Let's get little

by RICK KANE

LET'S think little. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a new concept. Those of you familiar with Lyotard's work, for example, would recognise in such a simple statement the similarity to his argument for little narratives.

So, with the big night, awarding and celebrating the toppest player done with, as the season draws to its magnificent conclusion, and the media spins into a tsunami of rhetoric, half blown analysis, self congratulatory reflections from a brown eye, mythological malapropisms and profound opinion pieces that equate football with the core of the human spirit in a way that would have Hegel heaving, let us stop and take stock of small organs that are also a part of the game's life system.

This year marks the end of Channel Seven's 45 year, psuedo-totalitarian reign as footy's TV station. Some might argue that it is also the beginning of an even more frightening reign - in the land of the struggling dollar, the US currency is king. In the shadow of such grand edifices I choose to shine a congratulatory light on a relatively inconspicuous organ in said system, Channel 31's football coverage. (I am, here, referring specifically to the Melbourne community station.)

If you care to move the thumb about 1cm across the remote that you undoubtedly have in your grubby little clutches to C 31 and thereby take a break from what you so rigidly watch it is a wonder you require a remote at all, you could chance upon ... wait for it - more FOOTY.

It ain't the slickest, hippest stuff going round but it is footy. And C 31 has a stack of it. Squeezed between exotica such as Romanian Mozaic and Entre Todos you will find Dee TV or WRFL Footy Fever. Dee TV, by the way, is a program about Melbourne Football Club. It ain't the reality TV cum soap opera of the actual comings and goings of that club but you do get to see Nicky Buckley passionate about something more than a new fridge.

C 31 caters for the greater community. So, when channel surfing across its choices you should expect a fairly wide representation of cultural and sub-cultural groups telling their stories, delivering their news. The range is impressive to say the least. You can watch Tamil TV, Vietnamese programs, Arab TV and Somali TV, as well as heavy metal music programs, Student productions and Bent TV. When the station closes at the end of the night they run this thing called Fishcam, which creates the effect of a fish tank in your living room. I'm told it's a big hit with the stoner generation. In that milieu you can still access about 10 hours of footy a week. This includes suburban footy games, club footy shows with production values barely higher than Wayne's World and discussion groups that don't have to rely on host and guests being 'on'.

There is something neat about C 31 broadcasting footy. It gives the game a certain something that other TV stations and media outlets, as well as the AFL (even with all the money and prestige they might be able to create) still can't provide. Channel 7 kids' show, Just Footy and Channel 9 with Street Talk and Almost Football Legends are about as close as it comes to capturing the spirit C 31 seems to possess without trying.

Channel 31's focus is on the local. On Saturdee mornings, for example, you can watch Eastern Suburbs football from 8.30 in the morning. It ain't grand. Hell, it ain't too far removed from sitting in the car, pulled up behind the goals, ready to blow the horn when Bluey Allen snaps one from the pocket. And that's its charm. The audience, the spectator seems to be one layer closer to the game itself. The closer the fan stays to the game the more chance there will be that care for the game remains. No amount of smoke and mirrors will be enough once the fan starts to care less for the game. Channel 31's little narratives are crucial to the football story in the same way Lloyd's goals are and in the same way club presidents hogging the media limelight aren't.

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