The most vivid, remarkable reactions of the people watching the soccer game between Australia and Denmark last night in Oakleigh are not easy to put on paper. Not only because they were mostly non-verbal, consisting of the periodic collective exclamations that usually come from people watching a competitive sport together, but also because, when they were verbal, they included words that a family paper does not normally print.
Take, for instance, the loud “S**t, Ma**ka!” that almost made Vanilla tremble, when Mathew Leckie’s ball towards Robbie Kruse was hacked away at the last minute. It was the one of the rare moments that the establishment, one of Oakleigh’s staples and a meeting point for Greeks reminded what it looks like when Greeks watch football.
Other than that, the atmosphere was as relaxed and calm as any given night. If the large TV screen was not tuned to SBS and to the FIFA world cup game, things would not have been different, probably.
Maybe it was the cold that kept the soccer fans at home, or maybe it was a relative lack of interest for Australia’s team – things are always more heated when Greece plays. Kostas Deves, our photographer, attested to that. He met me at Vanilla after paying a visit to the Oakleigh Cannons FC, where some fans had gathered to watch the game.
Whatever the reason, Oakleigh was pretty silent on Thursday night and – bar from a handful of tables at Vanilla, Risk and Niko’s Cakes – most were indifferent to what was going on at the football field. When they were not talking with their friends, patrons were mostly looking at their phones, rather than looking at the big screen on the wall. At times, they regained interest, mostly when the Socceroos made decent attempts for a second goal.
“Where is your hidden back?” one shouted, calling for the coach to use a defender as a surprise asset.
When Daniel Arzani was introduced for Robbie Kruse, eyes were up on the screen again; the young player revived the game and raised expectations, but some voices were still calling for a last-minute intervention by Tim Cahill that never came. In the end, after Australia managed to stay alive – they all returned to their conversations and drinks – which, to my surprise, were largely non-alcoholic.
It makes sense. When you’re facing a cold winter night – and a lukewarm, uneventful soccer game – you really need a strong dose of caffeine, rather than a beer. Will this change when the soccerroos face Peru, aiming for a win by at least one goal, in order to stay at the tournament? Considering that this game is on Wednesday, at Midnight, an even stronger dose of caffeine might be needed. And even Oakleigh might be sleeping at that time.