
Issue No 56		02 June 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Sport

Taking Over the Country

By Terry O'Brien

There's a bloke over in Fiji who's trying to take over the country with a gun. Well, quite a few guns, in fact. He's from one ethnic background, and the elected Prime Minister is from another.

In this country there is a battle going on to win the hearts and minds of the majority of the population - well the biggest possible slice of those hearts and minds, anyway. So they're not using guns. They are using the media. They are using the kids. They are after your bucks.

The race to become Australia's premier sport is on in earnest. The battle between the seasons is a minor distinction. Hop onto the Internet and you can follow live cricket all day, every day. Well, just about, anyway. I can go to work this weekend and follow the football on the Web. I don't need to take anything with me. I can use the boss's computer, have it running continuously in the background, and keep up with what's happening. And keep up with my work, too.

In fact, I can do that from anywhere in the world. Anywhere there's phone access, at least. Sport has gone global. The need to dominate the market has become, it seems, the over riding concern of the sports' administrators. Go global. Keep the game alive. That's the apparent rationale. In reality, it seems, it's getting the sponsors dollars. Get the game on the box. Get the maximum coverage. Streamline. Maximise profits. Make more profit.

There seems to be a slight hitch in the whole scheme. At least as far as the major Australian footy codes are concerned. The punters aren't listening. The bums on seats litmus test of acceptance is on the down turn. Why are overall crowds down? Maybe it's because the bean counters have taken over. And they seem to have infiltrated most levels of sports administration.

What they seem to have forgotten is where sport comes from. It comes from the battles over the village green. The pride of the suburb. The kind loyalty that usually comes from a sense of belonging to a community. Certainly this sense of community can be expanded to a suburb, a city, a state, or a nation. But it is the sense of ownership that builds the passion, the passion that gets bums on seats.

Television coverage seems to be at the heart of the bean collectors' counting. Sure, it's nice to get live coverage of your tribe when they are playing on the other side of the country. Or the globe. But it can never replace being there. And now a lot of people seem to have decided that they don't want to be there. Why?

Rugby League had the Super League debacle. After everyone had kissed and made up lots of teams went to the wall. Some amalgamated and became new entities. On the surface the best of both worlds was retained. In reality, the stronger club consumed the other, and the bums on seats meter indicates that nobody's happy.

Then there's the Bunnies. South Sydney refused to compromise and got dumped. The Rabbitohs will be in court soon to fight their case, but even if South Sydney win their case the fallout may already be to great too save the game. Everywhere I go I see more Souths jumpers, Tee Shirts, and other paraphernalia around now than I recall seeing for years, and wearing the gear draws constant comments of support. The peasants are revolting! But is it to late to save Souths? Is it too late too save the game?

In the AFL only Fitzroy has gone. They became Brisbane. The new being took the Roy Boys Lions tag, but it's still Brisbane. There are many Victorians who still bemoan the fact that it's no longer the Victorian Football League. It's now the national version with the Australian adjective replacing the state name.

The realists know this had to happen, and generally support the concept. Some may harbour regrets, but favourite jumpers eventually get replaced. Sometimes they get hidden in the back of the cupboard and are pulled out in moments of deep sentimentality, but they are never really worn again.

It seems the bean counters have gone too far. They've forced teams from their home ground and enticed them to play in the Docklands Stadium. The fact that that Footscray, sorry, Western Bulldogs, had more home grounds than the Hyatt has hot dinners doesn't matter. Crowds are down. The fact that Hawthorn and St Kilda had traditional home grounds that weren't the white elephant Waverly didn't matter. The fans didn't like the move. Perhaps it is that in Waverly Park, with all its faults, the paying public had some sense of ownership? Now it may be a little unfair to blame all this on Docklands and its ticketing fiascos, but something's caused the punters put their wallets in their pockets and go to the pub instead.

In Sydney it's easy to point the finger. The Swans are slumping and slumping dramatically. No Swans success, no crowds. Yeah, Sydney loves a winner. Everyone knows that. Or conventional wisdom says that everyone knows it. But it ignores what may really be happening.

Why did the Kangaroos latest Sydney game just pip six thousand bums on seats? Even given that three thousand kids, or so went to a super clinic before hand and got free admission to save them from total embarrassment. But North Melbourne are winners, aren't they? They won the Grand Final last year didn't they? I saw it on TV! And still nobody went to the party. Why?

Could it be that the Aussie Rules market has been saturated? There are kids taking up the game in droves. There are thousands of ex-pats from AFL indoctrinated states. You would have thought some of them might have been interested in going along. So what is it? Could it be that Sydney Siders are cynical about the Roos motives? Just in it for a fast buck. One thing seems to be clear. North Melbourne have said they have no intention of becoming the second Sydney team. It seems they've done nothing to convince the Harbourside dwellers that their interest is anything other than a opportunist grab at Australia's most lucrative market whilst they remain a Melbourne based club.

They have, apparently, made the classic bean counters mistake. They think global. That's OK. But at their peril, they ignore the local.

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Issue 56 contents

Interview: When the War is Over
Teachers Federation chief Sue Simpson has just come through the industrial dispute of a lifetime. But where to now for her members?

Politics: The Beazley Manifesto
Read the full transcript of Kim Beazley's Fraser Lecture develiered this week, where he unveiled Labor's new industrial relations platform.

Unions: Dudded on the Dock of the Bay
Until a few weeks ago Allan and Beverley Crelley had never ever heard of SERCO the big London multinational that specialises in winning contracts from governments committed to outsourcing their workers.

History: The Long March for Justice
Against the backdrop of the Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge that took place last Sunday, it is worthwhile recognising that trade unionists were actively promoting the issue decades ago.

International: UK Unions Turn the Corner
Union membership is on the rise for the first time in 20 years, indicating an early response to union recognition legislation set to come into effect next month.

Work/Time/Life: Flexible Clerks Save Hours
The Australian Services Union has successfully blocked an attempt by wholesaler Davids Limited to force clerical staff at the company's Blacktown office from flexible working hours to a standard 38 hour week.

Review: Who Really Won the War?
It might be being pulped for a reference to serial-suitor Peter Costello, but 'Waterfront' has sparked some lively debate about our recent industrial history.

Satire: Gosper's New Torch Role
A week after he was excluded from the Olympic torch relay as a result of public criticism, Kevan Gosper has been reinstated by SOCOG President Michael Knight for a special project.

» Long Service Leave Push for Short-Term Workers

» Carr Asked to Act on Fiji Crisis

» Major Blow to Government Outsourcing

» Beazley Blocks Contracts as Reith Hits New Wall

» Carr Makes Formal Offer on Olympics Pay

» Surfing Carnivals Highlights Beach Threat

» Mail Stopped Over Junk Deal

» CBA Staff To Strike Over Queues and Abuse

» Women's Bureau to Stay in DIR

» Joy's Winter of Discontent

» Advocate Pushes Pattern Bargaining

» Nike Versus The Workers

» New Safety Laws A First in Australia

» Workers March for Reconciliation

» Labour Movement Mourns Loss of Neil Marshall (11th June 1943 - 31st May 2000)