MattK wrote:Mike Colman
October 17, 2009 11:00pm wrote:
WITH the greatest possible respect, could someone please tell me what the heck's going on with soccer?

There, I've said it. Soccer. I would have called it football, but right now the local game doesn't deserve it.

And I'm not talking about this Frank Farina business. That's just a distraction – a smokescreen for the real trouble soccer is in.

There's a group of people out there who insist on telling me ad nauseam that soccer is the world game. That it's the beautiful game; that it's the only real football because it's the only one where you play with your feet.

Yeah? Well right now I have to say it's not the feet that soccer supporters are playing with. It's another part of the anatomy. Look, I've got nothing against soccer fans or their game. Really I haven't.

There's a bloke up on the Sunshine Coast who sends me a nasty letter every time I call the game soccer. (Save the cost of the stamp this week pal, I'll take it as read). And to be perfectly honest I salute his passion.

But as for the rest of you – as Lara Bingle would say, where the hell are you? Certainly not at the games. The Roar can't get enough along to a match to get a half decent Mexican Wave going. No wonder Frank hit the sauce.

Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer has resorted to doing a half pike with twist into a meat pie in order to get some publicity for his team.

And as for poor Chris Bombolas. He quit politics because his ticker couldn't cope with the stress – and walked straight into the Nightmare on Castlemaine St. For years Australian soccer fans were bemoaning the lack of a well-run competition to follow. And fair enough.

Back then the only way you'd get a crowd in the NSL was if you handed out free flares and boxes of matches. It was hardly the place you'd take your kids for a fun afternoon out.

But then, at enormous effort and expense, a group of well-intentioned people put their heads and wallets together and came up with a competition worth supporting.

I've been to a lot of A-League matches and, apart from when Reinaldo is playing, enjoyed all of them. Actually, I don't mean that about Reinaldo. That semi-final in February 2008 when he scored against Sydney at Suncorp was one of the best nights of sport Brisbane has ever seen.

Was it really just last year? Over 32,000 people made their way to the ground through a cyclone that night. At one stage it looked like the game might be called off, but no one left. They sat there in the pouring rain cheering on the boys in orange. And they didn't let them down. So what happened? In 20 short months the Roar have gone from "hot ticket" to "who cares".

The Gold Coast is even more puzzling. In big Clive, GC United has got the best owner in Australian sport. A bloke who put his money where his mouth is to give the locals something to cheer about and who put together arguably the most watchable team in the league.

And if that wasn't enough, he hired Miron Bleiberg to coach them. Miron's a game in himself. If you can't have fun watching Miron in action you need to get your amusement glands checked.

The Gold Coast plays out of the best ground in the league. There's no such thing as a bad seat – only problem is, no one is sitting in them.

I've heard all the excuses. It's expensive, the team sucks, the league season has only just finished, we're in a recession, the bus was late, the dog ate my homework and I don't buy any of them.

Sure it's tough, but that's what supporting a sport is like. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but if you want to have a team you have to keep turning up.

You wanted an A-League and you got it, but if you don't support it you won't have it much longer.

This time when it goes it won't be coming back. People like Frank Lowy, Clive Palmer and the Coffee Club boys didn't get rich throwing money at lost causes.

Mike Colman is also a columnist for The Courier-Mail.

colmanm@qnp.newsltd.com.au

Admin_Capital Punishment wrote:2616 at gold Coast vs North QLD