The A-League imperial project takes another leap forward this week when on Thursday night the Heart step out against the Central Coast for their first real competitive run around. This time though the new kids on the block are different. While all previous expansion teams have planted their flag in terra nullius, the Heart have parachuted in to Melbourne and with that one-team-town unity is shattered.
The Victory have had the fertile soils of Australia’s sporting capital all to themselves for the competition’s first five seasons and they have reaped the rewards being twice champions and twice premiers. On top of this they are the only side to turn enough of a buck to be financially solvent But that protection is now over.
The first Melbourne derby – also the first real A-League derby – is slated for October 2 when we will already have some idea about how the two teams seasons are shaping up. Make no mistake Victory fans weened on success will still boo Adelaide and Sydney with equal vigour but they – along with the upstart usurpers of the Heart– already want to win this one more than any other.
Where are the Heart fans going to come from though? Disgruntled Melbourne Knights supporters still bitter at not getting the original licence? People who missed the boat at Victory’s inception and only offered half-hearted love accordingly? Ernie Merrick haters (is he the most hated successful coach ever?). Contrarians in search of being able to scream “I am different”?
Maybe it’s the field of dreams principal – if you build it they will come. The Heart have built a quality list. Half of their squad reads like a Socceroos reunion – Skoko, Beauchamp, Aloisi and captain Colosimo. While the other half reads like a prediction of the Socceroos future – Babalj, Hamill, Ibrahim and Taseski – all in the recent Young Socceroos squad that played in Vietnam. And if they can build early success the punters will get on board.
It doesn’t matter that the two teams have no history. The art of Fandom is often like painting by numbers. Passionate Support 101 mandates that all teams hate other teams based in their town. Cue the hatred.
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Build it and they will come – all sorts of excuses are being given for people jumping on the Heart. Reasons I’ve heard include MVFC are too anglo, Muscat is a c**t, affection for the red and white stripes and/or logo, the dutch coach with his attacking mentality, the squad, cos they are the underdogs (we love underdogs), cos people have never ‘connected’ emotionally with the victory and so on. Most of those will mean little once the season is under way, but the biggest reason to join the Heart would be, in my opinion, 15 guaranteed games in the best football stadium in the country. MVFC will only have ten. It is truly an architectural wonder (at least of the southern hemisphere) and when i am sitting in the shiteness of Etihad for 5 games this season my heart will be where the Heart is.
True Aaron, though if the best that you can do is pine about the stadium then the Victory are safe with your support I’d think.
They do have a nice strip though…. but they are off to losing start… they have great players…. but they’ll never play “total football”…. but they have a striker who’s like a slightly-less-good version of the great Peter Crouch….
I agree with the variety of reasons listed by aaron above for people to join the melbourne heart as a supporter but there is no way greater access to the new stadium would be able to sway someones support unless they are a mental defective or a yuppie or both