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O/T - Is football REALLY the sleeping giant?

[furrycat]

[furrycat]

Coach
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Mr Saab said:
Ratings were not big enough for ch9 for that show. They now have to give advertisers of the show free ad air time as a result of the ratings not being as high as what ch9 said they would be.
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Source?
 
S

Suitman

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55,320
That's because everyone was already in bed asleep so they could get up and watch the Socceroos at 2.00 am.

Eddie McQuire vs Socceroos - no contest.

Suity
 
Twizzle

Twizzle

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151,843
Is Football the sleeping giant in this country?

NO

Do League, Union and to a lesser extent Aussie Rules have anything to fear over the long term?

NO

I'm a bandwaggoner and if most are like me they will not watch another game of soccer till the next time we play in a world cup, perhaps another 20 years from now.

We may even get through to the last 8, but dont kid yourself about us qualifying for too many future World Cups, without Guus.

I watch it beacuse I'm patriotic, not a soccer fan.

I think you'll find when the dust settles and the next A league competition starts, it'll all be back to business as usual, Soccer Australia crying out for more money to keep some of its best players in Australia, and Guus will be a distant memory and so will our temporary sucess.

Just my opinion.
 
S

Suitman

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Twizzle said:
Is Football the sleeping giant in this country?

NO

Do League, Union and to a lesser extent Aussie Rules have anything to fear over the long term?

NO

I'm a bandwaggoner and if most are like me they will not watch another game of soccer till the next time we play in a world cup, perhaps another 20 years from now.

We may even get through to the last 8, but dont kid yourself about us qualifying for too many future World Cups, without Guus.

I watch it beacuse I'm patriotic, not a soccer fan.

I think you'll find when the dust settles and the next A league competition starts, it'll all be back to business as usual, Soccer Australia crying out for more money to keep some of its best players in Australia, and Guus will be a distant memory and so will our temporary sucess.

Just my opinion.
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That is a fair opinion and it wouldn't surprise me if that is the way things turn out, such is the history of Australian Soccer.

Suity
 
Prodigal Eel

Prodigal Eel

Juniors
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856
Ok let me start with what alot of you have said in that due to all the big stars moving overseas, soccer will never be that big.
Ok if that were true countries like, Brazil, Argetina, Croatia, Mexico and to a lesser extent France should have never been as big as they are.
When looking back through the history books, as soon as a player gets a bigger status in the game they move on (expetion of Pele)...but the key is they use there youth to a great extent (which the a-league is trying to do).

Secondly why i think Soccer has a huge potential in Australia is because its the only Code with a strong international market unlike the other codes.
Players like Rogers and Sailor left our code so they can play in a world cup with 5 major countries particpating and always the same 3 winners after each comp. The youth will see what the world cup does for profile of players and they will want it.

The final factor is that soccer is a sport in australia that could well and truely be a national sport. League is for the eastern states, AFL is for the southern states while Union, well there happy to be in any state.
Soccer has the potential to be big from coast to coast with all walks of life invloved!
 
TheParraboy

TheParraboy

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This is an interesting thread Suitman

And I tend to agree with you with the sleeping giant tag of soccer

Lets be real fair from the outset, Soccer until recent times (the 80's onwards)has never been given a fair go in this country. And certainly the administration of soccer has always been very ordinary (current administrators aside). The other codes have certainly got a damm good head start in this country.

Wether or not soccer can become this countries premier sporting code is to remain to be seen, but IMO I have absolutely no question it can do, though 30-50 years down the track AND if they continue to improve and grow.

Australias population will change dramatically in that time. I was reading somewhere that in 40 years time (could even have been sooner) half of Australia will be of asian background. So there is definately an huge opportunity for soccer to capatalise on this market.
 
The Colonel

The Colonel

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41,810
I would argue that in the 70's and 80's soccer in Australia would have been stronger then than it is now in terms of players, crowds and clubs. I think it has been a generational change over the late eighties and nineties that lead to it falling away as well as the racial tensions.
 
TheParraboy

TheParraboy

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The Colonel said:
I would argue that in the 70's and 80's soccer in Australia would have been stronger then than it is now in terms of players, crowds and clubs.I think it has been a generational change over the late eighties and nineties that lead to it falling away as well as the racial tensions.
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you need to read Mediterranean Descendants, twinkies and sheilas ;-)
 
btaag

btaag

Juniors
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662
Apologies for the long Post

Time will tell on all of this, so I cannot speak with certainty. I'd like to preffice this by saying League is my number 1 sport, Parra my most beloved team by a long way, however, I also love football (go the Reds!).


I dont think League has anything MAJOR to worry about for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Football is not a contact sport like League, Union, AFL, NFL or even Ice Hockey, so the unique thrill we get from a big tackle or a line-break cannot be replaced like-for-like with football (ditto when playing it recreationally)
Secondly, NSW and QLD, but Sydney especially is used to having 3-4 sports competing for the corporate dollar. NRL, AFL and ARU are entrenched in Sydney and split the merchandising, sponsorship and support up between them. We co-exist in relative harmony, with some NRL fans watching AFL and vice versa (With League dominating).

Thirdly, the A-League got off to the right start by having one-city clubs with no history, and there is the potential that a tribal support will be formed nation-wide. Sydney FC managed this in their first season, but so-too did the Northern Spirit and they died pretty rapidly after a good opening season.

Tribal support is something your parents pass-down to you, it is long lasting - almost like a religion! Though I was happy when Sydney FC won the A-League, I think I would burst into tears of joy if Parra ever wins a Premiership - such is the difference.

Therefore, I see Football taking an increasing share of the supporters market in Australia, but it will not kill League or relegate it to number 2 in NSW. If football takes 30% of the existing support away from NRL, ARU and AFL, each code will lose only a percentage of that.

I believe Rugby Union has MUCH more to lose in NSW (and Australia) because they make so much of the international nature of the sport. AFL also has A LOT more ot lose nation-wide because outside of NSW and QLD they have closed-shops - 90% of them follow AFL. Therefore, if 30% of AFL fans flock to football they will see a much larger percentage drop in their support.

If the A-League can act as a breeding ground for 17-21 year old stars on their way to Europe, as well as provide a retirement spot for Australian football legends like Kewell and Viduka, all sports in Australia have something to worry about. Participation rates are already massive with football and even a small translation of that into passionate support will affect other codes.

I think League will live-on though, and that both can exist.
 
btaag

btaag

Juniors
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662
Twizzle said:
Is Football the sleeping giant in this country?



We may even get through to the last 8, but dont kid yourself about us qualifying for too many future World Cups, without Guus.

.
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On this note, I think that our chances of making the World Cup in the future are much, much better now. Gus is definitely a wonder-coach, but with our move into the Asian Federation, we finally get to play in group qualifyers and no longer have to go through the Russian Roullette of the play-offs (Argentina, Iran, Uragua etc). If you look at the teams that made the World Cup from the Asian Group - Iran, Saudi Arabia, S Korea and Japan, we would be a good chance at beating or drawing with all of them.

Bahrain came 3rd in their group, won a playoff with the 3rd placed team of the second asian group and then had a playoff with Trinidad and Tobago to see who would make the world cup! - a challenging way to make the world cup, but one that will help football develop in this country, as all our stars have to be relseased to play in these games as there is a break in football competitions for these weekends.

Added to this is the qualifyers for the Asian Cup (international) and Asian Champions LEague (club), which will add interest for football fans and give us regular exposure to our best players.

This is the main reason why I think Union will suffer the most. I will still follow the Eels, but will go to all / watch all the Internaitonal football games - I can do both. Union becomes a very poor third in comparison.
 
S

Suitman

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I'm impressed with the thought going into the replies that are coming in, and they are broadening my knowlege of what people think, and what I think.

Thanks everyone. It's interesting stuff.

Suity
 
ParraDude_Jay

ParraDude_Jay

First Grade
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6,160
Now that Australia have lost, I think this "giant" will go back to sleep.

Australia only made the top 16, that isn't enough to convert Australians into Soccer fans because the A-League is still a very weak competition. The only threat to the AFL/NRL dominance is themselves, as it has always been. Though I must say, as someone who has always fallen asleep during Soccer matches, I've quite enjoyed the World Cup (even non-Australian matches).
 
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Angry_eel

First Grade
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8,601
ParraDude_Jay said:
Now that Australia have lost, I think this "giant" will go back to sleep.

Australia only made the top 16, that isn't enough to convert Australians into Soccer fans because the A-League is still a very weak competition. The only threat to the AFL/NRL dominance is themselves, as it has always been.
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it is a giant and it awake but that doesn't necessarily mean it will harm rugby league.
 
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