A-League the Loch Ness Monster of Australian sport
It was both appropriate and heartening that the most prominent Australian football story this week was the Matildas' slightly nerve-wracking progress to Saturday's Asian Cup final against Japan.
By emulating the feat of Ange Postecoglou's Socceroos, the Matildas would not only promote the cause of a home World Cup in 2023. They would further their claims to be considered Australia's most accomplished international team.
But the relentless rise of the Matildas creates yet another layer beneath which the Loch Ness Monster of Australian sport, the 2017-18 A-League season, has been buried.
Rumour? Myth? Reality? The A-League has been down there somewhere.
Although it is hard to tell, so greatly has the competition been overshadowed by its various competitors — the Ashes, BBL, AFL, NRL and, most recently, even the Commonwealth Games.
To be fair, if you deep-dived in the sporting loch, you would find the A-League finals before Super Rugby, which only seems to exist when a talented full-back expresses his religious faith by condemning homosexuals to eternal damnation on social media.
The statistics tracking the A-League's downward trajectory this season are both disheartening and irrefutable — even by those football zealots who respond to even-reasoned observations about the league as they might if you kicked their granny in the head.
Average crowds of 10,666 this season compared with 13,479 just four years ago and viewing figures that have plunged from already-concerning lows provide the hard evidence of declining interest.
Even if you flip those numbers and consider a still-healthy 1,887,006 people attended A-League games, it is the competition's lack of visibility that has been most alarming.
To borrow a marketing buzzword, there has been a complete lack of "storytelling".
In the past, news of vibrant crowds, exotic imports, entertaining games and spectacular goals created mainstream interest — even in the face of often-unfair criticism of "crowd troubles".
This season it is difficult to recall anything that has taken the A-League outside its core constituency.
TV rights transfer a disappointment
So how has an entertaining and once-burgeoning league operating in a country with mass football participation become so unnoticeable it could be used as a witness protection program?
The transfer of free-to-air rights from SBS — which was too busy misplacing Australians in the Eurovision Song Contest to nurture the game it once loved — to Network Ten — which doesn't seem to realise it has the rights to a pretty good league — has proven disappointing.
I was among those who figured Ten would bolster the A-Leagues profile with cross-promotions from the BBL and innovative production.
Instead, Ten's programmers seem determined to treat the A-League as a contractual obligation until Sydney FC plays Lisa Wilkinson in the midfield.
There is also the A-League's chicken and egg dilemma — has the atmosphere become less lively and engaging because the crowds are down, or are crowds down because the atmosphere is less lively and engaging?
Either way, the relative murmur of once-boisterous fans is there for all to (not) hear.
This includes both the small handful of faux fans who brought harsh sanctions on themselves with antisocial behaviour, and the vast majority of genuine supporters who have suffered because of the reaction — in some cases, overreaction — of authorities to the routinely adverse media coverage.
Once you might have anticipated a halo effect from the Socceroos' impending World Cup appearance.
However, without a farewell game in Australia, under the stewardship of the seemingly media-resistant Bert Van Marwijk and without the superstar factor of the Golden Generation teams, only unexpected glory in Russia will give the A-League an adrenalin boost.
As it is, sundry factors such as the decline and dislocation of the once-vibrant Western Sydney Wanderers create the impression the A-League is in a holding pattern.
In the board room, this is quite literally true as the committee mandated by FIFA considers how power should be shared. Whether the various stakeholders tinker with the current governance model or prescribe radical solutions, this anonymous A-League season is itself a mandate for change.
Share the secret — the finals should be good
Meanwhile the finals begin, hopefully spreading news of what has until now been the A-League's little secret — the competition itself is in pretty decent shape and producing a high level of play and, as importantly, some exciting young talent.
Friday night's Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar game might be cast as Abu Dhabi Oil v Northern Worthies. But it is the performance of City's highly skilled 19-year-old midfielder Daniel Arzani under finals pressure that is most compelling.
Conversely, Melbourne Victory's Dutch import Leroy George is the feature act in Victory's sudden death final against Adelaide on Sunday — just the latest "no-name" import to improve the depth and quality of the A-League.
By the seedings — if not all expert predictions — the playoffs are headed toward a wonderful final between all-conquering Sydney FC and the revitalised and romantic Newcastle Jets.
One which would showcase the talent of Sydney FC's record-breaking striker. Even if, in this strangely low-profile A-League season, Bobo is to many the name of a children's party clown.
Yet even as it gasps for media oxygen there is plenty to like about these A-League finals. Hopefully the talent and entertainment will emerge from the depths and you won't need to put on the scuba gear to find them.
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ABC .net
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