Well I truly hope you took the advice I gave you last week.

That you went to yesterday’s grand final for your own enjoyment, that you went through all the emotions, and left happy.

All sports have supporters that look down on the occasional attendee, the newcomer/convert, the event goer. In Australian soccer those long-time fans tend to be even more resentful as the game struggled for so long.

It’s an attitude I can’t support. Yeah I was standing on a pile of mud at (the then) Olympic Sports Field on cold winter days to watch National Soccer League matches in the 1980s too – usually in a crowd of between 2000 and 3000. But why on earth would I want that to be anything other than a bygone era?

We waited so long for the game to make strides. To do that, it needed to broaden its support base. So as those new fans keep arriving, I’ll continue to welcome them.

Jubilant Adelaide supporters. Photo: David Mariuz, AAP.

Days like yesterday help. If a handful of people who don’t understand the offside rule attended, got hooked by the game’s excitement and atmosphere, and decide to take in a few matches at Hindmarsh next season, I’d be delighted.

Grand finals can be disappointments. Sometimes dour; sometimes one-sided. This one was neither.

With hindsight, I’m even glad Wanderers got a goal (though I was cursing at the time and still would be now if they went on to win). It set up an unforgettable last 30 minutes.

Until Western Sydney scored, the match was missing the one ingredient a great decider needs. Yes, it had been a hard fought and high quality affair despite the Reds skipping to a 2-0 lead. But there’s nothing like that period in which a team is pushing hard for an equaliser knowing that it risks leaving itself exposed to a goal on the counter, particularly when so much is on the line.

It meant that the final goal, scored in the 90th minute by Pablo Sanchez, confirmed victory and was celebrated as the moment that clinched United’s first championship (even if that didn’t officially happen for a few more minutes).

When will we get another moment like that?

Never.

Dylan McGowan and Pablo Sanchez revel in the moment. Photo: James Elsby, AAP.

I’m not suggesting that United might not win another grand final in front of more than 50,000 fans – it just won’t be the breakthrough yesterday was.

The last time a grand final was held in Adelaide? 1995.

The last time an SA soccer team became champion of Australia? 1994.

The last time one of our teams clinched a national championship in Adelaide? 1978.

And as playoffs weren’t used to decide titles back in the ‘70s, United is the first SA team in nearly 40 years of Australian national league competition to win the championship by winning a grand final in Adelaide.

Even if we only look at the A-League era, the Reds’ triumph has come after a whole heap of pain.

Adelaide certainly didn’t feel like a pissant town – it felt like the centre of sporting gravity

My mind often goes back to the 2008-9 season – a metaphor for much of United’s history.

During that season the club made it all the way to the Asian Champions League final, losing to Gamba Osaka. This played havoc with the Reds’ A-League schedule but somehow they still managed to mount a fantastic challenge for the premier’s plate before losing that by the narrowest possible margin. Then the grand final saw a United player unluckily dismissed after ten minutes and the team lost 1-0 despite a heroic performance.

But other things happened that made headlines outside the normal circles, notably the “pissant town” comments made by then coach Aurelio Vidmar after a heavy semi-final loss which he blamed on internal politics: “There’s too many people in this club with hidden agendas.”

I had a feeling the label might stick but it has done so to an even greater extent than I thought possible.

Not long after the season ended, United’s then owner Nick Bianco handed the club’s licence back to Football Federation Australia. The next few years would see the club struggle to reach the heights of those exciting early seasons.

Yesterday made up for a lot of that. And even before the match was played, Adelaide certainly didn’t feel like a pissant town. Indeed it felt like the centre of sporting gravity – a fitting stage on which a football code would decide its national championship.

The last word belongs to the players and coach Guillermo Amor. Once again they showed that their victories have been built on having contributors all over the pitch and not relying too much on individual players.

And they capitalised on most of their chances with the first goal being a good example of how they unlock opponents: Marcelo Carrusca’s pinpoint cross; Bruce Kamau’s beautifully timed run. A move made simple by perfect execution.

Bruce Kamau reacts after scoring the opening goal. Photo: David Mariuz, AAP.

It was also easy on the eye. United may have eschewed the high possession game it used early in the season but its style of play is not unattractive. More importantly, it’s a winning style.

There will be changes at the club of course, as there are after every season, but today doesn’t seem like the day to discuss them.

Whether you were a long-time fan who waited years for this triumph, or someone who usually has little interest in the sport but got caught up in the excitement, I hope you enjoyed the show.

Paul Marcuccitti is a co-presenter of 5RTI’s Soccer on 531 program which can be heard from 10am on Saturdays.