soccer related posts. I've been following the EPL and English div 1 since the late 1960's and I used to go to matches at Marconi regularly. I was at the Sydney qualifiers for the '74 WC and the trial matches. But I lost interest in local soccer when our best started going overseas. Noddy Alston has a lot to answer for.

I'm not concerned in the slightest about Soccer and nor should I be. Soccer changed to avoid Rugby League, Union and AFL remember, not the other way around. In this country it was, is and always will be the lesser of the 4 main ball sports for one simple reason; The best the world has to offer don't play here. They do in the NRL, AFL and Super 12. It's that simple.

Right now, some people want a reason to go and see the A League and believe it or not, I'm one of them. But for the life of me I can't think of one reason to go, the A League doesn't get me excited whatsoever. I'll watch it on Fox but that's about it and that brings up another problem, it runs during the EPL season so people will be able to gauge the quality against the EPL.

The problem I have is that you and a couple of others here have these rose-coloured glasses on when it comes to Soccer and any dissenting voice is automatically a Yobbo.

Since when has Soccer had any reason to believe its supporters are better than the supporters of other sports?

Your attitude and the attitude of a few others here toward people who have shown an interest, even a negative interest, does nothing to help the cause. Look at it this way, anyone that posts an opinion does so out of interest. Anyone.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Nail on the head. The only reason soccer cops such a bagging is because people are worried about it's potential. Why doesn't baseball, or even hurling cop such a bagging?

lol

You're just a bonehead.

Why would anyone be worried about Soccer in Australia?

Here's your big chance....

 

[Macca_]

In this country it was, is and always will be the lesser of the 4 main ball sports for one simple reason; The best the world has to offer don't play here. They do in the NRL, AFL and Super 12. It's that simple.

Right now, some people want a reason to go and see the A League and believe it or not, I'm one of them. But for the life of me I can't think of one reason to go, the A League doesn't get me excited whatsoever. I'll watch it on Fox but that's about it and that brings up another problem, it runs during the EPL season so people will be able to gauge the quality against the EPL.

Have to agree completely with those points.

As much as I love the game, those are 3 things that will hold the game back in this country. Despite football being the world game, it's never going to reach the following like the other codes in oz. Sad to say, but it is true.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Well, you obviously haven't read all my Soccer related posts. I've been following the EPL and English div 1 since the late 1960's and I used to go to matches at Marconi regularly. I was at the Sydney qualifiers for the '74 WC and the trial matches. But I lost interest in local soccer when our best started going overseas. Noddy Alston has a lot to answer for.

I'm not concerned in the slightest about Soccer and nor should I be. Soccer changed to avoid Rugby League, Union and AFL remember, not the other way around. In this country it was, is and always will be the lesser of the 4 main ball sports for one simple reason; The best the world has to offer don't play here. They do in the NRL, AFL and Super 12. It's that simple.

Right now, some people want a reason to go and see the A League and believe it or not, I'm one of them. But for the life of me I can't think of one reason to go, the A League doesn't get me excited whatsoever. I'll watch it on Fox but that's about it and that brings up another problem, it runs during the EPL season so people will be able to gauge the quality against the EPL.

The problem I have is that you and a couple of others here have these rose-coloured glasses on when it comes to Soccer and any dissenting voice is automatically a Yobbo.

Since when has Soccer had any reason to believe its supporters are better than the supporters of other sports?

Your attitude and the attitude of a few others here toward people who have shown an interest, even a negative interest, does nothing to help the cause. Look at it this way, anyone that posts an opinion does so out of interest. Anyone.

Unless they have NFI, no-one is going to seriously gauge the quality of the A-League up against the EPL - a professional league that has been running successfully for years and one whos budget would be more than 50 times what the A-League is running on.

Negative interest? Is there even such thing? If someone doesn't have an interest in it, thats fine. But if they are going to sit here and sh1tbag it, just for the sake of it, I'll say something. It's a natural reaction.

It happens more with soccer than any other sport - the baggers are always out in force. And usually, most of them wouldn't have a f**king clue.

 

[Macca_]

Unless they have NFI, no-one is going to seriously gauge the quality of the A-League up against the EPL - a professional league that has been running successfully for years and one whos budget would be more than 50 times what the A-League is running on.

That's the point though mate. The people that watch on tv have a choice. Football fans in general will most likely watch more EPL because of it's standard. I'm one in that boat. And I love the game. Have played it for 20 odd years and followed it for as long as I can remember.

I accepted it years ago. It will never be huge in this country while the money is not there to keep good players in the league. It is and will be well supported, but won't compete with NRL, AFL and Super 14's. Money is not there, unfortunately that's a major thing in sport these days.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Unless they have NFI, no-one is going to seriously gauge the quality of the A-League up against the EPL - a professional league that has been running successfully for years and one whos budget would be more than 50 times what the A-League is running on.

Negative interest? Is there even such thing? If someone doesn't have an interest in it, thats fine. But if they are going to sit here and sh1tbag it, just for the sake of it, I'll say something. It's a natural reaction.

It happens more with soccer than any other sport - the baggers are always out in force. And usually, most of them wouldn't have a f**king clue.

I figured you wouldn't get it. Everyone who sees this section, no matter whom, is potentially an A League supporter.

So, who is going to go and see the A League?

The 6 or 8 thousand people who used to support NSL teams? The same supporters that have been giving Soccer strife for decades. Their fathers and their father's fathers....

They need to get people to go who weren't NSL supporters, the supporters who are the number one reason the NSL doesn't exist any more.

What they have to do is offer something, give people like me a reason to go to see the A League....

And they haven't.

I'll tell you something that gave potential fans the sh*ts, it was the insistence that Soccer should now be called football.

The arrogant f**ks deserve to fail.

 

[Macca_]

I'll tell you something that gave potential fans the sh*ts, it was the insistence that Soccer should now be called football.

Could that have been part of the whole package to try and move it away from the old NSL days though? ie a whole new look... Just a thought.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Could that have been part of the whole package to try and move it away from the old NSL days though? ie a whole new look... Just a thought.

Possibly. I agree that they needed to get away from comparisons to the NSL, so it makes some sense.

But the fact that John O'Neill is now running Soccer leads me to believe it is nothing more than sheer arrogance. It sounds like they're saying "It's called Football in Europe and South America, so it's now going to be called Football here"

Football has always been a generic term for the 4 codes here with each defined inside that term as League, Union, AFL and Soccer.

It'll be called Soccer long after O'Neill is in a pine box.

The funny thing is that the national team has been called the Socceroos for decades... what are they going to call it now?

 

[hybrid_tiger]

I'll tell you something that gave potential fans the sh*ts, it was the insistence that Soccer should now be called football.

The arrogant f**ks deserve to fail.

Most people still call it soccer and that is fine, however it's correct term is football.

What is so wrong about officially calling it football. I think the advertising campaign slogan "It's football, but not as you know it..." is clearly aimed at their target audience.

Who is going to see the A-League? Ask me that in a few weeks, after a couple of matches have been played.

I do agree with you that they need to attract non-soccer supporters. I believe they will. We'll see.

 

[Timbo]

I sorta agree that it should be marketed as soccer...

The general consensus about the term 'football' (globally) is it's the name given to the dominant code.

Which happens to be soccer in most places.

Here, it isn't dominant, so it isn't called football. Ditto NZ and the USA.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Most people still call it soccer and that is fine, however it's correct term is football.

No, it isn't.

Football is a generic term to describe numerous sports.

Check the dictionaries.

What is so wrong about officially calling it football. I think the advertising campaign slogan "It's football, but not as you know it..." is clearly aimed at their target audience.

The game is called Soccer by the vast majority of Australians. Attempting to get people to call it Football is nothing more than an attempt by the Soccer authorities to show a bit of muscle.

It didn't work.

Who is going to see the A-League? Ask me that in a few weeks, after a couple of matches have been played.

See, you don't know who's going to go and you're a supporter.

I do agree with you that they need to attract non-soccer supporters. I believe they will. We'll see.

They won't.

They'll get some interest early but it'll wither and die on the vine....

 

[hybrid_tiger]

I know who will go, because I'll be there. You don't know, because you won't be there and you certainly don't have an interest.

As I said, wait and see. You aren't even giving it a chance.

 

[Raider Ultra]

If people had said rugby union would be such a popular sport in Australia now, 10 years ago, they would have been laughed at

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

I know who will go, because I'll be there. You don't know, because you won't be there and you certainly don't have an interest.

As I said, wait and see. You aren't even giving it a chance.

Well, I have history to back me up, you have hope.....

I'll be watching initially on Fox, that's more than most people will give it.

 

[Southern Rooster]

If soccer wants to succeed it needs to be aimed at the 10 to 15 yr olds that play the sport and there parents that go and watch. The people that follow it usually will still go but they need to attract people that have an interest in the sport but through playing not watching.

It also needs to marketed as an activity to do on a summers night before possibly heading out to do other things. All depends on what you want out of it. If you want to have a team to support and get out with some mates in summer and support a team then it's for you. If you want top quality soccer stay at home and watch the EPL or Serie A.

 

[Macca_]

If soccer wants to succeed it needs to be aimed at the 10 to 15 yr olds that play the sport and there parents that go and watch. The people that follow it usually will still go but they need to attract people that have an interest in the sport but through playing not watching.

Spot on. I coach an under 14 side and maybe 2 or 3 of them watch the game on tv. The majority of them have a league team they support, but not many take an interest in the soccer.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Spot on. I coach an under 14 side and maybe 2 or 3 of them watch the game on tv. The majority of them have a league team they support, but not many take an interest in the soccer.

I coach an Under 13's side and about half the squad watch the game on TV.

Quite a few of them will be at Aussie Stadium on Sunday as well. This is who the A-League needs to be attracting.