Just Want to Watch the Football
Well how fucking frustrating 'watching', on the internet, the Qantas Matildas flog Hong Kong 15 nil today. They're our girls, clearly an outstanding bunch of athletes, kicking arse on the world stage, and I've never even seen them play. It's not through want of wanting.
Congratulations girls. Number 14 in the world is a great achievement, and it would appear that you haven't peaked yet. But someone is failing you somewhere.
I was so excited when I read that SBS was going to play Matildas games. I mean, how obvious. This is a way not just to promote Australia's most successful football team, but to renew SBS's pioneering relevance in promoting football in this country. But why do I have to wait 'till June? What's this crap about, "(reaching) agreement with Football Federation Australia for the broadcast rights" to Matilda games? Surely they would go out on a limb to have a major TV network broadcast ALL Matildas games.
In short, my question to the universe is, WHY couldn't I watch the game this afternoon?
If SBS, or the Football Federation, or for that matter the Matilda's own management, can't market this team, then they're useless. These women are Australian, they are on a world stage, they are winning games, they are more successful than any other Australian soccer team. Marketing them to Soccer fans should be pretty simple, especially as it's the off-season for Australian professional soccer. Marketing them to women can't be too hard. And marketing them to men? These girls are hot. What's the problem?
Give an average marketing firm half a budget, get SBS to commit themselves properly and not just tokenistically, get the FFA to give them proper space on their website, and these girls are THE national sports news. Am I assuming too much, as I have no way of actually knowing, that they are bloody entertaining to watch to boot? I don't think so.
Btw, sorry I haven't blogged for so long. I know, there are some loose ends. I'll be blogging more soon.
Congratulations girls. Number 14 in the world is a great achievement, and it would appear that you haven't peaked yet. But someone is failing you somewhere.
I was so excited when I read that SBS was going to play Matildas games. I mean, how obvious. This is a way not just to promote Australia's most successful football team, but to renew SBS's pioneering relevance in promoting football in this country. But why do I have to wait 'till June? What's this crap about, "(reaching) agreement with Football Federation Australia for the broadcast rights" to Matilda games? Surely they would go out on a limb to have a major TV network broadcast ALL Matildas games.
In short, my question to the universe is, WHY couldn't I watch the game this afternoon?
If SBS, or the Football Federation, or for that matter the Matilda's own management, can't market this team, then they're useless. These women are Australian, they are on a world stage, they are winning games, they are more successful than any other Australian soccer team. Marketing them to Soccer fans should be pretty simple, especially as it's the off-season for Australian professional soccer. Marketing them to women can't be too hard. And marketing them to men? These girls are hot. What's the problem?
Give an average marketing firm half a budget, get SBS to commit themselves properly and not just tokenistically, get the FFA to give them proper space on their website, and these girls are THE national sports news. Am I assuming too much, as I have no way of actually knowing, that they are bloody entertaining to watch to boot? I don't think so.
Btw, sorry I haven't blogged for so long. I know, there are some loose ends. I'll be blogging more soon.
posted by Hamish Alcorn at 5:04 pm
2 Comments:
Well I see your point Hamish. Foxtel has a show on their 'public broadcasting channel' which I guess could be free to air in Victoria? Which itself was hard to watch through poor production. Anyway they show highlights of NSW, Victoria and South Australian Premier leagues. I thought great I'll see the next Nathan Burns, Dario etc... well they did show the AIS who play in the Vic Premier League - but the quality of play just wasn't that good. or didn't seem so because of the production values.
Anyway. Yes I'd go see the matilda's at Lang Park and the u20s and the u19s.
I've watched women's football in my time, when it was on SBS ie u-20s WC in Russia last year(?). But the pace is so much slower than the men's game that the women's game is literally more boring. That's not to say I've not seen some terrible men's sides in my time, or plenty of technically adept and talented female players, but on the whole watching women's football on the box only appeals in the desperate dearth of any other programming rather than standing out by itself.
So despite the fact that I get to perv and watch football at the same time, I wouldn't watch and neither would a significant proportion of fans and hence there is less incentive to put marketing dollars into the game. Unfair? Yep. Likely to change? Don't think so.
Btw welcome back.
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