I’m a long-time Sydney FC supporter (e.g. was at the first ever game in 2005, used to go to the Campsie Hotel to watch the away games in the early days (possibly with some of you), etc).
Fast forward 16 years. Now I am living in Melbourne (moved here because of work and family) and now my oldest son is growing up and is becoming interested in soccer and wants me to take him to AAMI Park to watch some professional games with either City or Victory.
I have tried to get him to support Sydney FC but he just doesn’t feel any connection with the team because he was born and has lived all of his young life so far in Melbourne (which I must admit I can understand).
I took him to the grand final a few months ago and to my disappointment he said he was glad that Melbourne City won. However, he has recently been asking me about Melbourne Victory and wants to go to some of their games next season too.
Obviously, Victory have historically always been our biggest rivals but it seems as though City are going to be a bigger challenge in the future and a rivalry might develop their too. I live in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, so encouraging my son to support Western United isn’t really an option.
Therefore, in light of all this, I come back to my original question: Should I encourage him to support Melbourne City FC – obviously for the reason that then at least I know he won’t be a supporter of Victory?
I’d be interested to know what you guys think, and looking for people who can actually properly understand my situation, not the “You’re an idiot for moving to Melbourne” kind of advice.
Melbourne City will never be a rival. They’re just one other team in the A-League. It sucks that sometimes we lose to them, but it doesn’t really eat away at you.
I doubt it, and if that does happen it would only be because of a sustained period of success for City and failure for Victory. The moment Victory have a good season they’ll get the crowds back and they’ll feel like the biggest team in the city again.
Pragmatically, I’d say the best thing to do is encourage the City supporting. Lesser of two evils. It also means you’d both be supporting the same side when we play Victory.
Melb City are the best pick you’ve got there unfortunately. If it keeps him interested in the game and gives you both a common interest then let him follow them. A common interest is exactly that. Whether you follow rival teams or not. It will always give you something to talk about and bond over.
I’m a Man United fan. So was my dad. It’s why I follow them. My son has chosen to support Liverpool in the premier league. I don’t much like it and my dad wants to know how I fucked that up. But it keeps him interested in the game and builds our bond. And truthfully I don’t mind seeing Liverpool not lose as much as I used to because I know it will make my son happy. Being a parent is a whole different level of love.
Is there a fire station doorstep you can leave him on?
Seriously though, I understand wanting to pass on a team even if you live out of area, but I can also understand a Melbourne kid supporting a Melbourne team.
I say if he’s leaning toward supporting a Victorian team in the AL rather than Sydney, nudge him toward City over Victory. Victory will always be a rival regardless of our relative positions on the table. City is only really a concern when we’re competing for titles. A good bonus will be that he’ll grow to hate Melbourne Victory.
Also, consider if he’d made a similar comment about Victory winning the GF in 2015. Would you have felt worse? Would you feel worse taking him to Victory games on a regular basis than you would taking him to City games? You are basically taking on a whole extra load when your young kid supports a different club to you. Think about which will make you feel less shit.
I often tease my mum about failing to do her job re Esteghlal, with me ending up a Perspolis fan. Although, truthfully, both are us are pretty casual with our Iranian club football support, so neither of us particularly have an intense hatred of the other club. My uncle and his son are both Esteghlal supporters but the same uncle and cousin support Liverpool and United respectively. Thinking my uncle wasn’t quite as zealous with Liverpool, or it was just completely random. Fortunately, I spread my Sky Blues disease to my mum. Helps that we’re from here.
I wouldn’t worry tbh, just take him to matches for both teams and let him decide naturally. If he decides that Victory is for him then so be it. At least the big blues will be great fun
