Incredibly, more than 17,000 people turned up. A week later in Sydney, more than 22,000 people saw Team Melli defeat Qatar.
The story here is that the Aussies have bought into the tournament big-time.
Despite many fans having no vested interest in who actually wins, the importance of the games, the passion in the players and the quality of football has won them over.
If anyone had asked me if I wanted Iran or Iraq to progress before their Friday quarter-final my answer would have put the apathy in apathetic.
But by the end of one of the great international matches of the past 12 months, I was a passionate, vocal member of the Iranian brotherhood. The spectacle had well and truly earned my attention.
In less than five months, New Zealand will face the same tricky task of trying to get punters through the gate to watch teams like Panama, Burma, Qatar and Uzbekistan at the Fifa U-20 World Cup.
The New Zealand games should sell themselves but what crowds should we expect from the minnows?
The 1999 U-17 World Cup hosted in New Zealand should give us a ball-park of what a good crowd is.
When Burkina Faso faced Qatar in Dunedin, 4662 fans turned out. The average attendance at the tournament was 6825. Australia is averaging close to 20,000 a game in the Asian Cup.
The U-20 tournament will be a better product than the U-17 version, but with less marketable countries. England, France, the Netherlands and Italy have all missed out and New Zealand will soon find out just how big the footballing world is. Kiwi fans will be asked to embrace and support countries they may not be able to place on a map and, hopefully, they can capture our hearts and minds like the Asian nations have in Australia.
The media, agents and Burns
It's been a frustrating week for Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick. His star player has attracted the attention of a wealthy overseas bidder, but the facts of the story are proving elusive, and deceptive.
On Thursday Merrick hit out at the two Aussie journalists reporting the story, claiming there were "so many inaccuracies it's incredible".
But he's just as mystified about Australian agent Ante Alilovic who claims to be negotiating with the Phoenix on behalf of Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua - despite Merrick having never heard of him.
"I've actually tried to phone him because if he's offering us US$1.5-1.6 million I'm taking it and we'll give him Nathan [Burns] and we'll give him a couple of academy players for that and some steak knives as well.
"That is absolutely ridiculous that our club is holding out for $2.13 million," Merrick said.
The media stand to gain nothing from a higher price tag on Burns, but any agent involved certainly does. Driving prices up through the media is a foreign concept for Kiwis, but it seems the Phoenix's breakout year has attracted the attention of some of the game's wheelers and dealers.
Ifill makes ASB Premiership debut
What a boon for the ASB Premiership to have the Wellington Phoenix's all-time leading scorer, and arguably their best ever player, playing in the domestic league for Team Wellington.
Ifill will put bums on seats, and the thought of watching him battle with the Auckland City back four at Kiwitea St in three weeks' time is a mouth-watering proposition.
The best-case scenario for Ifill is that he uses the league as a stepping stone back to the A-League.
But the worst case could have an upside too.
Ifill could potentially still collect a career-ending injury insurance claim, if he does everything in his power to rehab his way back from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in December 2013, but it still does not come right.
