'Roar' doing more harm than good

North of the NSW/Queensland border, 'Brisbane Roar' is a moniker that still rankles many with a long memory and is perhaps the main reason the club has struggled to attract fans.

In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare posits: "Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?"

And well may you ask, would Brisbane Roar by any other name play as sweet a brand of attacking football?

Indeed by any other logo, would Matt McKay and Thomas Broich still set the league alight? By any other name, would the club attract more fans to its cavernous Suncorp Stadium?

When the AFL allowed Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions to merge in 1996 the obvious name for the new entity was 'Brisbane Lions'.

There was, however, a football team with the same name, playing in Brisbane’s first division.

Desperate for the merger to succeed, the AFLspent big to buy the brand name and so the football club changed its name to 'Queensland Lions' and went from one of Brisbane’s stronger state league clubs to its dominant force.

It wasn’t so much the name-change that irked the football people of Brisbane, it was more that Lions suddenly became undisputed champion and every other club’s common enemy.

Growing up in the region, I can attest that as a junior the one team you wanted to defeat was Lions. If you had the chance as a senior the one game you wanted to leave your stud marks on was the Lions fixture.

As the trophy cabinet bulged with titles at all levels Queensland Lions invested astutely and slowly became more wealthy. All the while the levels of hate from rival fans and players grew stronger and stronger.

The burgeoning club felt a tilt at the National Soccer League was the only way forward.

The problem was Brisbane already had an NSL team, the 1997 champion Brisbane Strikers.

Strikers supporters felt Lions' push for entry into the national league was a betrayal of their club.

After all, the Strikers represented the entire city. They were a team that united football in Brisbane.

When the NSL wound up and applications were taken for the A-League competition, Brisbane Strikers and Queensland Lions were the only bidders from south-east Queensland.

The issues and reasons as to which club was awarded the licence are unimportant but what is pertinent is that many of the Strikers fans, while supportive of the new league, would and could not support what would eventually become 'Brisbane Roar'.

A-League clubs can ill-afford to disenfranchise any loyal follower of the beautiful game, let alone ones who ritually attended NSL matches until its last breath in 2004.

I met some Strikers supporters while I was recently in the area. The message to Football Federation Australia was as loud as it was clear: they would rather travel an hour down the freeway to watch Gold Coast United then be associated with what they still see as Queensland Lions.

Ties with Queensland Lions were cut two years ago but for many Brisbane football fans the link is still there, through the name, the logo and the colour of the shirt.

Roar management knows it’s a problem and came close to changing it all when it moved its headquarters to Ballymore.

In they end the only change made was the name, which went from 'Queensland' to 'Brisbane'.

A possible solution

It may be costly in the short-time but after speaking to Ben Peacock from communications company Republic of Everyone about A-League marketing I’m convinced that the club will benefit in the long term.

Peacock argues that as long as it’s done properly and is well researched it’s never too late to change your brand.

On a recent visit to Brisbane many football fans expressed disappointment with the Roar playing strip.

A change to all maroon, like Roma’s old days, Sparta Prague or St Pauli would not only be more pleasing aesthetically it would immediately connect with parochial Queenslanders.

Personally I think Sparta would be a great name. It evokes the warrior spirit that Queenslanders love and the line from the film 300 could be used as a marketing campaign.

Imagine Brisbane Sparta coming out at home, in all maroon, with “This is Sparta’ blaring through the speakers.

But there are others far more qualified than myself that can come up with a suitable name and logo.

On the pitch Brisbane seems to be getting everything right, off the pitch the club is starting to connect with the community too.

A change in name, logo and colour would complete the puzzle.