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Whenever the game has come under scrutiny for poor supporter behaviour or whatever fills the time of Australian journalists with little to no involvement in football over the summer, the supporters have always stuck by both the clubs and competition.
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As the A-League has grown in popularity, what has kept the competition relatively stable over the past couple of years has been the support of the fans against naysayers and those with a clear agenda.
However, the state of the game off the field is in terrible shape due to the actions of both the FFA and club officials.
With the larger part of the 2013/14 season behind us, the sad reality is that this season has served little more than a deterrent for both current and potential future fans due to the actions of people behind the scenes.
The discussion at this time of the year should be about the shaping of the ladder and who will claim the six finals spots; a quick glance at the table tells you that the competition is incredibly close with only four points separating fourth and ninth places with the fourth-placed Melbourne Victory having played an extra game.
Still, every single week, the discussion between games is about someone involved with the running or management of a club or the competition doing something to irritate the fans.
Make no mistake about it, supporters are pissed off at the state of Australian football and most are more than ready to put the season behind them and look towards other codes. Obviously, this is the biggest indication that there is a serious problem.
If you take a quick look around the competition, you can pick out a major issue every second club's supporters have. These issues extend way beyond just poor results but step into the area of poor club management.
On top of that, the FFA is more interested in siding with those out to make all A-League fans appear as thugs than supporting those that keep the competition going. The foundation of any competition is the support yet the FFA appears to be willingly swinging an axe at its own pillars.
The latest moves to eradicate active support are an even bigger slap to the face of people who dish out their hard-earned cash to watch their team and make a bit of noise. It is becoming increasingly clear that the FFA will not be satisfied until every supporter is firmly planted in their seat and clapping mildly like you'd expect at a 1920s theatrical performance.
To put it bluntly, the A-League does not survive without giving the fans what they want. We're not talking about allowing flares or stupid behaviour at games - anyone that acts like a moron anywhere should be punished - but more so the supporters' opinions and freedom to go a little wild in a controlled environment.
At this stage, A-League can completely forget about appealing to a new audience; the competition is currently about as attractive as a hatful of busted arseholes and sadly, its personality isn't any better.
The biggest danger is the flock of current and foundation supporters that are pledging to not renew memberships for next season. As it stands, certain club operations are so poor that dedicated and passionate fans feel their only way to get through to the clubs is by disregarding them, and that is incredibly dangerous to the security of the competition.
There needs to be a realisation that the currently FFA and certain clubs' management is sending a very negative message out to all fans and people are not tolerating it. Both are doing a fantastic job of turning fans away from the game.
If things don't take a turn for the better soon, you can forget about the competition expanding and start worrying about the survival of current clubs and in turn, the A-League in general.