Australia. Land of Harold Bishop, barbecues and bigotry. Well it wouldn't be a World Cup without a good dose of outdated, erroneous stereotyping, would it?
Just ask John Huxley in today's Sydney Morning Herald, geeing up the New South Wales punters in a preamble to today's match against Japan: "Soccer's a sport still considered by many Australians as suitable only for 'sheilas, wogs and poofters'," he says, putting the offending words in inverted commas to indicate that he would never have written the line if it weren't for the crowds of people shouting it under his window. Naturally. I think what he's trying to say is that they don't like football much in Australia.
Which leaves Socceroos fans in something of a quandary, now, since they beat Japan 3-1 this afternoon. What to do? Stay quiet so as not to draw attention to their "limp-wristed" (do you see?) ways? Or react to sporting achievement in the obligatory Australian way and shake their manly fists at people, shrieking "Yes!!! Get in!!!"?
Given that Australia were looking as likely to escape from Group F as David Blaine handcuffed to the bottom of his underwater tank without his trusty bolt cutters before Tim Cahill popped up with two goals in the last six minutes, perhaps the former might be a good idea, no matter what their persuasion.
But maybe today's win can turn soccer into a sport for anyone, no matter how much testosterone they're carting around? It was pure Hollywood stuff, them coming back at the death like that, and Brazil are up next ...
