BLOG: Where The Hell Am I?

ANY long-suffering football fan in Adelaide would surely be asking themselves this question.

For decades our beautiful game has been relegated to the status of minor sport. We’ve drowned under the traditional heavyweight influences of both AFL and cricket.

We’ve barely rated a thought in the sporting public’s collective psyche. Even during the halcyon days when Adelaide City scaled the mountain of success in the old NSL, their achievements were really only acknowledged by a polite nod.
“That’s nice,” the public would say and quickly move on.

How the sand shifts.

On the day after the Red’s battle with Bunyodkor the front page of The Advertiser displayed a picture of Red’s captain, Travis Dodd, in the midst of battle with a couple of Uzbek opponents. It wasn’t even a great picture; he had his back to the camera.

In full colour the headline “Warning: We Are Red Hot” was proclaimed. Surely this wasn’t happening in my home town. Maybe I mistakenly picked up a copy of the Liverpool Daily Post?

The successful loss (is that contradictory?) of the Reds in Tashkent, that propelled the club into the final of the Asian Champions League, also made the back page of the newspaper. Then there was the match report inside and another article detailing how and where some of the local diehards had chosen to watch the game. Just what was going on?

The most successful radio sports show in Adelaide, hosted by KG & Cornesy, was abuzz with talk of how special United’s achievements have been. These two sporting legends, who forged their credibility on the AFL and cricket fields respectively, have always been somewhat dismissive of the world game. Well not anymore!

Now they’re talking about it with the unbridled enthusiasm of a youngster discovering the wonders of the round ball code for the first time. They even dribbled as they spoke.

The city is aflutter. My city is aflutter. People are discussing Adelaide United in the streets and the team has captured our collective attention as never before. Little old ladies in the supermarket know who Eugene Galekovic is.

As a soccer purist it’s hard to believe. At times I wonder whether or not I’m in the right city. It’s the same house but someone has moved the furniture. The upcoming international rules, AFL-hybrid, half man, half woman series between Australia and Ireland has barely rated a mention. It has paled into insignificance in light of the Red’s Asian conquests.

So I’m a little confused. The coffee table isn’t where it used to be. I’ll get accustomed to it though, pretty quickly.