Australians putting hopes on Asian Cup

Despite its status as Asia’s premier tournament, Australia has until recently ignored the competition.

Until recently, Australia was not even eligible to play. What a strange comment.

I agree that Australia really seems to have kick-started the soccer rage, but unfortunately so has Japan -- it's seeing a fan base here that it hasn't seen since they co-hosted in 2002 (and that fan base was all but completely lost once Japan lost).

Personally I'm cheering for Australia because I would like to see them win, and because I believe the passion of the fans and said soccer rage are realer than in Japan, where it tends to be a trend to like a sports team or athlete. Still, I hope both teams make it interesting and soccer grows as a result in both nations.

Sorry, in the first line of the above post I meant '...unfortunately for AUSTRALIA so has Japan...'

I agree that Australia really seems to have kick-started the soccer rage

So true, It's good to see that the fans in Australia have started to get into cheering for soccer (since of course, their team is winning). I just hope they don't start getting turned off it just as soon as they got turned on, if Australia starts losing.

I believe the passion of the fans and said soccer rage are realer than in Japan

I would have to disagree with that. Fans are fans everywhere. There will always be fair-weather fans in both Japan and Australia, as in other parts of the world. I've seen fans quickly jump on the bandwagon once their team starts winning, while others jump off it when they start losing, in every country and in every sport. It's sad, but it's the painful truth.

2 points..Firstly Australians have never and will never deeply care about soccer any where near the extent the Japanese general public/media do,there's NO soccer rage in Australia.Win or lose it will be forgotten when the rugby league or union season starts(possibly a little earlier like Monday).Secondly this years dismal overall crowds at the cricket are testament to what Hotbox mentions regarding our 'fair weather ' fans..so Smithinjapan I hope you've got other reasons for wanting to see the Aussies win,cause the ones you mentioned are bogus.

C'mon Socceroos! Win your country some silverware! The cricket/Rugby League/Rugby Union trophy cabinet is bare and gathering dust.....

It should be a good game, we are going to need our defence to stand tall again if we are to have a chance - and McKay delivering good ball to Kewell again. A couple of goals by Timmy - against his bunny, Japan - won't hurt the cause either!

smithinjapan -

Personally I'm cheering for Australia because I would like to see them win, and because I believe the passion of the fans and said soccer rage are realer than in Japan, where it tends to be a trend to like a sports team or athlete. Still, I hope both teams make it interesting and soccer grows as a result in both nations.

In 2009, before Japan's somewhat successful run at the World Cup, Japan's average league attendance record for the J League was around 19,000 fans per game, while in the A-League, it was less than 10,000. Attendance figures don't mean everything, but you're really underestimating Japan's passion for the game.

Japan's average league attendance record for the J League was around 19,000 fans per game, while in the A-League, it was less than 10,000

Yeah but Japan's population is six times that of Australia... so all things considered, a much smaller percentage of Japanese are supporting soccer compared to Australians.

papasmurfinjapan - Fair enough, BUT (and I'm not trying to say the A League isn't a good league, so don't get me wrong)an average of less than 10,000 a game for only 11 teams still isn't a great figure.

And when you factor in total attendance for both leagues (and obviously there are people who went to more than 1 game) it was 5.8 million for the J League and 1.3 million for the A League, so that figure is closer to being equal to the 6 times population discrepancy than it seems at first glance. And this doesn't even factor in figures for J2 teams and JFL teams.

Hotbox: "I would have to disagree with that. Fans are fans everywhere."

Well, we agree in part. Better than most soccer threads (football, if you prefer). Still, we're getting into semantics. You say fans are fans everywhere, but then you modify it later with 'fair-weather fans'. That's what I'm talking about, and the trend, trust me, is MUCH higher in Japan. Never have I seen people literally HATE a team in Spring and then jump off the Dotonbori bridge cheering for them in the late summer (then hate them again next Spring). I'm being place specific, of course, but like so many trends in Japan it's literally 一時的 here in so many ways it's sickening.

Kreza: "In 2009, before Japan's somewhat successful run at the World Cup, Japan's average league attendance record for the J League was around 19,000 fans per game, while in the A-League, it was less than 10,000. Attendance figures don't mean everything, but you're really underestimating Japan's passion for the game."

Or maybe I'm just underestimating stadium size and the lack of use in Japan after 2002. Or as so many like to point out on other threads, compare per capita populations vs. attendance.

Soccer has taken a backseat to rugby and of course cricket in Aus for ages, but seriously... half the 'fans' I've heard from this past week in Japan didn't know a thing about soccer the week before that.

Wow, is Cahill from S. America or Southern Europe? He sure whines and dives like he's from one of those places...

Updated:-

"After an early exit from the World Cup and a decisive Ashes defeat, plus losing the Asia Cup Final to Japan.."

smithinjapan:

It's easy to say that Japan has more "fair-weathered fans" than other countries if you live in Japan and never take the time to travel to other parts of the world. I myself could have fallen into such a trap. However, having been to stadiums in such countries as the U.S. and England, I can say that there are all types of fans in many places. Some are the die-hard types who will stick with their team through thick and thin, wearing Hanshin Tigers motifs to work in losing seasons, or carry a Kashiwa Reysol bag around (even though they were regulated to J2). In the U.S., looking at American football teams' message boards, you'll find many fans leaving stadiums empty during losing seasons, and then filling them in winning ones suddenly. It happens.

Bottom line is this: You'll find all types of fans everywhere you go, in any country you go.

Osakadaz you must live a long way from the central coast if you think theres no league here,there are at least 6 nrl games at Bluetongue in Gosford per year.An hour up the freeway and you're in Newcastle and an hour the other way and you're at Brookvale,overwhelmed with league.Never been to an A League game and dont even know anyone who has.