We will admit that we were not sure about the FFA’s plans for Big Wednesday, scheduling all A League games across New Zealand and Australia back to back on the same day, but it appears to have been a huge success with good crowds attending most venues and some superb football served up.
We wondered how many people would be tuning in around the country as the nation went back to work, but it seems many managed a sneak view of many of the games.
One thing that would have helped as with so many holidays at this time of year it is hard to know what day it is, was if Fox Sports had not had the “Match Day Saturday” backdrop in the studio. For some of us who are still struggling to get into 2012, this added to the confusion. Overall thought it was a great initiative and appeared to be hugely successful.
John, as always you make some very valid points. It will be interesting if the mercury does rise next year.
It does appear the FFA’s Big Wednesday fixturing has indeed been a success. However I feel it was more luck than clever planning and unless Ben Buckley will be unvailing something secret at the next round of International Climate Change talks they may not be so lucky next year.
While scheduling sporting competions during the Australian summer has it obvious pitfalls, including the Christmas season, I wouldn’t be real happy having to play a game at 3pm on January 4th. Thankfully this year the weather Gods were smiling on the FFA. Only a 2 days previously Melbourne had sweltered.
I have no doubt that the host broadcaster will put a lot of pressure on the FFA to repeat the fixture for next season, and we can all sit back in our air-conditioned loungerooms, sucking back cold beer and watching professional athletes wilt away under the Australian summer sun. I believe that the players and the spectators deserve a bit better treatment than that. Administrators in many sports try to fixture around the summer weather where possible. Why would you deliberatley endanger your athletes by scheduling games at times you know could potentially be physically dangerous (next time it’s 36 degrees go for a 45 min jog around your local oval and throw a few sprints in as well, see how you go) and certainly won’t allow them to play football of a quality or style that will have people like me going to watch.
The weather gods are a fickle bunch already, just ask Ian Plimer and Tim Flannery. With Perth and Wellington providing some latitude in the fixturing due to the time differance, maybe we should settle for a double up of games or 2, rather than spoil what should be a great feast with a substandard game that is to the detriment of the players just to satisfy lazy buggers like me sitting on our arse at home