Is Melbourne still the sporting capital of Australia?

By Mike Tuckerman

If you ever want to start an argument, simply suggest to someone from Melbourne that it’s is not the sporting capital of Australia.

I learnt the hard way on Twitter on Tuesday night – not that I needed reminding – that Melburnians take very seriously the idea their city is the home of Australian sport.

My mistake, if you can call it that, was to tweet my disappointment at the sight of empty seats inside Etihad Stadium for Australia’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Japan.

Mark van Aken from the Daily Football Show was quick to suggest that most of the empty seats were in the exclusive Medallion Club section, but having had a look for tickets myself before the game kicked off, I found several decent seats still available.

It was somewhat of a moot point considering 48,000 fans ended up attending anyway, yet my argument remains: why didn’t the match sell out?

I was at the same fixture in 2009, when just under 75,000 fans piled in to the MCG to see a Tim Cahill brace see off the Samurai Blue.

So what has changed between now and then? Have we got Asian football fatigue, or would the match have attracted a higher attendance in a larger stadium?

I can’t help but think that Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane wouldn’t have been a more suitable venue – although I was there in 2012 when only 40,000 fans showed up for the commensurate encounter.

That was then, whereas this is now a landscape where Football Federation Australia has made it clear that state governments must play a role in attracting World Cup qualifiers.

At least Tourism Events Queensland responded on Twitter to my persistent tweets that Queenslanders would appreciate another Socceroos game, replying that they too would like to see the national team play in Australia’s “best rectangular stadium”.

But even if Socceroos games were shared around the country more than they currently are, what are we going to do about the atmosphere – or lack thereof – at national team games?

I’m conscious of complaints from the Socceroos Active group that those who complain loudest about the lack of atmosphere are also those who invariably fail to help out the home end.

And as much as I don’t wish to criticise the hard work of those who do try to produce an atmosphere at Socceroos fixtures, something really does need to be done about the funereal atmosphere that greets the national team at home games.

Tuesday’s jarring atmosphere was thrown into sharp relief by the atmosphere at the Sydney derby, and I have a feeling that tomorrow’s Melbourne derby will be even better – even if some folks in Melbourne were incredulous about the turn-out last weekend.

“Sydney folks starting to throw their weight around about crowd figures after they get a decent crowd themselves last weekend. Laughable,” tweeted one Melbourne pundit after I suggested Tuesday night’s game should have sold out.

Nevermind that I actually reside in Brisbane – I’m the first to admit that Melbourne crowds are usually the best in the country, and I reckon the atmosphere at the Melbourne derby will be even better than in Sydney a week ago.

Even the much-travelled Tim Cahill is expecting a “strong reaction” from Melbourne Victory fans, telling Fox Sports’ Tony Harper “I’m not expecting the fans to cheer me”.

And while the oft-maligned Etihad Stadium seemed like an ill-fit for the Socceroos on Tuesday night, the thought of more than 50,000 fans sitting cheek-to-jowl in club colours on Saturday night is an undeniably exciting one.

I always chuckle at the thought of Melbourne calling itself one of the greatest sporting cities in the world, having once attended a sold-out second division Bundesliga game, a sold-out basketball game and a sold-out ice-hockey game in Cologne within the space of a few weeks.

But in a week in which a Socceroos game disappointed and a Melbourne derby awaits, the question remains – is Melbourne still the sporting capital of Australia?