How do Australians rate the A- League?

I've been getting some mixed feedback on how Aussies view the A-league.
What I gather is this

a) Some think it's a crap league. Waste of time.
b) Some think it's an exciting league with a lot of potential.

Most seem to agree that the media does a poor job marketing it and usually tries to make it look bad to non soccer fans by comparing it unfairly to the likes of the Premier League.

I've organized to watch a few Brisbane Roar games, so I wanted to know what I was getting myself into

I'm not an Aussie, but I probably follow it more closely than any SG regular other than Parra or Alex.

It's okay, obviously it has a long way to go, but it's a young league. It has some good players, and the top teams are pretty good. Brisbane, however, are rank.

Bobby;2775271 said:

I'm not an Aussie, but I probably follow it more closely than any SG regular other than Parra or Alex.

It's okay, obviously it has a long way to go, but it's a young league. It has some good players, and the top teams are pretty good. Brisbane, however, are rank.

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To be honest, One of the things that I DESPISE about the MLS is the playoff system. It's impossible to get a whole community excited throughout a season as you build on every win. Even if you do make the playoffs, the city will be into the team for about 1 week (until they get eliminated).

I'm glad that at least the A-league/ J-League (ie: the "new age leagues") have kept some kind of system which values the result of the actual season.
But isn't there a "Grand Final" between the top 2, to decide the a-league champion?

Bobby;2775271 said:

I'm not an Aussie, but I probably follow it more closely than any SG regular other than Parra or Alex.

It's okay, obviously it has a long way to go, but it's a young league. It has some good players, and the top teams are pretty good. Brisbane, however, are rank.

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Bobby, how do you get to watch the league. What time are the games on for you? Also, what made you interested in it?

The A-League has playoffs.

The regular season champion is referred to as the "premier", rather than "champion". The top four enter the post-season, the playoff system is different though. There's a "major" semi-final in which 1st plays 2nd, and a "minor" semi-final in which 3rd plays 4th. The loser of the "major" semi and winner of the "minor" semi move on to the preliminary final, and the winner of the major semi goes directly to the grand final. The grand final involves the winner of the major semi and prelim. final.

It comes on FSC in the US.

Honestly? Hearing Rob yap about it all the time got me interested. I'm an Adelaide supporter, passively.

Yeh, that system is a relic of AFL "Aussie Rules" football.

Bobby;2775296 said:

It comes on FSC in the US.

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Yeah I sometimes stumble upon it on FSC. The presentation and commentary are mediocre at best and the crowd atmosphere is disappointing but the quality of football is alright. I definitely enjoy watching the highlights of the weekly matches though and witness some cracking goals every now and then.

Interesting way to play it out. At least you have the top 4 go at it, and not 8/13
I figured it came out of the AFL. Especially with the final being called "The Grand Final" too.

night;2775302 said:

Yeah I sometimes stumble upon it on FSC. The presentation and commentary are mediocre at best and the crowd atmosphere is disappointing but the quality of football is alright. I definitely enjoy watching the highlights of the weekly matches though and witness some cracking goals every now and then.

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From what I have seen, the best fans are Melbourne Victory's.

By some way. Melbourne is arguably the sporting capital of the world.

pasion1;2775352 said:

From what I have seen, the best fans are Melbourne Victory's.

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Well when you are located in Melbourne, as bobby said, arguably the sporting capital of the world, and the biggest stadium out of all the teams (Etihad is bigger than Suncorp i think) your going to get a good atmposhere. The commentary is crap beacuse they have commentators who pretend they know everything about every sport (which they don't) which makes for some average commentary.

Bobby;2775271 said:

I'm not an Aussie, but I probably follow it more closely than any SG regular other than Parra or Alex.

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That's probably because in Australia you need pay television to watch the matches, otherwise i'd watch them all, and so would many other Australians.

Javyol;2775900 said:

That's probably because in Australia you need pay television to watch the matches, otherwise i'd watch them all, and so would many other Australians.

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seconded