The We Are Football teaser is probably the only thing viral you want to catch on the eve of what looks like being the most exciting season of the A-League’s brief history. It’s a gritty punchy promo with a pounding soundtrack verging on a zombie-apocalyptic aesthetic that possibly falls on the wrong side of family-friendly but with plenty of cut-through appeal for the league’s predominantly youthful following. A pulsating, aggressive explosion of sound and emotion - exactly what you get, I imagine, when you prod a wounded beast relentlessly over long periods.

Such is Oz football’s sense of siege it seems entirely appropriate to launch a blockbuster season with something resembling a howl of raw defiance. As usual the critics are circling with shovels ready to bury the infant league but the death notices are sounding increasingly shrill. That one football-hater chose to devote an entire sports page to ridiculing the out-of-season comp when Rugby League and AFL are at the pointy end of their business is strangely complimentary. Just as encouraging is the growing indifference, even amusement, directed by the football community toward these dreary rants. It hints at a renewed confidence among football supporters which, given past experience, is either courageous or foolhardy. Perhaps it's simply our time.

So where does the current optimism flow from? There’s no need to elaborate on the influence of the Kewell v Emmo factor, the barely contained buzz surrounding a host of emerging talent or the unpredictability of a fiercely competitive league. Many months may have passed but, seemingly without missing a beat, we're picking up where 2010/11 finished - on a high. It has all the makings of a perfect storm. The anticipation heading into season 7, even among non-football media, is palpable. With that in mind the FFA’s latest campaign, based on the snippet we’ve seen so far, seems to hit all the right notes. It’s a loud and brawling celebration of the one common denominator we share – football.

That said it’s the use of black and white vision in the latest teaser that is most intriguing. Club football is one of the most obvious forms of modern tribalism and there are few greater expressions of that than the club colours. The latest promo strips those away and effectively creates a single army of monochrome fans. Yes you can pick out the various teams but the overall visual is powerfully unified. It’s an unabashed call to a single purpose. If the A-League is a mess, as critics whine, then clearly we’re all in it together. Stirring stuff in difficult times and probably just what is needed if we're to negotiate successfully a sharp turnaround.

Ultimately though it is rivalry, rather than unity, that drives a great league. Australian football supporters understand the dilemma better than most. In contrast to some sports, fans of A-League clubs carry a heavy burden for the game's welfare and sign up for far more than entry to home games and a bumper sticker. They’re conscripted in the grand plan to sell the game to their friends, to proselytise the faith to all and sundry and to defend football’s honour. It’s a backs-to-the-wall ride with no off-season. Fans not only barrack for their team but also worry about the state of the game: Sydney’s FC’s low support base, the future of Gold Coast United, whether Wellington’s boss can get his tax sorted. It’s hard to think of many other comps in the world where supporters spend so much time fretting about the health of opposition teams.

Here in Australia, football fans don’t so much join a club as sign up to an entire league. In other codes the players are held to account. In football, more often than not, it's the fans' behaviour that is mercilessly scutinised. All the while there is the is the constant subtext not to bring the game into disrepute. A baffling tension between football tribalism and presenting a squeaky clean image for the general public exists. No doubt it’s a peculiarity built on the precarious nature of professional football in the local sporting landscape, long-held divisions within the game itself and the list of powerful foes lining up to give the domestic comp a speedy dispatch. That’s not to say there isn’t the expected argy-bargy between rival and passionate support. The atmosphere at grounds is often electric. Derbies are particularly spicy. But it’s hard to deny a degree of self-censorship takes place at all levels for the good of the game.

The coming season will provide pundits with plenty of opportunity to determine whether football has actually turned a corner. Indicators such as crowd numbers, on-field quality, sponsorship interest and media coverage will be picked over with forensic detail. Other signals may be more subtle. I have high hopes for season 7 and possibly, in the near future, an A-League robust enough to unleash the full force of fan culture freed from the burden of face-saving unity. Yes we are football. Yes we are fans. Now, let the hostilities begin.