It used to be that every time Australia's Socceroos failed to qualify for the World Cup, bosses from a rival football code would crack open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
And they went through plenty of bubbly as the nation's team missed out on seven consecutive occasions between 1978 and 2002 with the sport shackled by an inept and sometimes corrupt administration.
But now with Australia as part of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the region's number-one ranked side preparing for their second straight appearance in the World Cup finals, the crystal goblets are gathering dust.
And as the Aussies pitch for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups with a slick marketing video presented by Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, the game that used to be a laughing stock has become a real threat to the three other football codes: Australian Rules (AFL), rugby union and rugby league.
Australia and Japan are the AFC's representatives among seven bids to host either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments. Indonesia, South Korea and Qatar are bidding for the 2022 World Cup only. The decision on both is expected next December.
Last week, Andrew Demetriou, the AFL chief executive who oversees Australian Rules football, warned that a whole AFL season might have to be called off if Australia won the hosting rights. His alarmist argument was the tournament would tie up two of the nation's biggest arenas - the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Etihad Stadium. 'We couldn't do it, we'd have to cancel the season,' said Demetriou, who vowed to make Etihad Stadium off limits.