Go Mariners. This would have been unheard of 20 years ago

[Bribie G]

I do not generally follow team and contact sports - more of an Olympics, le Tour and Tennis follower, but as a naturalised Pom I've always been bemused that Australia, being a true scion of the Empire had not really adopted football (the real football, i.e. Association Football aka Soccer).

I've been here since the mid to late 70s and at that time soccer was for little kids and strange sounding teams like Croatia or Coalstars.

Now the almost unbelievable sight of entire sold-out stadiums(a) full of supporters and today - mind bending - the Mariners win took the prime story on 7 Sydney over the Boston Bombings.

Could it be the endless violence, alcohol, sex offences, drug taking and other corruptions of some other codes is allowing soccer to "bubble up" through the sports mix to become our new and wholesome sport for Australia?? With the new borderless Internet and media is Australia about to engage fully with the true World Game?

Go Mariners

 

[bradsbrew]

They just need to get the A-league on free to air and they may get a few mors supporters. But then again it may stop people from going to the game because it's on TV. If it wasn't for the shit that can happen in the crowd, before, during or after the game, I'd take my 2 young kids to the soccer.

 

[pk.sax]

That behaviour is the true inheritance from the poms I suppose.

 

[winkle]

I've been to a few Roar games Brad, good atmosphere, never seen anything bad - except the beer selection and prices in the stadium that is. (And the Scratch is just down the road for afters).

 

[Nick JD]

I'll starting watching soccer when they make the goals a bit wider.

It'd be a great game if the final score was 12:9 instead of 0:0.

 

[joshuahardie]

I have been to my fair share of Mariners games, and whilst the dream of sold out stadiums is mostly still just a dream, the football association have worked their backsides off to make the A-league as family friendly as possible, and it shows at the games, certainly up our way it is a great family day out, so when I see fans lighting flares, and ripping up seats, it pisses me off.

I have no intention on seeing football go back to the bad old days of the National Soccer League.

Well done Mariners....

 

[Bribie G]

I worked weekends and evenings in Fortitude Valley for 9 years and when there were evening games, I shared the train home with many a crowd of all codes. You always knew when the Roar had played, the mob on the train were mostly families with tired kids sleeping over their laps and a nice buzz on the train. Broncos nights were a bit more robust and eventually I would drive to work if it looked like Suncorp Stadium was going to be chucked out around the time my shift ended.