Two years ago I moved to this very strange state known as Queensland. Given my hatred for humidity, palm trees, spiders, rugby league and Matt Hayden it may not have been the most well thought-out move, but none the less here I remain 24 months on.
One of my biggest worries about moving across the country was how I was going to replace the 11 or 12 days a year that I would usually spend at ME Bank Stadium (not that it was called that when I left) watching Perth Glory. Sure the team might travel to Brisbane once or twice a season. And sure we might get a couple of Socceroos games a year at Suncorp to help fill the gaps. But it clearly wasn't enough.
So I made a decision that many football fans would say is against all that is natural- I decided to get behind a rival team!
Desperate for a regular A-League fix, I decided I would get behind a Queensland team while I was living in the Sunshine State (ironically I've never seen so much rain as when I moved here). With one established side and two new teams set to enter the competition, I was presented with a chance to pick a team to follow. North Queensland was quickly ruled out for geographical reasons and my dislike of Frank Farina, Matt McKay and the 6 times out of 9 matches that Roar had beaten Perth made them a less than likeable option.
Thus, I became a Gold Coast United supporter. I researched Clive Palmer and found out he was the richest man in Queensland. I checked up on Miron Bleiberg and tried to convince myself he was crucified unfairly by Roar rather than sacked justifiably for being a less than great coach. I not only defended the playing kit as it received scorn from all corners but even went so far as to buy a replica. And I got myself a gig as a FourFourTwo GC United blogger.
While I gave up a lot for Gold Coast (money, time, and the opportunity to be a passionately one-eyed Perth Glory supporter) I would be lying if I didn't admit to having also got a lot back from the club. The excitement when "my" A-League club was able to bring back an under-30 first-XI Socceroo from a big European side, the buzz of winning all three South East Queensland derbies (and Brisbane blogger Michael Flynn's Cane Toad Cup) and Smeltz's four-goal performance against Fury will always be among my favourite football memories.
But as my time to follow football of late has become all too limited, it has become all too apparent that when forced to choose I would much rather go to a local bar and watch Perth on Fox than trudge to Robina to watch Gold Coast live. It stung a lot more when Dadi left Perth and scored the goal of the season for Wellington than when Phoenix smashed United 6-0. My happiness at Glory securing a maiden A-League finals series was is far greater than knowing Gold Coast have a real shot of taking out the main prize at the end of the season.
Life, it's fair to say, has forced me to acknowledge a football truth. Loving football is not enough to allow you to love a football club. I love football. I could happily watch an under-16s game at the local park, a match from the Estonian Meistriliiga (I admit to looking that up) or an international friendly between Liechtenstein and Surinam. But to truly go out of your way *just* to watch a game of football, you have to love more than just the sport itself. It's Perth Glory that gives me that motivation, not Gold Coast United. I have only one club that I truly support (well I'd also love to see Leeds back in the EPL, Parma back in Europe and Rapid Vienna rediscover the quality that saw them win the 1985 and 1996 Cup Winners' Cup trophies but that's a whole other issue).
I will still go to Gold Coast United games while I'm living in Queensland. I might even find myself celebrating as Shane Smeltz scores his 20th goal of the season or Jason Culina lifts the A-League trophy above his head. But if Perth meets United in the finals, I will be wearing purple and I will be sitting in the away fans' bay. I will be cheering for Andy Todd and Jacob Burns. Because I am a Western Australian at heart, and a Glory fan above all others.
So... to celebrate my return to the purple horde, here are my top five reasons why Perth Glory is a better club to support than Gold Coast United:
5) Only Toulouse and Real Valladolid could genuinely claim to be better football teams than Perth that wear purple-and-white stripes. There must be 50 better teams than Gold Coast that wear yellow-and-blue,
4) Compared to Clive Palmer, Tony Sage is so classy he could be Abe Lincoln's father's boss (although then again, compared to Clive Palmer Rodney Dangerfield could be Abe Lincoln's father's boss),
3) At least at Perth we *know* our coach is not very good. After 18 months I still can't work out if Miron Bleiberg is the reason Gold Coast are sitting 3rd rather than 1st or 3rd rather than 6th,
2) Jamie Harnwell says so, and,
1) Three national titles is a lot better than none!
