Usain Bolt could be the cream to the A-League’s cake
Related Story: Usain Bolt scores first goals for Mariners as he presses case for A-League career
A former long distance runner who harboured the marathon fraternity's disdain for flashy sprinters once told me "it's lucky they make their money on the track because none of them will be rocket scientists".
The stereotype is unfair, but perhaps it should be applied to Usain Bolt's excellent A-League adventure.
Like the 100 metres itself, let's figure Bolt's unlikely presence in a Central Mariners shirt will be explosive, eye-catching, attention-grabbing and probably all over before you know it.
But hey — that's no reason to blink and miss it.
By scoring twice for the Mariners on Friday night in a practice match against the cobbled-together might of Macarthur South West United, Bolt has scored two more goals than most expected and, potentially, extended his A-League shelf life beyond the anticipated maximum seven weeks.
Never mind that Macarthur South West United looked like, in the rather caustic assessment of The Australian's experienced football writer Ray Gatt, "a pub team".
#SWSvCCM #CCMFC You can erase the first 50 minutes of the tape, during which Bolt's pace and enthusiasm were — to put it kindly — not quite matched by his touch and game awareness.
Instead look at the bits the captivated more than 5 million social media followers — Bolt's sharp left foot strike and a routine tap into an empty net. Ninety minutes boiled down to a couple of viral seconds.
As for the (lack of) opposition? Who cares if it was Macarthur South West United or Real Madrid? Try telling the marketing gurus attempting to sell a league that is struggling for oxygen in Australia's asphyxiating sporting market that it mattered who the Mariners played.
Bolt — Usain bloody Bolt! — was doing his trademark celebration wearing a Mariners' shirt with an A-League logo. You just can't buy publicity like that (although, admittedly, the Mariners have rented it for a reported $900,000).
And so to the question that accompanied Bolt's arrival, and which will become even more compelling now that he's knocked a couple into the back of the old onion bag: does the omnipresence of an Olympic sprinter with little football pedigree detract from the A-League's credibility?
My initial answer was that it did not, so long as Bolt was merely the cream and not the cake; a pleasing snack in a competition simultaneously providing far more substantial fare for the game's purists.
How is that working?
The 2018/19 A-League season will be launched today, and there are some very appetising dishes on the table.
Most notably, Keisuke Honda's arrival at Melbourne Victory as a genuine marquee star adds lustre to the league.
As those weighing the Japanese star's substantial football presence at Victory against Bolt's experimental appearances with the Mariners were quick to point out, this is the first time a Honda will be worth more than a Ferrari.
As usual, the A-League fixture is front-loaded with the Melbourne and Sydney derbies featuring on the first two Saturday nights.
Although, of the four supposed "big market" teams, only Victory appeals as an iron-clad championship contender. Sydney FC has lost coach Graham Arnold and golden boot winner Bobo, the Wanderers struggled last season and Melbourne City remain the league's well-heeled yet underachieving enigma.
The biggest story of the A-League season might unfold off-Broadway in Perth where Tony Popovic has returned to the A-League after enduring the most unfortunate Turkish sojourn since Midnight Express.
Popovic is famously driven and you can only imagine he will approach his new job with a manic intensity after his disappointing time with Karabukspor.
How Popovic's desire to correct any reputational damage is reflected in his coaching performance and that of his talented Glory squad remains to be seen. But the signings of Socceroos defenders Matthew Spiranovic, Ivan Franjic and Jason Davidson suggests the Glory back four will be a somewhat tougher nut to crack than Macarthur South West United's.
The A-League kick-off is preceded by the Socceroos friendly against Kuwait which heralds the start of the Graham Arnold era — itself something of a test for the local competition where Arnold had significant and enduring success.
Although rather than the players, coaches or even Jamaican sprinters, this A-League season might inevitably be defined by what happens in the boardroom rather than on the pitch.
Emboldened by the successful coup that gives them more control, will A-League clubs unshackled from Football Federation Australia's tight governance and penny-pinching accounting start to prosper and grow? Or have they been handed too much rope?
In that context, the fleeting appearance of Bolt is hardly an issue to cause too much concern to even the most sceptical observer.
Bolt's brace at least saw the A-League gain some media traction ahead of the season on a weekend otherwise dominated by lucrative horses races, Test cricket ponderings and — in the southern states — the claustrophobic 24/7 AFL news cycle.
So if your footballing sense is offended by the marketing gimmicks? Best to park your instincts ahead of this A-League season, pretend you are a sprinter crouched at the start of a race and don't think about it too much.
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