Melbourne loves its sport. There are 36 professional sports teams playing in the Capital of Victoria, ranging from high profile sports like the AFL (Collingwood Magpies, Essendon Bombers) to sports that aren’t on most of the population’s radar like Water Polo (Victoria Tigers). This shows how much Melbournites love their sport, and what is even more impressive is that total doesn’t include other Victorian teams like Geelong or even elite level junior levels. Talk about being the sporting capital of Australia.
What does irk me is that one of the most popular sports in Australia has failed so many times at having a second basketball team. Let’s go through the obituaries, shall we:
· Nunawading Spectres – 1979-1986 (Became Eastside Spectres)
· St. Kilda Saints – 1979-1986 (Became Westside Saints)
· Coburg Giants – 1980-1984 (Became North Melbourne Giants)
· Geelong Cats/Supercats – 1982-1996
· Frankston Bears – 1983-1984
· Melbourne Tigers – 1984-Present
· Westside Saints – 1987-1990 (Became South Melbourne Saints)
· Eastside Spectres – 1987-1991 (Merged with Southern Melbourne Saints to become South East Melbourne Magic)
· North Melbourne Giants – 1987-1998 (Merged with South East Melbourne Magic to become Victoria Titans)
· Southern Melbourne Saints – 1991 (Merged with Eastside Spectres to become South East Melbourne Magic)
· South East Melbourne Magic – 1992-1998 (Merged with North Melbourne Giants to become Victoria Titans)
· Victoria Titans – 1998-2002 (Became Victoria Giants)
· Victoria Giants – 2002-2004
· South Dragons – 2006-2009
As you can see, anyone other than the Melbourne Tigers have come and gone or morphed into something different. Coming from the perspective of someone who grew up in the 90s with the Giants/Magic/Tigers rivalry basketball was at its peak. It was almost to the stage where being a Giants supporter (like myself) would cause ridicule to rain down upon me just because I would go for North Melbourne and we didn’t have Sam Mackinnon. The Titans and Giants had a good run but at that stage society was either a Tigers supporter or had lost interest in the sport and couldn’t get the income to keep going.
So what happened?
Most supporters are bandwagons supporters. They love teams that are new and teams that win. So when the sheen dropped off these teams and basketball went into its post-Jordan funk the teams couldn’t survive. The Tigers had gained support of lasting fans, the ones that stay with a team even if they lose. They recruited genuine fans. That is why I thought the Dragons would last because they had the bandwagon jumpers flock to the team because they were new and loud and had Shane Heal. A few jumped off when they started to lose in their first season but when they started winning the next year all was forgiven. They had the best of both worlds; the die-hard fans that stuck it out and were rewarded with a championship and the newcomers were drawn to the winning atmosphere. But alas, they also went the way of music on MTV.
I had all but given up on another Melbourne team but only a few weeks ago I was shown an article in the Herald Sun (also on website, see below) that there has been “an official application for a second team in Melbourne.” This team is expected to be based in Knox which is a fantastic idea. That area is teeming with huge basketball communities which gives the team a massive boost in support right from the get go. With the Tigers looking after the city fans this new Melbourne team will have families coming to games left, right and centre while still being accessible to inner city dwellers due to being close to Eastlink.
The team shouldn’t come this season though, that chance needs to go to Brisbane. Sure there will be four Queensland teams in the NBL but the state is big enough to have two sections: south side with Brisbane and Gold Coast while the northern tropics are represented by Townsville and Cairns. Brisbane is too much of an untapped market that they should have another chance for a franchise. I do have one problem that only a few people would share but as this is my blog I feel this should be aired. I hate that there are rounds where teams play twice or teams don’t play at all stemming from having nine teams in the league. If there were an even number of teams playing then each club could have one game each round with five games making up a round. So if Brisbane comes into the competition then when a second Melbourne team tries to get in the balance of the league will become out of whack.
That is small fry compared to the positives of having another Melbourne team. The area is fantastic while supporting a Melbourne team other than the Tigers is just the bee’s knees. Whoever the backers are for this team need to be smart and not just go for the quick money. Building up a solid, consistent fan base while making sure the bandwagon jumpers don’t get bored is vital for the team to be successful. Who knows, maybe I will be rocking a Knox Slamma Jammers jersey to go with my Mark Worthington South Dragons singlet and North Melbourne Giants wall poster.
Herald Sun page - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bid-for-second-melbourne-team-in-nbl/story-fnanosvn-1226204113133
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