By Roy Masters
Sydney Morning Herald
May 3rd, 2003
A suburban football ground has a place in our hearts because of what we think it was, rather than what it is. It rekindles memories of gates thrown open at half-time and kids and their fathers flooding in for free.
The sound of players' boots on concrete; the laughter of children rolling down grassy hills; the aroma of hot dogs and the gruff uncle snarl of the doubles seller.
We forget the days huddled from the rain; the toilet queues and the long wait in the car park after the match.
The Dragons return to Kogarah tomorrow, and based on the volume of telephone calls in my vicinity, the grand old ground will host a number of reunions.
It's unlikely the young fans who last saw the Dragons play at Kogarah in 1999 will be disappointed. Thirteen new turnstyles, upgraded toilets, bucket seats, wheelchair access, corporate seating quadrupled, new media boxes and automated food outlets will greet them for the match against the Sharks.
The refurbished ground fits 17,000, including 5500 seated fans, meaning there is still plenty of room for people to stand or sit on the hill.
Leichhardt Oval will also host the Broncos tomorrow and Manly are now back at Brookvale, meaning the grounds which the mid-90s rationalists sought to kill have all seen the white light and returned to life.
Remember what the economic Darwinists wanted?
The St George Illawarra joint venture was supposed to divide its games between WIN Stadium, Wollongong and Aussie Stadium, Sydney, while Wests were expected to disappear in a Bulldogs takeover which would play most of its games at Homebush.
Similarly, Balmain was expected to vanish in a Parramatta takeover which would play all its games at Parramatta Stadium, rendering Leichhardt obsolete. The Northern Eagles were to play half their matches at Gosford and half at Brookvale.
Rugby league's town planners treated the code like a piece of butcher's paper.
One very senior executive, in an attempt to convince me of the advantages of rationalisation, took me to lunch, cast aside the empty plates and drew the new map on actual butcher's paper. He then crunched up the piece of paper into a ball and looked around for a place where it could not be retrieved.
Now, we have the Dragons abandoning Aussie Stadium for Kogarah; the stand-alone Bulldogs actually transferring a home match against the Warriors to Wellington, New Zealand; Manly playing all games at Brookvale, and Leichhardt crowds helping push Wests Tigers crowds above the NRL average of 15,003.
The gap between clubs with traditionally high attendances and those deemed to be endangered has closed. Eight clubs are above the average - Roosters, Knights, Bulldogs, Broncos, Raiders, Warriors, Cowboys and Wests Tigers; seven are below - Panthers, Parramatta, Dragons, Sharks, Sea Eagles, Storm and Rabbitohs.
The Dragons' attendances will increase with the return to Kogarah and improved form.
Suburban grounds stop our sepia-tinted memories fading too rapidly.
I was reminded of this when three young men talked for three hours about their recollections of being at Lidcombe Oval and Kogarah Oval with their fathers. They nominated opponents, results, send-offs, crowds and man of the match awards with unnerving accuracy.
Sure, kids have memories of being at Aussie Stadium and Telstra Stadium with their dads, but these grounds have multiple users and stage double-headers.
Lidcombe belonged to Wests and Kogarah to the Dragons.
However, suburban grounds are not the saviours of the game; the quality of the game on the field will always be the most powerful attraction.
Right now, the product is outstanding, and upsets common.
The increase in audience will come not from suburban attendance but pay TV reach. For $12 a week, you can watch five games, three of which are live and two on two-hour delay.
In Sydney, it takes half a day to go to the football, whereas you can spend 90 minutes at home and not be breathalysed.
Still, memories of great games rarely involve the lounge room. They always embrace the ground, especially quaint suburban ones with almost toy-like grandstands.
When games are right, it's like pulling a blanket over your head when you were a kid: nothing outside that little space exists.
Happy memories for the kids returning to Kogarah tomorrow.
Copyright © 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald