Corteo: WSW v SFC - Commbank Stadium, Parramatta.
Tue, Nov 23.21
New season. New series. We're going to hit up Australia's best stadiums and biggest games for the 21/22 A-Leagues.
We want to start in the street, taking in all the action pre-game before the corteo (procession) heads to the stadium for the game. CommBank Stadium had to be the first stadium we visited for this new series. It's the newest stadium in the league and we're okay with saying it's the best, even if most of us are based in Melbourne. If AAMI Park updates the green two tone seats for something more aesthetically pleasing to a camera that would help. What sets this stadium apart though is the steep stands. Immense.
We headed to the game with Aleksandar Jason. You'll most likely know him as @thatfootballphotog on Instagram or @talkingshirt on Twitter. We'd been pumped for this one for a while. Sydney fans have talked up their derby as the best, but is it really? After a couple of COVID affected years we were desperate to head up for the opening game to find out. We weren't disappointed... even if there's a bit to say about scheduling arguably the biggest game of the season in round one.
We got the early flight up and started the day off catching up with Kuzi for an early feed. For those wondering, his recovery is going well. It won't be too long before we see FC Ultra's finest back on the pitch. The food was on point but whatever was going on with the joint's reception was killing us. We were running late for a shoot at CommBank and the shit reception was making transport impossible to book. Dramas. The fact we definitely left it late didn't help - but blaming stuff on others is easier in scenarios like this. We blamed everyone.
After 25 minutes or so it finally looked like we could book a ride. Uber was looking for $271 to get from Alexandria to CommBank though. Really? Is it just us or is Uber a complete joke these days? Over to the 13 CABS app in a panic which ended up causing a block on one of our cards because of the shit reception. We were having a mare... definitely. Note to self and anyone reading - hire a car in Sydney.
We eventually got hold of a cab the old school way; the classic phone call got it done. The issue with the old school way is the robot on the line who provides updates about how far away the cab is to the exact (apparently) meter in regular, painfully frustrating, intervals. Hearing how slow the car was moving to our location in Sydney traffic wasn't chilling us out. Your stadium might be a bit better Sydney, but your traffic sucks.
When the cab finally did come, the driver spent most of the time aiming for the centre of the lane lines. He was taking up two lanes at all times on the freeway. It was as cooked as Aleks looked as he fought off car sickness in the back seat. It was an experience. We got there though... somehow.
After checking in at the stadium with Jess at the Wanderers (who is an absolute legend by the way) we headed to Parramattas main drag. Aleks had been to the game 4 times already. This was my first time there and I must say, rather ignorantly, Parramatta was doing a fair bit more than I thought it would be. Definitely more character than certain other cities in Aus, too. I hadn't had a clue there were high rise buildings out there. The Parramatta river is a nice spot as well. The best part though - you could sense the one team town vibes. Red and black flags lined the streets and parks, which is exactly the sort of stuff you want to see.
We were also big fans of the graffiti seen around the streets. 'RBB', 'Sydney Bay 23' and 'Fuck RBB' were some of the tags seen around the stadium, all adding flavour to a rivalry we hope continues to build for years to come.
Just before go time we caught up with Rosa and Chrissi from The Ladies League, along with Chrissi's brother, Alex at Alex&Co - fitting! Chrissi, a seasoned RBB veteran even at a young age, gave us the rundown of proceedings. We were pumped to see things unfold and soon enough we were heading back over the river into Prince Alfred Square for the Corteo. Some buskers we saw earlier in the park swiftly packed up when they knew their noise was going to be drowned out by something greater.
We said goodbye to Chrissi and her brother, knowing they were going to get caught up in the red and black wave that was about to engulf the streets and stadium. They disappeared into the masses and it wasn't long before the drums and and some pyro turned the park into a fairground for fans. It was ace. "Who we do sing for" - off they went.
You know years ago when people used to shit themselves whenever any "active" support looked like it was getting a bit too excitable? It was deemed damaging for the league and so on. I thought about that period when I was in the park looking at people from all age groups; men, women and children. All absolutely loving what was going on by the way. No one panicking. Why? Because you sign up for this stuff if you're there. The same goes in the stadium. If you're scared of a group of people giving it their all and supporting for 90+ minutes, as well as everything they do in the lead up to match day... sit somewhere else. That's fine.
We often mention this and we'll say it one more time to start off this series. The A-Leagues will never, probably ever, be the pinnacle football code on pitch in Australia. AFL and NRL are the peak of their respective codes around the world. What we can be though is unrivalled in the stands. A code where fans who don't get it come to games and think "fucking hell, those people behind the goals don't stop.... this atmosphere is ace!" - this is what we as a code should all be striving for. The clubs, league and everyone connected with football need to understand it and strive to be the best. How? Working closely with the fans and not being scared of it.
After a short while the Corteo paused out the front of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. "We're from the streets of Western Sydney" broke out as the RBB made Victoria road look like a bounce centre. Vibe check, everyone was loving it.
The last thing we caught before heading into the stadium was the pause in front of the stadium at O'Connell street. This was the last war cry before everyone headed inside, with fans finishing with a strong rendition of "Fuck Off East Sydney" - brilliant. We made our way to the back of the group and saw a banner unveiled which read 'Wanderers Family Together.' This was a united front, ready to remind everyone that they're they loudest and proudest in Sydney.
Once we were pitchside we enjoyed the show. The RBB gave it everything throughout and to their credit, The Cove travelled in massive numbers and were loud as hell as well. We were in front of The Cove in the first half and the RBB in the second, both were brilliant and deserved a goal. Would we have had a goal if this game was played a few rounds into the season? Probably. That's something I hope the league takes note of for the future. Derbies round one aren't it... why not build up to it so the product is better overall.
Where to next? The Melbourne derby looks the goods and we want to catch a game at Hindmarsh. Stay tuned - we'll be visiting your club soon enough.
Photography by Aleksandar Jason.
Photography by Aleksandar Jason.
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