There is an oft-repeated and far-too-common misconception out there in middle Australia that the Chinese employ the same word for ‘crisis’ as they do for ‘opportunity’.  And to pre-empt you Simpsons fans – no, it isn’t ‘crisitunity’.

In fact, it isn’t anything at all.  It is a fabrication.  A bold-faced lie invented by some vested interest, usually a salesperson or a self-help guru, and then repeated by the unthinking and gullible until it becomes a universally accepted truth.

It’s in this manner that people come to believe all sorts of unlikely falsehoods.

They believe Albert Einstein somehow failed high school mathematics; they believe the Great Wall of China can be seen from the moon with the naked eye; they believe lemmings spectacularly leap to their deaths from cliff tops; and they believe…well I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there.

Of course, football has its fair share of misconceptions as well.  A common one in this country being that the Football Federation of Australia is without fail, breathtakingly inept at every single thing it attempts.

Some people, most of them complete whack jobs with tin foil headwear and radio signals emanating from their fillings, even go so far as to suggest that Ben Buckley is an AFL plant with a nefarious agenda to kill off our sport at every opportunity.

Pardon my French, but much like ritualistic lemming suicide, that is utter horseshit.

Now before I continue I think I should make something clear - I am not an apologist for the FFA.  I find some of their decisions and policies as short-sighted and brain-contusing as the next guy.

However, I do think the overlords of our sport are capable of making good decisions from time to time.  And last week they came dangerously close to getting one absolutely right.  Sadly, that didn’t stop many from criticising them anyway.

The particular instance I’m referring to is the federation’s handling of the PaulyTV issue which, for the benefit of non-Brisvegans who may have missed the story, I will briefly recap.

You see, PaulyTV is a website that provides video highlights of Brisbane Premier League action in addition to Brisbane Roar preseason matches.  It does this with the full backing of Football Brisbane and Brisbane Roar FC.

It is operated on a voluntary basis by Paul Van Dyk and Robert Blanch who between them, despite some questionable on-camera facial hair, deliver a sleekly presented package that is better than anything Channel 7 served up during their insipid association with the NSL many years back.

Unfortunately for Pauly and Blanchy though, the site ran in to a small hiccup when seeking permission from the federation to film the preseason match between Roar and Adelaide United last weekend.  Not only was their request denied, they were instructed courtesy of the none-too-friendly intermediary of a lawyer to remove all previous Roar preseason footage from the site as well.

To theIr credit, PaulyTV immediately complied with this heavy-handed edict before subsequently posting an explanation on their site for the benefit of their viewers.  And it was at about this point, as the news spread via various social media, that the fans collectively jerked their knees, spat some bile and yelled, “What?!? That’s a bloody outrage, that is!”

But was it really?  In my humble opinion I don’t believe so.

While many of us have might have just cause to distrust or even despise the federation’s every move, I think we as fans sometimes take a contrary position to the FFA’s simply out of habit.  In doing so, we can overlook the sound reasoning behind some of the more unpopular decisions they take.

Some of those disgruntled with the administration are rightfully angry that their team was axed from the A-League.  This particular affliction appears more common with fans of North Queensland Fury than New Zealand Knights.  Although, much like the staff at North Harbour Stadium, I can’t say I have ever come across a real-life Knights supporter, so maybe their very existence should be added to my earlier list of common misconceptions.

Others are simply hanging on to grudges borne from the formation of the A-League itself - a revolution that saw their supposedly best-practice NSL club now confined to the ignominy of state-league hell where supposedly inferior clubs regularly defeat them despite their alleged awesomeness.

Here in Brisvegas though, I think it’s fair to say the FFA has treated us pretty darn well since they rebranded from Soccer Australia.

They backed our A-League club financially (as they have others) when our owners could no longer bear the burden of million dollar losses; they significantly increased the number of Socceroos games played at Suncorp Stadium; and when the league was expanded they saw fit to give us a rival just down the M1 that we compliantly love to loathe.

So while I can’t say I was surprised by the reaction of Brisbane-based football followers to last week’s tempest in a teacup, I must say I was a little disappointed that very few didn’t consider the reasoning before taking yet another swing at the old FFA-brand punching bag.

To my mind, the federation merely took a precautionary measure, albeit with the subtlety of a John Kosmina chokehold, of protecting their broadcast agreement with Fox Sports.

Under the terms of this agreement, Fox Sports have exclusivity to matches involving A-League teams for three weeks out from the start of the regular season.  And, since the broadcast agreement with Fox Sports is one of the largest single sources of revenue for the sport in this country, it makes perfect sense for the governing body to err on the side of caution and seek to protect the exclusivity for which Fox Sports so handsomely pay.

It is a course of action that I imagine the FFA and the individual clubs would be prepared to follow to protect the rights of any of their major sponsors if they were confronted with a comparable situation.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I do not believe PaulyTV were deliberately seeking to breach the broadcast agreement – something that in itself has not actually been determined they did at this stage.

I simply think the federation made the correct call in seeking to remove any potentially disputable content before sitting down with PaulyTV to find a compromise that is fair to all parties concerned – that is, fair not only to the league and the clubs, but also to Fox Sports, PaulyTV and of course, Brisbane football fans.

It is my understanding that the FFA, far from seeing the situation as a crisis, in fact do see it as an opportunity and will attempt to resolve things in time for next year’s preseason.  I fully expect PaulyTV to continue to serve the football community with their preseason video highlights in 2012 and beyond should they so choose.

But we as fans, rather than throwing a tantrum when we don’t get everything our own way, need to sometimes appreciate the FFA are running a multi-faceted, multi-million dollar business where mistakes can be incredibly costly – I mean, just look at how much money was arguably wasted on the pie-in-the-sky World Cup bid.

By being cautious, the federation is simply removing the risk of making yet another mistake that could, in the long term, be far more costly than pissing off a few already disgruntled, and dare I say never to be dissuaded, anti-FFA fanatics.

Of course, I don’t expect my opinion on this matter to be popular.  But then again I’ve always considered the perceived value of popularity to be just another common misconception.  So on this occasion I will happily live without it and say I honestly believe the FFA got this one right.