The crowds poured out of Richmond station, crackling with anticipation as something that had previously only existed in their wildest dreams grew into reality with every step; an evening to be remembered alongside family, friends and fellow devotees of the tribe. And that was just the fans of Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory making their way into AAMI Park for the 43rd iteration of the A-League Men’s Melbourne derby.
OK, maybe not. Probably not.
That the vast majority of the people disembarking at Swan Street knew that one of the A-League’s premier fixtures was even on is perhaps questionable. Australia’s national football competition hasn’t penetrated the mainstream for on-field reasons too often these days, a blank space occupying the column inches it previously demanded at its height.
Given that this collection of fans was headed to the MCG for the second night of Taylor Swift’s three shows as part of her Eras Tour, one can hardly blame them for not knowing about the ALM match across the road – the global megastar has had the city in a spin since she touched down.
Indeed, a pre-Derby crowd has never been as bejewelled as the one that made its way down Olympic Boulevard on Saturday evening. Melbourne’s A-League scene doesn’t really have anything one would classify as a defining style beyond maybe a dark T-shirt and scarf, possibly with a bucket hat thrown in. On this evening, though, those sporting this look were lost in a sea of sequins, cowboy boots and hats, and friendship bracelets. So many friendship bracelets.
There was something fun, if not outright ebullient about the contrast between the two groups walking alongside one another, with divergent destinations but nonetheless bonded by community and joy. It also quickly became apparent there was a healthy crossover between the two groups in the number of sporting jerseys being worn. One cohort in the sky or navy blue of City and Victory while the other decked out in the deep red of the Kansas City Chiefs with “Kelce 87” emblazoned across the back.
In theory, the city’s famous sporting precinct by the Yarra was a hub of activity at the weekend. On Friday Western United hosted the Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park – John Aloisi and his side picking up a rare 2-0 win – while across the road Grammy-nominated artists Matchbox Twenty performed at Rod Laver Arena. Beyond the derby at AAMI Park, Saturday also saw the South East Melbourne Phoenix close out an NBL season to forget with a 122-67 thrashing at the hands of the Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena, capping off something of a cruel summer in which they finished bottom of the rankings.
In reality, though, the weekend was all about Swift. You couldn’t hear her performance from AAMI Park on both nights – something of a wall of noise was discernible to the 2,947 fans present for United’s win over the Jets, but the sound created by the 20,877 on Saturday drowned out any hopes of a free concert – but her presence was still ubiquitous.
Western United’s Charbel Shamoon and Luke Vickery arrived four hours early to the ground for fear of being caught up in the crowds, while City had investigated turning Saturday evening’s contest into a double-header by playing their women’s game against Adelaide before the derby, only to discover that suitable accommodation options had been exhausted. The paltry crowd on Friday night suggested United’s attempts to lure parents, partners and chaperones from outside the MCG to the football with free tickets did not have the desired effect.
Most sporting teams would probably give their right arm to tap into what Swift and her team have fastidiously built and maintained over the years; few things able to inspire the same kind of devotion and maintain the same kind of connection with their fanbase on the scale that the 34-year-old musician has.
Australian football can lay claim to coming close through the love the Matildas have inspired – with one sell-out crowd after another – while the NFL got a taste just last week, the “Swift effect” credited with helping Super Bowl LVIII become the most-watched program in US television history.
For now, though, the A-League can only hope that it will soon emerge from out of the woods and get on a similar path.
