Sometimes you just need to go to a game to get it
Summer football on a decent day sans teeming tropical rain (Sorry Fury) or stinking heat (Sorry Glory) or a carved up pitch (Sorry Jets) is a beautiful thing. You saunter to the ground, maybe do a pre-game beer, find your spot, sit and kick back. And if you plan it really well and bring stuff, the kids might even leave you alone for large tracts of game time.
I was at the Heart v Fury game recently with the kids and loved every second of it.
As we walked past Olympic Park toward AAMI Park, I couldn’t help but think how far we, the Football loving fans of the A League, have come.
Getting our own stadium, for starters has to be a win. As I always do when I’m in the area, I remembered the first Victory v Sydney game there. The place was packed, Archie was on fire, “All Night” Dwight was on the pitch and everyone was pumped. Victory creamed Sydney and it was a great day at the office. (For the record, I also always recall the Socceroo v Scotland in 1985 when I pass Olympic Park and still can’t believe Kosmina’s header didn’t go in that night.)
The crowd at AAMI at the Heart game was ok - just under 7,000 - nothing exciting and certainly not what was there that that day at Olympic Park, but I don’t think that matters too much, not yet anyway. The Heart fans made plenty of noise and the boys delivered some great football for them.
I don’t care who he plays for, I unashamedly love seeing John Aloisi score. There’s a bloke in the Press Box who always grumbles when someone mentions Aloisi and I always think of him whenever Johnny puts one in the net.
Being close to the action really brings home the work rate of players and all the little things they do to try and keep possession. I think the other reason I like Aloisi at the Heart is because you know he knows that he has his detractors and so are there with him as he uses his strength to turn a player or hold the ball up. You also feel his pain when that dash into the box is fruitless and then has to track back. It’s the same with Fowler and any other legendary veteran. Musky must be buggered.
Heart at their best are as exciting as the Victory and, though there has been some shifting of loyalties and crowds, it just all has to bode well for the game in the city. Ultimately, Melburnians are not only going to get great derbies, they will be guaranteed great football in a city that is so built for sport that you sniff the lineament as soon as you get off the train at Flinders street. The Victory-Newcastle game a week ago also served up compelling football and not just because Lujbo was squaring up with Musky.
As I watched the Gold Coast United game against Perth and lamented (as I always do) the lack of patronage and wished (as I always do) that they’d find a better venue to suit the crowds they do pull, I was jolted away from the gloom by another Tahj Minniecon run down the right. Then Djite looked a bit dangerous and Traore was dancing. At the other end, Fowler was combining with Sterjovski and Neville missed a gimme. In the end, it was a worthy zip - zip result. Can there be such a thing?
The best thing about AAMI Park, which the Hindmarsh crowd have revelled in for a while, is that when you get up close and personal with the football, you appreciate the quality even more. The season, the squads and some of the new faces this year (Flores, Sibon, Broich, Wehrman) have been outstanding. Though the consistency has not always been there and teams like Wellington and Perth have fallen apart after making good starts and Sydney just refuse to fire up, the rise of the Roar, the tweaking of Adelaide United and the just the presence of Franz Straka for me make every game a treat.
Glaciers are “cool” things because you can’t tell they are moving forward. A League football is no powerhouse on the sporting landscape, but this season, more than ever you can see and really sense that the base is solid and getting better and better.
Sometimes, you just need to go to a game to get it.
Vinnie Venezuela
