{"id":321769,"date":"2023-08-06T20:15:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T20:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=321769"},"modified":"2023-08-06T21:59:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T21:59:19","slug":"the-matildas-super-fans-urging-australia-to-chant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=321769","title":{"rendered":"The Matildas super fans urging Australia to chant"},"content":{"rendered":"

It took a call to action from Matildas<\/a> players to fill AAMI Park with stadium-rattling noise on Monday night.<\/p>\n

With the players pushing punters to unchain themselves from their usual pleasantries and get on their feet, everything but booing the opposition's national anthem was encouraged to help lift the team from the jaws of elimination.<\/p>\n

"Whatever the crowd wants to bring, we're willing to accept it," Sam Kerr<\/a> said ahead of Australia's do-or-die group match against Canada, won by the Matildas 4-0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\ufeff<\/strong> US dumped from World Cup as VAR rocks Americans<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Coach calls for 'respect' after helicopter spies on Matildas<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> What yellow card means for shattered World Cup star<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

"Whatever you need to do, I know that you can help us get over the line," urged Ellie Carpenter.<\/p>\n

\"Australia<\/p>\n

Australia is a sporting nation but not necessarily a football nation… yet.<\/p>\n

It is hoped that as Australia progresses deeper at its home World Cup, and through the legacy of the four-week tournament<\/a>, Australians will form a greater attachment to the Matildas and, in due course, be willing to shout it from the stadium stands.<\/p>\n

"As Australians we love sports. No matter what it is, we're always \ufeffgoing to turn up," Cat Gaggin, a member of the Matildas Active Support group, tells Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

"We are a group that is turning up and getting loud, and hopefully the more that we win and the more matches that we play\ufeff, the louder we'll get."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While the Australian crowds for the FIFA Women's World Cup<\/a> have been record-breaking across the tournament, our sub-par chants and songs have been thrust into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

As we open our stadiums to the crazy world of football fandom, it has become most obvious that either Australians don't know how to chant or they simply aren't willing to give it a crack.<\/p>\n

And while this sort of self-conscious behaviour may be acceptable in other sports, it is not the way of the world game.<\/p>\n

This sentiment is echoed by long-standing members of Matildas Active Support, who believe Australian supporters are too comfortable simply sitting back and taking it all in.<\/p>\n

"I think Australian sporting crowds are conservative in general," Liam Parslow says.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffAustralian sporting fans like to be entertained but football crowds are different; we like to be involved, more hands-on, and we're very vocal and passionate."<\/p>\n

\"Asking<\/p>\n

Group figurehead Majella Card adds: "Australians are theatregoers. They want to be entertained by the crowd but they sometimes don't want to contribute to it."<\/p>\n

The members also agree that the stadium atmosphere brought to Australia's east coast cities during the group stage was a reflection of the nation's embryonic football culture.<\/p>\n

While \ufeffthe popularity of football in Australia is exceeded by other codes such as the AFL and NRL, this World Cup is expected to go a long way in growing the sport<\/a>, particularly for women and girls.<\/p>\n

"It is so many people's first football match that they're getting to see live and it is also their first chance to see the Matildas \ufeffplay," Gaggin says.<\/p>\n

"With this World Cup on home soil, we need to build on people wanting to come to the football and then we can build the chants up from there."<\/p>\n

\"Australia<\/p>\n

"There are also a lot of families and kids\ufeff that are wanting to get involved for the first time," Demi Mason-Smith adds.<\/p>\n

"They will become the new fans and that's what we need."<\/p>\n

Because of this discrepancy, the members do not believe the criticism, nor the comparison of the World Cup experience in Australia to that of the other big football nations, is fair.<\/p>\n

"European and South American football, they've been doing this for generations. Their chants have been around for generations," Parslow says.<\/p>\n

"We can't compare as that's their life, football is everything to them."<\/p>\n

"If you're going along to \ufeffBrazil's games or Colombia's games and you're enjoying the atmosphere, take a leaf out of their books because that's what we want but people need to join in to create that," Card adds.<\/p>\n

\"Columbia<\/p>\n

Gaggin has attended four World Cups and admits this tournament, albeit her first Women's World Cup, is the first crowd she has felt safe in.<\/p>\n

With a greater percentage of women, children and families making up the crowds Down Under, it appears the typical wild scenes stirred up by flare-throwing and rowdy football fans may not be recreated in Australia.<\/p>\n

"People are here to watch the football and enjoy\ufeff. No one is turning up and behaving badly or yelling abuse at the players," Gaggin says.<\/p>\n

"It's been respectful, everyone has had their own space, there has been no one harassing you, everyone is there to enjoy the football, create an encouraging environment and support the women on the field. It's been great."<\/p>\n

With no \ufeffinstruction manual for how to create stadium atmosphere, Matildas \ufeffActive Support has taken on the task itself and is sparing no effort to create an all-embracing environment complete with its own creative chants.<\/p>\n

This reporter first saw the group at Suncorp Stadium ahead of Australia's 3-2 loss to Nigeria<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So loud was the group's drum beat and chanting that they could be heard well before they were seen.<\/p>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

Sitting across the stadium from the active support group, you could see eye-catching outfits and face paint, and frantically waved hand-made banners as they made their way to their seats. Only they never sat down.<\/p>\n

There was also a distribution \ufeffof pamphlets with a link \ufeffto the group's collection of self-composed chants and songs on their website and a prearrangement with FIFA to have their tickets linked to create their own designated active area.<\/p>\n

"We're trying to get everyone on board with the same songs. They are pretty easy to learn once you know them," Gaggin says.<\/p>\n

"Even if you don't want to get up and sing, \ufeffclap along with the beat of the drums because the drums are always going," Card adds.<\/p>\n

This \ufeffgoes further than the Australian sporting staple, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie<\/em>.<\/p>\n

With an array of original chants including a \ufeffplay on Waltzing Matilda<\/em> and player-specific songs such as fan favourite "My neck, my back, my Alex Chidiac," the group is spearheading a unique identity for Australian women's football.<\/p>\n

\"Waltzing<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, there is still one chant the group is itching to perform to the world – its Sam Kerr special which is sung to the tune of Freed From Desire<\/em> by Gala Rizzatto.<\/p>\n

"The second she goes near the line to come on we will belt it out," Mason-Smith says.<\/p>\n

Won't that make for one phenomenal reception?<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It took a call to action from Matildas players to fill AAMI Park with stadium-rattling noise on Monday night. With the players pushing punters to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":321771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=321769"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321779,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321769\/revisions\/321779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/321771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=321769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=321769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=321769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}