That's days, not nights, because the Bankwest experience begins hours before kick-off, just like it used to at the old Pirtek Stadium. Thousands of supporters in red and black jerseys – and a splash of sky blue – flooded the streets of Parramatta. The vibe was contagious. The glory days were back.

At 6.15pm, the unofficial pre-match entertainment began. Emerging from their second home, the Crown Hotel, the Red and Black Bloc marched as one towards their first Bankwest derby, snaking down Church Street in full voice (including swear words) and colour (flares).

Then they filed into the stadium and into their section behind the northern goal, where the seats have been removed and replaced with "safe-standing" rails that allow them to operate with ease. The atmosphere, as expected, was utterly glorious, even if there were a surprising amount of empty seats in the house.

This was the way things once were, just a few short years ago, until war broke out between the clubs and Football Federation Australia over who should run the A-League, crippling the entire code with an inertia that eventually infected supporters, both casual and committed, with apathy. Once people stop caring, it's hard to get them to start again.

Australian football fans tend to take too much comfort in pessimism. More than any other code in Australia, the game is utterly obsessed with everything except the actual game itself.

Australian football fans tend to take too much comfort in pessimism. More than any other code in Australia, the game is utterly obsessed with everything except the actual game itself. Whenever a below-par crowd figure is circulated, another round of TV ratings are tweeted, or the latest administrative farce or scandal emerges, football is all too happy to take itself down a peg. It's a sort of sick self-Schadenfreude.

But there was something electric in the air on Saturday night that could not be measured. And it was, perhaps, indicative of a trend. Over the first fortnight of the new campaign, there's been more than a few green shoots sprouting up across what many thought was a barren landscape.

Coaches seem to have arrived at some sort of collective realisation regarding young players, and names like Al-Hassan Toure, Mohamed Adam and Sam Silvera have emerged from the darkness to announce themselves as potential stars-in-waiting – some for the very teams they grew up supporting.

The on-field product has been outstanding. Most games are worth watching, and many of the goals scored, in fact, have come from the top drawer. Nights like Saturday night can only help spread the message further: reports of the A-League's demise have been greatly exaggerated.