Culture change now on the way
SPORTS Gold Coast chairman Geoff Smith must be in danger of losing his voice, repeating again and again a mantra tattooed in his mind that this city can finally shed old tags and reinvent itself.
When it’s said with the kind of passion to make hardened southern expats weak at the knees, you know it’s a compelling argument. Smith went into bat for Gold Coast again at the Sports Star of the Year Awards at Southport Sharks on Thursday night.
Outsiders may argue it’s a slog to finally rid the Gold Coast of being a “sunny place for shady people” but Smith and his crew are up for the challenge.
For too long this city has been known for bright lights and loose cash – the Las Vegas of the southern hemisphere, if you will – but sport is the vehicle driving a crucial change of thinking.
Only a handful of years ago the Sports Star of the Year award did not hold the same lustre. It’s not that the athletes were of a lesser quality but the city found a way, as Smith puts it, to be apologetic about celebrating the remarkable list of achievements. No longer.
Anyone in the room on Thursday night could be excused for scratching their heads trying to decide a winner from the list of contenders in every category.
At the risk of catching the “one week at a time” disease, you could argue all nominees were winners. Seriously.
And we should be proud – not apologetic – of that.
Smith is leading the charge to change a city’s culture but he’s not alone.
The Titans and Suns, while often lacking in results we’d like on the field, are laying groundwork for the future off it. Then, even more importantly, are the volunteers – many mums and dads – doing their thing on local fields every weekend.
They’re the guardians truly dispelling thoughts of the Gold Coast merely being a mecca for those outsiders chasing a good time and a better tan.
No, these are the folks here for the long haul, supporting the city in every way but often without truly realising it.
They are now having those efforts rewarded both in a changing culture and, more glamorously, via a red carpet awards night at Southport.
It may be a slog but, thanks to Smith and our legion of mums and dads, the mountain’s peak is now within sight.
OUTSIDERS MAY ARGUE IT’S A SLOG TO FINALLY RID THE GOLD COAST OF BEING A “SUNNY PLACE FOR SHADY PEOPLE” BUT SMITH AND HIS CREW ARE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE.