Sun, bikinis, nightclubs, meter maids, theme parks and Warrick Capper are some of the things that spring to mind when we think of the Gold Coast.
One of the things that isn't so well know is the fact the the Goldy is fast becoming Australia's biggest graveyard for national sporting teams. The Coast is a revolving door for a string of glamour organisations that have have rolled into town with all guns blazing, then crashed and burned in a very short period.
The Rollers, the Seagulls, the Bears, the Cougars, GC United and the Chargers are teams just off the top of my head that have been and quickly gone on the Coast. The Titans and Blaze are currently on thin ice and the Indy/V8's race has done it's absolute best over the years to crash and burn.
Why do these teams fail in an environment that loves its sport and an has everything a successful team needs to succeed? In my humble opinion there are a number of factors that have contributed to making my home region a national laughing stock in sporting circles. Here are a couple:
1. Fickle fans
Gold Coasters are cool, laid back people, that love anything shiny and new. They get wrapped up in the excitement and flock to new enterprises, one-offs and have been know to attend the opening of someones fly. On the downside if a team starts losing, or doesn't begin winning (Suns I'm looking at you), Gold Coast fans will drop off and find the next big thing.
Sports teams shouldn't be offended. It's the same with nightclubs, restaurants and fashion. Gold Coasters will love it, do it and then ditch it. They need be convinced to hang around for the long haul.
2. Shocking Management
The carnage of the Gold Coast's sporting landscape is massively due to the arrogance and flamboyance of some of the management teams. Clive Palmer and Michael Searle are two recent examples. One a big man desperate to show how big he really is and the other wanting to be bigger than he really is. Both claimed to be passionate about their respective organisations, both have rode them into the ground. Palmer has robbed the Coast of ever getting a chance in the A-League again and Searle will have done the same for league if the Titans crumble under the weight of massive debt.
Palmer is a miner - not a sports administrator. GC United was a toy and his lack of touch with the game, fans and the sport itself, eventually extinguished a promising enterprise. He figured cash alone would buy success, but his style and arrogance scared the fans off and effectively destroyed soccer in the region. I don't think big Clive gave a rats arse.....shame.
Searle on the other hand started off strong. The Titans were the envy of the league. They built a sensational brand in their early years. On field they displayed heart and grit and their wonderful Stadium brought in the fans. A passionate Searle had done well, but wanted to grow too fast too soon. He wanted to be the big man on campus, without taking any classes. He threw around cash the club didn't have. The place was a Ferrari on the outside but was running on a Daewo engine.
Once the on-field grit started to fade, the crowds thinned and gloss on the shiny Titan's helmet had worn off. Only a miracle will save the Titans and I hope they get one. Time will tell.
These only a couple of botched efforts in a sorry roll call of disasters. How can so many teams in the one area be so mis-managed? For sports lovers like myself it is a tragedy. Up until recently we had the Suns, Blaze, United and the Titans all on our door step. Admittedly, I didn't go every week, but to have so many options on the Coast was a sports lovers dream. It may be partly my fault....nah.
Golden ticket
The nutty professor of soccer, Miron Bleiberg came up with an idea for a Gold Coast sports lovers pass. A golden ticket that would give purchasers the choice to attend one of the four major sports codes for a pre-selected amount of games. I thought it was genius. Perfect for a place that can't make its mind up, ideal for people that want to go to sport sometimes, a winner for those new to sport and wanting to try before they buy. The media tore Bleiberg to shreds, critics said he was nuts, but at least he could see the rot setting in and was trying to come up with an answer.
Too many sit on their hands and fail to see the urgency in a problem - Not the mighty Bleiberg!
My ingredients to a successful team on the coast (or anywhere really) is as follows:
1. Engage a new audience early. (marketing, advertising, public interaction)
2. Start ticket prices off sensibly low. (a full stadium of $10 paying fans creates more buzz than an empty stadium of $50 paying fans - no shit!)
3. Be strong on junior development.
4. Get players that aren't tossers.
5. Grow the club gradually.
6. Make the fans the number 1 priority.
7. Win!
The Gold Coast Suns are the great white hope for long term success and currently have ticked all the boxes, but one. Point number 7 is the hardest of all to obtain, but once they do start winning the club will explode and hopefully become the benchmark for any future teams that are lucky enough to get a sniff on the Coast in the future.
As I said earlier, the Gold Coast is a sporting graveyard. The Commonwealth Games could be our chance to gain some street cred. The bumbling we've seen so far by the games committee has me quaking in my duds. I just have a fear in my guts, that the Games will be embarrassing....so negative...so GC.....so Tragic.
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