In just a few days, the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil. Along with the Summer Olympic
Games, the World Cup has been the event I've most wanted to attend
for most of my adult life. With my flight to Brazil in just a few
days, its about to become a reality.
My love of the world game wasn't
always there though. Far from it. Growing up in small towns outside
of Melbourne, Australia, you could easily be led to believe that the
only sports that existed in the world were cricket and Australian
rules football. Football, (or soccer as its known at home) never
even entered the conversation – or if it was, it was considered
inferior to our own football only played by “foreigners”.
Looking forward to watching the matches with other Aussies
My first exposure to the most popular
game in the world came when I briefly attended a school in inner city
Melbourne at the age of 9. My new school mates invited me to play
some football at lunch time, but when I got there, I asked where the
football was. It was a football, but not as I knew it.
While I soon moved back to the country
and never played the “new” football I had been introduced to
again, the seeds had been planted. I had learnt that other games do
exist. They weren't better or worse, just different. In the end I
adopted another “foreign” sport, basketball as my game of choice.
It wasn’t until the 1998 World Cup
that I started to finally take notice of the game loved by billions
in the world. Like much of Australia, I thought the Socceroos were a
great chance of making it to the finals in France, with only Iran
standing in our way. Unfortunately, it wasn't yet our time, with
the lasting memory of Mark Bosnich being left on the ground as the
equaliser went past him to leave Australia short after being so
close.
Moving to Melbourne in 1998 to go to
university, I met a lot of people passionate about football and
looking forward to the World Cup. It rubbed off on me. I watched a
lot of matches during that World Cup and from that point on became a
big fan of international football.
That passion for the international game
didn't translate into me becoming a fan of the local game however.
The local league, the NSL, was in shambles with fighting and ethnic
violence among the fans. It didn't encourage the new fan to get
involved.
The Long Road To Rio is almost over
When it was time for internationals
though, I was back on board. Qualifying for the 2002 World Cup was
once again seen as our chance to make it to the world stage, however
like ’98, our boys fell at the last hurdle. It seemed the most
talented generation of Socceroos since the 70’s was destined to
never make the big time.
Once the 2002 World Cup rolled around
though, many forgot about the disappointments of our team and enjoyed
an immensely entertaining tournament – for the first time ever in a
time zone which gave us prime time viewing. The big games were even
televised on a major commercial television station. It seemed that
Australia was finally catching on to the world game. It wouldn't
last.
With the NSL still in strife, the major
Australian codes quickly regained the ascendancy and football was
relegated to a side note once again. This time, however, I continued
to become more of a fan of the game itself, watching more European
club football, and taking interest in the news that Australian club
football was finally starting to talk about a makeover.
A hundred thousand people in Melbourne to watch the round ball game
In 2005 I finally packed up my bags and headed out to see some of the world. When Australia finally
qualified – in a gripping penalty shootout – for the 2006 World
Cup, I was working in an insurance office in England, getting text
message updates from my friends. While my new colleagues thought I
was crazy, I was ecstatic – they’d finally made it.
By the time the 2006 World Cup rolled
around I was living in Scotland. Being a backpacker, I had many
other backpacker friends and as such, every game had some interest to
somebody in our circle. So for a month we hit the local sports pubs
watching game after game.
I actually managed to get to a warm up
game between South Korea and Ghana, and while nothing was on the
line, it was great to be able to see the passionate fan bases of both
teams come out and support their teams as they got ready for the big
event.
I love a big event - the Winter Olympics in Vancouver were one, but the World Cup is a whole other beast
Australia’s first shot at the finals
in 32 years was successful, despite the misery at the end. Tim
Cahill sparked 3 goals in less than 10 minutes to come from behind
against Japan, while a tense and sometimes spiteful 2-all draw
against Croatia was enough to see us through the final 16 after a
respectful loss to Brazil. While the final 16 match against Italy
ended in bitter disappointment, Australia had announced itself on the
world stage.
While I loved watching the matches with
people from all over the world in Edinburgh, almost as soon as the
tournament started I realised something – I should have been there.
I was a short flight (or a long bus ride) away, and could have done
it quite easily, but I didn't – and to this day I still can't
explain why.
Since then the revamped local
competition – now called the A-League – has gone from strength to
strength. Melbourne now has a purpose built stadium for the world
game (and rugby) and the Melbourne Victory has been one of the most
successful sides in the new competition, both on and off the field.
Finally, the game has started making inroads.
Moments after picking up my tickets at Rio airport
The Australian team has evolved too,
now part of the Asian federation, the team has a chance to play
together more often, in more meaningful competitions, and has made it
to another World Cup (2010 in South Africa) and been in an Asian Cup
final since the switch. Early next year, Australia will host the Asian
Cup finals, a move that will undoubtedly help turn casual fans – as
I once was – into diehards.
While nobody has any great expectations
for this version of the Socceroos with the draw doing us absolutely no favours and our side very much in transition, the mere fact that
15000 Aussies are heading to Brazil for the World Cup is testament to
how successful the game has been in finally made its way into
Australia's national consciousness.
When I'm in that stadium in Cuiaba
watching our side walk out to play Chile, it will be the culmination
of a long journey. Not only the last 10 months getting to Brazil, but
from kid who didn't even know that the game existed to man who
wouldn't be anywhere else.
