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Why I took a break from Australian football - Part 5: Every cloud has a silver lining

  • Writer: Christian Marchetti
    Christian Marchetti
  • Jun 15
  • 8 min read

So, I have finally reached the end of what has been, I guess, a therapeutic series explaining why I momentarily walked away from Australian football. But there's an important word there. Momentarily. And it was always going to be that way. I'm ready to reintegrate myself and tackle my role as a media member differently, and whatever will be, will be. But from my viewpoint, what are some of the keys to ensuring something like what I've just been through won't happen again?

 

The first point, linking to the theme of negativity I explored in great detail in part four, is perspective. I've realised that it might be one of the most important concepts taught to us as human beings. But it's one of the most difficult to master. We'd all love to see everything possible through a positive lens, but a) that's very difficult to do, and b) I'm sure there would be some serious issues with the world if we were all happy-go-lucky positive people who never expressed negative emotions.

 

Maintaining a positive perspective in Australian football can often be hard, but it is achievable. In part three, I mentioned how the existential lows frequently harming the game can be excruciating to read about or watch. But it's not like they are called existential lows; I gave it that label. Without losing the ability to ensure accountability, we can take the bad days, of which there are and still will be many, as bumps in the road instead of each one feeling like the end of the world.

Ok, cool, that's easier said than done. How can we really alter our perspective to be more positive? Let's use an example. I've used the Socceroos countless times as an example throughout this series, and yep, I will do it again.

 

For a generation of football followers in this country, like my dad, seeing the Socceroos qualify for six straight World Cups should feel like an incredible vindication of their support. They watched 32 years of heartbreak after heartbreak, questioning whether we'd ever get back there. So it is not lost on them how significant qualifying for six straight is. But the perspective of the younger generation, like myself, is skewed. Because we've seen Australia qualify so often, our mentality is different. We demand regular competitiveness at World Cups (at least, we should be doing so now). But that doesn't mean you take qualification for granted or don't enjoy it, as you would dismiss six collective cycles which, when viewed holistically, demonstrate a national team that has arguably gradually progressed. When I type this out, it reinforces this message to myself because, like many of the criticisms I've had in this series, I've also been guilty of them.

 And I think our perspective is often skewed because of the absence of positive angles to stories (tying into the amplification of negativity I discussed in part four). Another example. In the professional game, the dire financial situations of certain clubs and the APL have been well-documented over the past couple of seasons. Understandably and rightly, people are pissed off with the APL and perhaps even frustrated at their individual club for mismanaging its finances. Or maybe you are angry at your club for diminishing the product it puts out on the pitch by being hell-bent on turning towards selling young players by throwing them professional minutes too early. But if you always have that negative perspective of, "We won't have an A-League soon" or "I didn't follow the A-League to watch a U18 competition", then yeah, no shit, you're obviously going to have existential feelings about Australian football on the whole.

 

Take that specific point about the A-Leagues' seemingly forced austerity leading to young players gaining more professional minutes. You can see that as "the product is worse than it was when Del Piero was here" or believe that it is an excellent development because clubs have now realised the economic benefit of playing young players and the long-term financial impact this will have. Or maybe both sides are true.

 

My belief is that we need to take more of a balanced perspective on all of these issues. Maybe being too positive about young players getting increased minutes means we ignore the cons, like throwing too many in the deep end too early, which has the opposite effect on their development. Maybe being too negative about this trend means you're contradicting yourself because 10 years ago, you said the A-League had too many old players and was a so-called retirement league.


Again, you can make a case for either, but, particularly on the negative side, constantly reinforcing that argument to yourself without even hearing out the other side probably won't end well for your perception of the game.

 

But back to that point of the absence of positive angles. If we look at that example above, heaps of media members have significantly pushed the narrative of improved youth development in the A-League over the past few seasons. It is most likely because it shines a much better light on the competition than amplifying the financial troubles.

 

Additionally, although many were frustrated about its supposed wasted investment, KeepUp often brilliantly told positive stories within our game from players, coaches, and administrators. However, there is still a systemic issue, particularly concerning the A-League: even when positive narratives are pushed, consider where they often come from. It's predominantly from the league's in-house media platforms, whether its website, social media, or YouTube shows. So, that positivity is often pushed mostly onto a community of rusted-on fans who are usually already aware of such narratives. That's probably why you see so many users on Twitter who are frequently frustrated by the A-Leagues' social media accounts' intense positivity.


The competition's social media accounts will post positive content about it. That won't change. But because we have such few external media pushing the same positivity, it can feel like you're being roped in to believe some sort of propaganda, which I'd guess humans are usually resistant to (without much scientific knowledge to back that up).

 

So, instead of the game striving to push for mainstream outlets to cover a big game with a stock-standard preview or get a journalist to write one two-page season preview, how can we better aim to get outside coverage of the positive narratives we celebrate within our own community? How can we work more collaboratively to get mainstream TV or newspaper outlets to shine a light on the positive developments in our game, like the rise of talented youngsters in the A-Leagues, the absurd participation numbers at the grassroots level, or even the fascinating individual stories of the key members from this Socceroos squad that are heading to another World Cup?

 

Many would be reading this and thinking, "But mainstream media doesn't care about football, so why should we care". I don't totally disagree with the point about the attitudes of mainstream media towards football, but it also feels automatically defeatist. Again, the situation will never change if we always think that is true. And if we genuinely believe that, is sitting around all day being apathetic about it a way to change the status quo?

 

I wanted to make another point about celebrating the positive stories or even just telling stories in this sport. As someone who has closely followed Australian football for much of my life, I still think I don't know enough about its history or the stories behind its players and clubs. I'm sure I need to look harder to discover more, but I'd be surprised if others didn't feel the same way.

 

Much of my gripes here concern the A-League. Let's focus there again and on the narrative constantly pushed that many players are "recycled" (usually defined as players that have played for four or five clubs). Again, we can just accept a narrative that these players are just another number on a football pitch every week, meaning we, in effect, don't care about them, or we can try to find out whether such players are defined by more and are people with genuine stories to tell. They probably are, as we all have a story to tell.

 

How cool would it be if we felt more connected to what was happening whenever we watched an A-League game because we knew the specific hardship and resilience each of the 22 players on that pitch had to face and endure at some point in their careers? Every player, not just those seen as more special or important. Maybe it would also make our players feel more connected to what they are doing. Again, to reiterate elements of part four, this also creates narratives and intrigue and heightens our excitement towards the game.

Another way we can be more excited and passionate about where our game is heading is to put our faith in those silver linings. Many who hold a negative perspective towards aspects of the game seem to not only harbour that negativity but, as I mentioned above, don't even want to believe in a positive perspective.

 

I'd assume these people eventually walk away and give up on the game. And it's their stubbornness in not wanting to actually believe in something, to put their faith in a world where maybe, just maybe, the more happy-go-lucky, optimistic types might be right, that leads to their anger and frustration boiling over. That's how critical perspective is.


It's not about completely flipping every negative into a positive; it's about being positive enough to keep going and giving this game an aspect of your life's passion. If we can all do that, we're going to be alright.

 

Instead of "some of the crowds at these clubs are killing the league", you could think about league-wide average crowds steadily increasing and edging closer to pre-pandemic levels. Instead of "Paramount is a fucking joke", you could think that it is at least better than football being covered by a broadcaster that doesn't give a shit at all. Instead of "youth development is such a major issue in this country", you could be patient and think about the Young Socceroos squad that won an unprecedented Asian Cup earlier this year and believe in that group being a second coming of the Golden Generation.

I want to finish with a quote I once heard on a TV show I was watching. It's always resonated with me when I think about the growth of Australian football being one of the purposes in my life:

 

"Even if it sounds completely crazy, what is it you want to do with your life? Great. Then every decision you make from here on out should be in service of that."

 

But for me, that's not just something to live by in the decisions we make or the actions we take. It's also in how we think about the game and discuss it.

 

Ask yourself, from this day forth, how can every thought, question, criticism or praise I have about the game truly be in service of its continued growth and development?

 

If you can't even ask yourself that question, maybe you should find another sport or hobby. If you can, fantastic. We need you because this sport can evolve so much more.

 

And I certainly won't leave this planet until I've done everything I can to help contribute to that evolution.


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