The summer starting XI: why you should watch the Hyundai A-League this summer LAST Friday night, something peculiar happened for sports fans across the country. There was nothing to watch. Not on Friday night, Saturday night, or Sunday. Horrifying. With the only alternative the Ryobi Cup, our domestic cricket competition now played in one month on suburban grounds in Sydney, this weekend can't come soon enough. With the NRL and AFL run and won, it's time for the A-League to step up. We're being told it's the competition's 'Time to Shine'; well, with a clear window to hungry Australian sports lovers, it's never had a better chance to impress. Starting XIs across the country are being readied for tonight's kick-off, where Sydney FC will host Newcastle Jets, in a round also featuring a grand final replay between Central Coast and Western Sydney, and 50,000 fans at a Melbourne derby at Etihad Stadium, which looks like being a sell out. Here's our XI for why you should tune in or head to a game this summer: It's just not cricket Normally the week after the AFL and NRL finishes, Australia turns its attention to leather on willow and a long, hot summer of cricket. But now, our back pages are splashing with pictures of round ball heroes in bright jerseys preparing for the "summer of football." While there could be plenty of pain to come in the Ashes, the free-flowing A-League - free of the pressures of promotion and relegation that constrains league's abroad - is there to keep us entertained when we're looking for sport to feast on as our weekend nights get longer. Something must be right if you can't get a ticket Greater Western Sydney Giants, Parramatta, Penrith and co have been battling to get the turnstiles ticking in Sydney's golden west, but over at "Wanderland," good luck trying to get a ticket to Western Sydney's home matches at Parramatta Stadium. They've sold out their 16,000 membership packages this season, as last year's great Australian sporting fairytale looks to add a grand final win to the premiership plate (first on the table) they won last year in their debut season. Derby day You don't have to travel across the world for rock concert style, heaving, world class atmospheres any more. Sure, there are pilgrimages still to be made to Wembley or Old Trafford, but if you head to Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for Victory v Heart, or to Allianz in Sydney for FC v Wanderers, you're going to be exposed to 90 minutes of chanting, jumping, interaction and passion that those who have been there, done that, say is good as you will see. A-League fans have a bit more in their kit bag than "get em onside ref, they've been doing it all day!" Road to Rio Australia loves a major sporting event, and none come bigger than the FIFA World Cup, to be held in 2014 in Brazil. For the first time, the A-League has a major role to play, with a growing contingent of Australians putting their hands up for selection from our domestic league. For so long, people dismissed our competition because the best Aussies moved abroad. But now, a legion of players are back, looking for consistent game time in front of the national coach. The bonus? We get to see them each week as well. Buddy-free, Sonny-free, JOC-free, Warner-free, Mundine-free zone For those who just want to watch sport free of shenanigans, melodrama and A-list walking headlines, the A-League is just that. For the most part, the code's biggest names are charming, effusive about living in Australia and deliver where it matters most - on the pitch. Names like Del Piero, Heskey, Ono and Kewell still forge headlines abroad - Del Piero had a street named after him in Italy in the off-season. And we don't need to stay up until the wee hours to watch them; they're playing right in our own backyard. It's the game we play It's the game Australia plays, and all the right moves are being made to get more of us there to watch it as well. Better coaches, better squads, better scheduling and less off field instability has the league set up for the best season yet. Roughly 280,000 of us are weekend warriors on football pitches across the country - but there's never been a better time to swap the boots for the bandwagon. You won't jump off it. It's us The three best coaches in this competition are young Australian mentors being touted as the next boss of the Socceroos - Ange Postecoglou, Tony Popovic and Graham Arnold. Stars who have flown our flag abroad are now plying their trade at home, like Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton. Mega stars who are national icons back at home like Del Piero and Ono are now gracing our shores. Winners of our premiership (top of table) and championship (grand final) enter a competition with Asia's best teams, exposing our countries to a whole new market. Our competition is broadcast 65 countries worldwide. And in and amongst so much strong, local talent, is a smattering of Brazilians, Argentines, Dutchman, Costa Ricans, Spaniards, Italians, Albanians, Kiwis, Chileans and Germans adding another dimension to our competition. Which other code so accurately reflects modern Australia ... It's anyone's game When David Gallop headed up the NRL, he loved spruiking the evenness of the competition, and no doubt, he feels the same about the A-League. While people grovel over the EPL, La Liga or other major European leagues, often the bottom side bare no hope against the big guns. Not so in the A-League. With a top six providing incentive for sides all season long - and with consistent improvement in squads across the board this season as clubs become smarter with their recruitment - good luck trying to pick a winner this season! Goals, goals, goals Shinji Ono scores fantastic chip to seal grand final spot. Put simply, we want goals, and the A-League is one place you're guaranteed to see them. We've all heard the "why watch for 90 minutes to see a 0-0" argument. But in Australia, with a league full of young Aussie coaches who know they're in the entertainment business, we've got a league where teams have a go. We're also blessed with quality finishers across the league now, from the Italian maestro in Sydney, former Liverpool and England striker Emile Heskey, Brisbane's flamboyant Albanian Besart Berisha, two top class Kiwis Shane Smeltz and Jeremy Brockie and our flock of Aussie talent, headlined by our smiling assassin Archie Thompson. Check out the top 10 from last season - thunderous strikes or beautiful interplay, it's as good as you'll see anywhere. Active support It's not just derbies that light up an A-League weekend. Active support, where sections of the crowd sing and chant all game long, makes a match an event, rather than just a sporting contest. Groups like the Wanderers" RBB and Sydney FC's The Cove are identities in their own right. Head along to Parramatta Stadium and hear the sheer noise of the Red and Black Bloc as they march towards the game before kick-off, building tradition within one year of their formation. There's even the Poznan - the bizarre ritual where Wanderers fans link arm in arm - turn away from the game - and jump and up down to create an amazing visual. It's that good, they're prepared to miss a minute of the action! All 14 of Del Piero's goals from his debut A-League season. Can't Get Enough Football As the standard of the A-League improves, there's never been a better time to be a fan of the round ball game. Your Saturday and Sunday nights are now sorted. Park yourself in front of the box and, on most weekends, you can watch straight 12 hours of live football, starting with the A-League, before the English Premier League kicks off later at night, with a bit of Spain's La Liga with Messi, Ronaldo and co thrown in as well. It's time to settle in for the summer. It's a standing ovation for the A-League as we head into season nine.