soccer will pick up if australia can perform well, and consistently. im sorry, but this nation is only interested in winners.

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Originally posted by MiSSyM Footy & Soccer cannot be compared. They are both in a league of their own! Footy will always be Australia's number 1 sport, I rekon anyways!

AFL is definately a Melbournes no. 1 Sport but its quite small in other states. For NSW and QLD it's probably NRL, for Darwin its probably Boomerang throwing and Perth Rabbit Hunting

quote:

Originally posted by tathi AFL is definately a Melbournes no. 1 Sport but its quite small in other states. For NSW and QLD it's probably NRL, for Darwin its probably Boomerang throwing and Perth Rabbit Hunting

i dont understand why you're so adverse to admitting afl is so popular. yes nsw and qld is league territory but everywhere else it's pretty much footy mad. why is that so hard to accept?

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lower the curtain down on memphis
lower the curtain down on me...

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MissyM Yeh well anyone who wouldve said that is an IGNORANT, UNEDUCATED FOOL! Soccer is embraced by ALL NATIONALITIES, I have a few friends who are as Aussie as you can get, who play in a league & love their soccer!

Well the people who told me this lived in NSW all of their lives and moved to Vic and have been there for about 15 years. Their son joined a few soccer teams when he got down there but was ostracised somewhat because he would be the only aussie on a team that was of entirely one background (Instead of saying "man on" in English they would talk in their native languages for eg.) To the point where it was uncomfortable so he switched to Cricket where he played Rep and later Rugby Union where he played for State. When his parents asked people at their work why Soccer in Melbourne was like this they would reply with comments like "oh it's just wog ball, it's always like that" and try and convert them to AFL lol. Its a dodgy stereotype because i know not all clubs can be like that, but i think the problem is alot worse than compared to soccer in NSW where 90% of the clubs you will get 4-5 Nationalities in a team.

quote:

jizza i dont understand why you're so adverse to admitting afl is so popular. yes nsw and qld is league territory but everywhere else it's pretty much footy mad. why is that so hard to accept?

Well if you're referring to Perth and Darwin i was being facetious because i know how much hurt barbed comments like that can cause for you sooks But seriously, i have no idea if AFL is the most liked sport in states outside of Vic and Adelaide because fortunately we get very little coverage of the sport up here, and what little we do get we can easily tune out And if the other states do in fact play AFL more than any other sport, good for them i say! They need more states to play the game because they're certainly not going to find any other countries that play it

The greeks were on holiday, we would of seen a much more even contest had any of the greeks showed any interest towards playing soccer on this tour. In saying that the AUssies are looking sharp, back 3 look very mobile in chipper, neil and moore. Im a bit worried about our stocks up front, dukes goes missing in the big international games... EIther way was a fun nite and a great celebration of football 'the world game' in Melbourne... I think it also showed Australians the respect and gratitude we have towards AUstralia, for giving our parents and grandparents the chance to live in this beautiful country. Evident by the greeks singing both the aussie and greek anthems and clapping both teams off.

Lets go Australia... do us proud boys!

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Oh, life is bigger ,It's bigger than you,And you are not me,The lengths that I will go to, The distance in your eyes ,Oh no, I've said too much, I set it up

That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight, I'm Losing my religion, Trying to keep up with you ,And I don't know if I can do it, Oh no, I've said too much,I haven't said enough, I thought that I heard you laughing, I thought that I heard you sing, I think I thought I saw you try.

But that was just a dream, That was just a dream, But that was just a dream, Try, cry, why try? That was just a dream ,Just a dream, just a dream, Dream

quote:

Originally posted by tathi Well the people who told me this lived in NSW all of their lives and moved to Vic and have been there for about 15 years. Their son joined a few soccer teams when he got down there but was ostracised somewhat because he would be the only aussie on a team that was of entirely one background (Instead of saying "man on" in English they would talk in their native languages for eg.) To the point where it was uncomfortable so he switched to Cricket where he played Rep and later Rugby Union where he played for State. When his parents asked people at their work why Soccer in Melbourne was like this they would reply with comments like "oh it's just wog ball, it's always like that" and try and convert them to AFL lol. Its a dodgy stereotype because i know not all clubs can be like that, but i think the problem is alot worse than compared to soccer in NSW where 90% of the clubs you will get 4-5 Nationalities in a team.

So the parents of this kid, took him out of that ONE team, why not try another team! lol Im sure NOT ALL TEAMS wouldve been like that. And the people at the parents work who said "Oh its just wog ball, its always been like that" are complete fucking idiots as this comment sounds derogatory & isnt all true! And I can ASSURE you now, that ALL teams even in the VPL have people with different nationalities in them!


LOL@

quote:

The greeks were on holiday, we would of seen a much more even contest had any of the greeks showed any interest towards playing soccer on this tour.

So none of them showed any interest towards playing soccer?
Sorry but that is BULLFKNCRAP. You could easily see the frustration & anger on the Greek players faces! If they didnt care that much, they wouldve been laughing & NOT CARING & NOT EVEN TRYING TO KICK THE BALL.

Dont think you were watching the same game sweetheart. Greeks won the european cup on hard work, movement off the ball, which was non existant on thursday nite...Charisteas didnt break a sweat for the whole game. As i said it was evident who was going to the world cup and playing for spots and who was on holiday...

___________________
Oh, life is bigger ,It's bigger than you,And you are not me,The lengths that I will go to, The distance in your eyes ,Oh no, I've said too much, I set it up

That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight, I'm Losing my religion, Trying to keep up with you ,And I don't know if I can do it, Oh no, I've said too much,I haven't said enough, I thought that I heard you laughing, I thought that I heard you sing, I think I thought I saw you try.

But that was just a dream, That was just a dream, But that was just a dream, Try, cry, why try? That was just a dream ,Just a dream, just a dream, Dream

If what you say is correct and the Greeks were on holiday, they are a disgrace to their nation. If you are representing your country you had better put your absolute effort into your game otherwise you are selfish gits who do not deserve the honour of being in the team.

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**Man I'm Pretty**

dude...the game was an international friendly with absolutely nothing riding on the game...I dont think players want to risk their european contracts or jeaopardise their spots at their clubs by getting injured in pre season from a meaningless friendly...

___________________
Oh, life is bigger ,It's bigger than you,And you are not me,The lengths that I will go to, The distance in your eyes ,Oh no, I've said too much, I set it up

That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight, I'm Losing my religion, Trying to keep up with you ,And I don't know if I can do it, Oh no, I've said too much,I haven't said enough, I thought that I heard you laughing, I thought that I heard you sing, I think I thought I saw you try.

But that was just a dream, That was just a dream, But that was just a dream, Try, cry, why try? That was just a dream ,Just a dream, just a dream, Dream

quote:

Originally posted by Paulie dude...the game was an international friendly with absolutely nothing riding on the game...I dont think players want to risk their european contracts or jeaopardise their spots at their clubs by getting injured in pre season from a meaningless friendly...

the fact remains, they were representingh their country and if you don't want to put in effort you may as well not turn up, cos you are disrespecting your country by deliberately playign poorly.

If you were given the chance to play for your country, whether it was a friendly or world cup final you'd bloody put some effort in wouldn't you?


ok, maybe they didn't want to risk their contracts, so number 1 why play at all, and number 2 if they are playign solely for money and not because you enjoy it they are playing for ALL the wrong reasons.

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**Man I'm Pretty**

quote:

Originally posted by Paulie Greeks won the european cup on hard work, movement off the ball, which was non existant on thursday nite...Charisteas didnt break a sweat for the whole game.

not that im discounting what youre saying at all, but if the greeks are actually good why arent they in the finals? they were lucky to beat the best in europe imo, and i dont think it will happen again any time soon.

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alright guys let's take a step back in history, only for a moment.

When Australia was first settled back by the English, the national sport was Cricket. football was formed to keep the cricketers active during the periods the game wasn't played.

It puzzles me that all of a sudden, everyone is fearful as to the fate of soccer in australia. I believe the first problem is the identity of the game. For fuck sake it's known as football everywhere else in the world except australia.

We cannot sustain an Aussie league, or sport, without any international involvement. AFL has an expiry, I truly believe that. It's a game that has for too long, seen external sources assisting teams to stay afloat. If a side like Carlton cannot maintain a profitable club, then how the hell does the game ever more forward. Espcially since they have had over 50 years of status and recognition but can't maintain members????

I mean, great, it's australia's game, but don't emphasise this at the expense of other sports. Even hockey is played at an international level and always seems to get left out of public attention due to the AFL's bureaucratic leap on other sports.

Dean, debate away, but we aint solving any problems here and yes although the world cup is every four years, there are many other tournaments that are played at this level. do some reading on the topic and you will/should understand.

And yes, I still stand firm on what i've said, it's the truth and oh yes some people just don't get it. Lets remember that these players have million dollar contracts with european clubs and only 9 players of the full original Greek squad came down. If you were in their (contractual and financial) positions what would you do?

There is no reason why soccer cannot be more popular than AFL. Yes sure, they could co-exist. But at the end of the day it's all big business and viability/profitability that decides the fate of anything at the national level and how networks and game associations can fleece the game for what it's worth.

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In church, a pastor was leading the house in prayer. He said, "God, please protect your believers, and deliver us from sin." Chuck Norris stood up and said, "What have you done for me lately?"