Posts Tagged: Australian Football

NFL American Football — Comments Off
11
Dec 09

The AFL Frowns Upon Your World Cup Shenanigans

FOOTY! WHAT!?God, I love Australia. Nowhere else in the world will you find so many football codes constantly warring with each other for the hearts and minds of the people. How many epic pub brawls have started over rugby league fans calling Aussie rules a girl’s game, or vice versa? The world may never know, and more’s the pity.

The latest battle in the Aussie Football Wars, however, won’t be fought over beers. Lost amidst the massive English and American bids for the 2018 World Cup is the fact that Australia would like to host FIFA’s big show, too, because soccer is growing down under, too.

And guess what? The AFL and NRL aren’t giving up their stadiums for your girl’s game. Oh, no.

See, unlike England and America, Australia has not one, but two major pro football leagues in season in June and July, and those leagues aren’t too keen on giving up some of their stadiums in the middle of the season. Sure, the World Cup might be the biggest sporting event on the planet and might bring unprecedented tourism dollars to Australia. That won’t stop the AFL and NRL from looking at it as a not only a huge shot in the arm to the competition, but a massive pain in the ass.

Perhaps if Football Federation Australia really wants to follow through on its darkhorse bid, it should start considering some new construction. Melbourne Cricket Ground can fit 100,000 people, but for a soccer game, they’ll all be about half a mile away from the action. Imagine paying the GDP of Slovenia for front row seats to the World Cup Final, only to find your view is partially obstructed by that bench 20 yards in front of you.

As much as I’d love to see the World Cup return to the States, I’m now hoping Australia does get it soon, if only to see just how ugly and bitter the Aussie Football Wars can get. I can’t wait to see the AFL devise ways to lure packs of Brazilians and Ivorians down to Docklands. “We’ll show ya some real footy, mates!” The resulting confusion alone might make for great television.

(Spotted on Pitch Invasion.)

NFL American Football — Comments Off
10
Nov 09

They Take Their Footy Seriously on Groote Eylandt

Groote EylandtUntil yesterday, I had never heard of Groote Eylandt, a small island off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory that became part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve in 1976. Groote Eylandt is home to the world’s largest manganese mine, which produces 3.8 million tons of the mineral each year. It is also home to the Anindilyakwa people, who still speak in their native tongue.

And the Anindilyakwa don’t take too kindly to that call, ref.

Police feared for their safety when they turned up to a disturbance at a sporting field on Groote Eylandt to discover it had escalated to a full-scale brawl.

The brawl, involving several hundred people, some of them armed with axes and spears, broke out about 5pm (CST) on Sunday at the Angurugu sports oval during an AFL match.

It is understood the feud started on the football field when one of the teams was awarded a free kick.

Ummmm… did he just say “axes and spears?”

“A number of those people were armed with axes and spears and a large number were involved in hostile and aggressive behaviour, which was later directed at police,” (Police Superintendent Brent Warren) told AAP…

“As you can imagine, even when a number of police cars turn up, when you’ve got a crowd that’s potentially 500-strong, it’s difficult to take proactive action at the time.”

Oh, come on! You’re Australian! Be a man! Get a dick!*

Okay, maybe seeing an angry mob wielding sharp weaponry would encourage even the most hearty Australian to run away from confrontation. But let’s back up a bit. What got that angry mob started? A questionable call from the ref. They hated the call so much that they absolutely had to take matters into their own hands — kind of like the Dawg Pound, if you replaced the beer bottles with, y’know, axes and spears.

Let’s just hope and pray the Anindilyakwa haven’t given SEC fans any ideas.

(Spotted on The Sporting Blog.)

* – Australian blokes here in the Triangle shouted those last two sentences at the TV a year ago when Buddy Franklin took a dive during the AFL Grand Final. True story.