Years ago (and I mean 50 years or more ago), the then Melbourne Herald ran a competition to rename Australian Rules Football.
Plenty stupid ideas, but the ultimate winner was "Mark"!
That really caught on.
It's just Footy in Melb and other footy states, and AFL or Aussie Rules in non football states.
My observations , of course.
Its a bit like most of us referring to Gridiron as NFL.
Pretty keen to hear your thoughts on NBA basketball
Last edited by liz; 5th March 2018 at 02:25 PM. Reason: Please don't quote long posts in their entirety. It makes threads hard to read for those on phones or tablets
I'm with Wolfie on this. It makes me shudder when I hear the game at suburban level being called "AFL". If it continues to happen then I will get my son to play A-League for our local suburban club.
I sympathise with wolfies general views. The AFL is trying to manipulate the game with knee-jerk reactions through messy opaque rule changes which is ultimately frustrating because there is no clarity in their vision except to keep the ball moving constantly even it is through constant cheating as Wolf outlined in some examples.
The elite professional version 'AFL' has outstripped the basic premise of the game which was a bunch of amateurs spread over a huge oval kicking, contesting, marking and handpassing in a structure of defenders versus attackers and some freewheelers. Now players are so well payed, so well drilled, processed, educated and elite athletes that they can and have subverted the reason the rules were written. The 'AFL' is even trying to undo some of its improvements (interchanges). A game that needs 9 umpires on the ground and a couple of others lurking in the stands, and still no-one knows half the pitchfork of what is going on, and looks like the under 10s games I used to play, is a game which needs someone to sit down and have a good rethink about.
Having spent a few years in Queensland, the I learned that the sport I knew as Aussie Rules of just footy was actually called AFL. I discovered this after a conversation with a footy player in one off-season:
Him: I play AFL
Me: Really? Who for?
Him: Palm Beach - Currumbin.
Me: Oh.
In any case, I think the distinction between AFL and Aussie Rules/Footy plays a big part in the northern academies. Kids would have no interest in going to an AFL academy as it would just be representing the entire sport, something like an advanced version of Auskick. However attaching a brand to it such as the Sydney Swans immediately gives much greater sway in the kids minds as they know the Swans are the pinnacle of the game. This distinction in Queensland and NSW is something that Melbournians in particular are completely unaware of when they have their biannual rages against academies.
Compared to most governing organising, we have it pretty good as footy fans. Have a chat to any Rugby, League or Soccer fans and see how they feel about theirs.
At the end of the day, the majority of money comes thru TV rights and corporate partnerships. If that is healthy, it flows to the grass roots
I remember my Dad joking years ago that watching junior footy was like watching a mob of 36 kids just chasing the ball around the ground "like chickens with their heads cut off" he'd laughingly say. I have increasingly been thinking the same of AFL football in recent years. Half to two thirds of the ground completely empty with a throng of players around the ball.....it's not a good look. It's a real pity because the athleticism and skill of today's players is better than ever before on a collective level.
Bookmarks