WHILE Gold Coast United were painfully extracting justice against Melbourne Victory at Skilled Park, former British PM Tony Blair was spinning his own version of justice at the Iraq war inquiry in London.
"It isn't about a lie or a conspiracy or a deceit or a deception," Mr Blair insisted. "It's a decision. And the decision I had to take was ..."
See that, kids? As usual, Blair totally refused to address valid concerns. As usual, he turns the conversation in another direction, where he can control what spin-meisters call "the narrative".
Politicians have long understood the usefulness of a powerful narrative. With a little help from Murdoch and his media friends, Bush, Blair and Howard convinced majorities in all three countries that there was a mega-urgent need to invade Iraq. Those who dissented were ignored, ridiculed or stripped of power. Their narratives were branded "crazy conspiracy theories".
The official Iraq War narrative never made much sense to me and I am delighted that it has now almost completely unravelled, even if nobody has yet been held accountable. Historians will one day ponder a narrative involving oil, military bases and US economics, wondering how this far more logical narrative could ever have been publically subdued for so long.
But what's all this got to do with football, you ask me?
Well, it seems to me that every football team has its own narrative, a story that gives fans a communal sense of identity and direction. It is not just dictated by the past, but also shapes the future. Rival teams usually consider each other's narratives "crazy", although occasionally they are drawn into a grudging respect.
Look at Sydney FC, for example. They started out embracing the "Bling" narrative, as embodied by Dwight "All Night" Yorke. But when their big stars failed to fire and even fans who loved the "bling thing" started losing interest, the club needed to change the narrative. Enter Viteslav's new "sensible" approach, which seems to work just fine with fans who, by the way, still think they deserve to win regularly because, um... their city is the world's best place to live.
Or look at how desperately Adelaide United fans are clinging to their own narrative this season. Defying the sceptics last year, they went further in the Asian Champions League than any other Australian club. They still have much the same squad, including their award-winning coach, so obviously they are still the best. Another ACL final is just around the corner, no matter how many games they lose. It's just a matter of playing another striker, or bringing someone off the bench, or ... something.
Brisbane Roar are an even more intriguing case. With former Socceroo stars Farina, Moore and Tiatto on board, they had a hugely compelling narrative. Building on an attacking style that had been the key theme of Miron Bleiberg's reign, they continually pushed for finals glory, only to narrowly miss out time and again. Eventually, "narrowly missing out" became part of that Roar narrative, as did failure to win games on the Suncorpse cemetery. It was time for a change of narrative.
Unfortunately, rather than just changing the narrative, Ange Postecoglou threw the whole book in the bin, along with the characters who supported it. This has alienated fans who spent years waiting to see how "their story" ends. Was Roar's eternal promise of finals glory just an empty dream? If so, why get hooked on a new story?
Last week, Frank Farina went so far as to ridicule Roar as a reincarnation of Brisbane Lions, a narrative that would only ever appeal to a small segment of Brisbane. So now Roar need to convince locals that their all-new narrative really is exciting, inclusive, and worth following. Nobody has much idea what the story is about yet, although Saturday's win is certainly an intriguing beginning... especially for Gold Coast fans!
Other teams have their own narratives, of course, and you are welcome to discuss yours in the comments. But surely, even excusing my usual and hopefully understandable bias, the most compelling narrative this season comes from Gold Coast United.
When the original Gold Coast Galaxy bid was floated, it sounded like yet another cheap deal from a shoddy Gold Coast salesman. But then a billionaire backer came on board, and the vision quickly solidified into reality. Miron brought in a star-studded squad, Clive added a fleet of executive jets, and Jason became the marquee Socceroo midfielder. Voila! After our first three wins in a row, the fairytale promise of an undefeated inaugural season suddenly seemed almost believable.
For one reason or another, we've been in the headlines ever since, sometimes verging into soap opera territory but always keeping viewers hooked on the evolving drama. So here's my own personal Gold Coast United narrative, in a nutshell:
"We are the best team the A-league has ever seen, we will only get better in years to come. We are on our way into Asia, and only the salary cap is going to stop us becoming world-beaters. Jason Culina is best player the A-league has ever seen, and (despite various issues at the club) Miron has totally earned this season's Coach of the Year Award. We've already beaten everyone* this year and we will never fear anyone, anywhere.
"We are the future of Australian football. We play the most attractive football the A-League has ever seen, and only bad referees or cynical teams with negative, physical tactics** will ever stop us from entertaining the crowds wherever we go. We've already raised the bar for A-League tactics, fitness, recruiting, and technical skill, and we are only ever going to keep getting better.
"Sure, some people might not like us, but that's their problem, not ours. Call us arrogant if you want, but we've already walked the talk and we make no apologies for confidently pursuing enduring success. We are here to stay, and everyone in Australia will be cheering us on when we win the Asian Champions League."
Too much, do you think? Minor factual errors? Crazy? Well, who cares - its my team's narrative, not yours ***!
Of course, sometimes things can come out of nowhere and blow your club's dominating narrative to pieces. It could be a plane crash involving your entire squad, or an early morning breath test on a quiet Brisbane road. These things happen! A champion club overcomes them. The narrative embraces, evolves and endures.
At the end of this season, after all the unexpected twists and turns, only one team will win the Premiership. The football media will then be full of stories about how wonderful that team was, how much obviously better than all their rivals. As someone said, the winnners write history. And that becomes the official narrative for generations to come.
With the Downing Street Memos largely ignored, Tony Blair's critics are still searching for a "smoking gun" that will conclusively disprove his shrivelled narrative. Meanwhile, Gold Coast United are still searching for the "smoking gun" that will cement our own compelling narrative.
Winning some silverware is the only way to prove that we really are the best. We are now just two games away. To paraphrase George W. Bush: "Bring 'em, on!"
* we'll get the 'Nix this weekend!
** and teams coached by Jason's dad. :-)
*** unless you are also a Gold Coast United fan, in which case I am happy to discuss.
