View Full Version : Brutal assessment of our game!
Not sure where to post this article so mods, feel free to move it however, Wow, have a read of this scathing assessment of AFL...
http://vulgar.com.au/libero/001/01lamington.html
Dave The Man
8 May 2008, 17:11
Not sure where to post this article so mods, feel free to move it however, Wow, have a read of this scathing assessment of AFL...
http://vulgar.com.au/libero/001/01lamington.html
They guy is some Soccer Fan Idiot who Love to Give AFL Crap.
What a Tool he is:thumbsu:
kidstyler
8 May 2008, 17:14
i stopped reading when he called perth a town ...
we are a backwards no sunday shopping city thank you very much! :p
cat_fanatic
8 May 2008, 17:16
Perhaps our game is a little too quick for Matty, too many rules and too much confusion for your average moronic "Association Football" supporter. What a self obsessed dipshit.
Not sure where to post this article so mods, feel free to move it however, Wow, have a read of this scathing assessment of AFL...
http://vulgar.com.au/libero/001/01lamington.html
Its just a Soccer troll. You read the exact same thing on the expansion board as all the Rugby League trolls post there.
____ me that article is getting around.
he's right though
windyhill
8 May 2008, 17:19
His big argument is how it`s played hardly anywhere else, what a ________. It`s one of the reasons as to why it`s so , so good. I love it how the rest of the world just don`t get it, especially America, they would just wreck it.
Metallica_Man
8 May 2008, 17:24
Haha what a tosser. Footy is the most popular code in Victoria, SA, WA, Tas and NT. NRL in QLD and NSW, Union in ACT. Soccer does not "own" any state, and the A League is a long long way from being anyway where near as popular as the AFL or NRL. Who cares how popular any of these sports are overseas, this is Australia and our most popular sport is footy, no matter how many made up facts he gives it does not change
estibador
8 May 2008, 17:27
Hardly an assessment of our game - brutal or otherwise.
Just a soccer fan trying to be funny - and not doing a particularly good job of it either.
Boganball? Fumbleball? My god that's lame. So very, very lame. As bad as the people on here referring to poofball or thugby.
Metallica_Man
8 May 2008, 17:38
Hardly an assessment of our game - brutal or otherwise.
Just a soccer fan trying to be funny - and not doing a particularly good job of it either.
Boganball? Fumbleball? My god that's lame. So very, very lame. As bad as the people on here referring to poofball or thugby.
Almost as funny as "GayFL"
Baby Duck
8 May 2008, 17:41
I don't think this guy has any clue whatsoever. Nor do I think he has ever watched more than 5 minutes of footy. What an eletist tool.
kookadog
8 May 2008, 17:45
This guy probably wears his underpants outside his shorts cause all the cool kids in Europe are doing it.
fishmonger
8 May 2008, 18:02
ha !
what a read.
looks like someone has a self-esteem problem ;)
I thought he'd be too plugged into watching soccer 24x7 to take the time out to attempt to take the piss out of a "small and insignificant" code which presents no threat to his borefest of a sport whatsoever. :)
sure, I agree that the administrators haven't done everything they could to help spread the game.
But it is a big country, and we are very much isolated from the rest of the world.
And if the other sports are so good, then why is our sport growing at all and why then didn't soccer take us all over 100 years ago .... :rolleyes:
Vince Van Mackay
8 May 2008, 18:09
Soccer in Australia is an ant compared to Aussie Rules, that guy is a spud.
Masten2McKinley
8 May 2008, 18:16
what a tool noes nothing about our game what so ever
Big Nasty
8 May 2008, 18:19
Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't a recent poll show that 41% of sport viewers in Australia prefer AFL, whilst something like 8% were for soccer?
Once the rest of the world gets a taste of Aussie Rules, it's gonna be the end of soccer, just like it's gonna be the end of Rugby in Australia in the near future.
Isandula
8 May 2008, 18:30
That was the most pathetic piece of shit I have read in some time! Absolute utter garbage and if that was an attempt at humour it failed terribly :thumbsd:
Vince Van Mackay
8 May 2008, 18:30
Soccer is mostly boring, the only things going for it really are the marketing of the game which is brilliant and the hooligan culture which surrounds it. (eg: Fighting people who support opposing clubs) Both those insure lots of people watch soccer.
Where as Aussie Rules is not boring and is interesting to watch, one quote which I read on youtube stated "It is ultimate Football", I think thats the most accurate description of Aussie Rules, now marketing of Aussie Rules just stinks.
Not really an assesment at all, pretty much just a cheap shot with little basis in fact from a man who supports a far inferior sport.
Hardly even worth discussing, a bit more of an effort and it might have provoked some feeling from me, but it was pretty pathetic.
:D A soccer freak calling our game fumbleball!:D I may as well call soccer Diveball!
I would've thought the damning thing for soccer is in countries that have their own indigenous football codes, soccer is a distant 2nd or 3rd place in most cases.
Soccer spread through Europe much like Australian Rules spread through the southern parts of Australia. In fact if you look through the historical records it was even doing pretty well all along the east coast of Australia until the NSW establishment opted for rugby. The telling difference was the European presence in the rest of the world - a developing nation was never going to be able to take Australian Rules to other countries given few countries saw Australia as nothing but a colony of Great Britain. And as soccer has found, competing with an established code is very difficult and almost a impossible task.
You may ask, with all the immigration from mostly soccer playing nations, "why, does not soccer dominate Australia?"
Anyone who belittles one game in order to advance the cause of another is pathetic.
al ain pie
8 May 2008, 18:48
architective.co.uk/ images/wood%20door%20knob.jpg
a very big knob:cool:
ChunkyDuckling
8 May 2008, 18:48
Hardly an assessment of our game - brutal or otherwise.
Just a soccer fan trying to be funny - and not doing a particularly good job of it either.
Boganball? Fumbleball? My god that's lame. So very, very lame. As bad as the people on here referring to poofball or thugby.
It was these calls which made me question his journalistic credentials. ;)
Chippy much?
Dave The Man
8 May 2008, 18:50
It was these calls which made me question his journalistic credentials. ;)
Chippy much?
Well Soccer is a Game For Girls because they are scared of getting hurt and Actors who can't play footy:)
Black Thunder
8 May 2008, 18:51
what a moron.
whilst i don't mind soccer, it can be a bit like mcdonalds... very popular, okay in small doses, world wide recognition, but has little substance and is a very simple concept to understand which is why it appeals to the masses...
probably the biggest reason why footy doesn't have an international presence is because of australia's lack of international influence during the late part of the 1800's and the early part of the 1900's when other sports, such as union, soccer and cricket were being spread around the world by the british (along with other british cultural past times)...
during that time australia was almost entirely an immigration country with very little emmigration and as such very little spread of our cultural past times, such as australian rules.... in a way that is still the case today as aside from those off travelling, there aren't too many australian's moving away from home.
but who gives a flying ____ anyway. the fact so few player the game makes it even better.
Well Soccer is a Game For Girls because they are scared of getting hurt and Actors who can't play footy:)
I don't think a game that has players who fling their heads back, throw both hands out, dive forward after minimal contact etc. is in a position to talk about actors.
Statements like yours invite as much ridicule as the original article.
Like whatever game you want, but why the need to disparage another?
thegerman
8 May 2008, 18:59
His big argument is how it`s played hardly anywhere else, what a ________. It`s one of the reasons as to why it`s so , so good. I love it how the rest of the world just don`t get it, especially America, they would just wreck it.
It is the same argument that NRL have, yet realistically only NZ, UK and us play it. Furthermore, only Aus is great at it. So is it a world sport? Nope.
AFL will get this from soccer nuts all the time, however can we say we fake it everytime? Can we say that we are men out there on the park?
There are so many differences in the sports, unfortunately bias clouds his judgement and assertions.
AndyLucimitis
8 May 2008, 19:05
Like a lot of you I have been in countless arguments about the merits of Aussies Rules versus Soccer (FWIF I don't mind soccer and reckon its great to see the A-League successful)..
Soccer fans will always justify their argument of Soccer being better than Aussie Rule by how many countries it is played in and how great an event the World Cup is ....
.... they never say Soccer is a better sport to play ! Never
estibador
8 May 2008, 19:13
.... they never say Soccer is a better sport to play ! Never
Depends how much you enjoy pain. ;)
Soccer is certainly a 'better' sport to play in the fact that you don't feel sore for the next 3 days.
D Mitchell
8 May 2008, 19:18
It's a fair point that, after 150 years, Australian Rules is a sport played in isolation in the southern states of Australia whereas the major codes, soccer and the rugbys, are played globally although of the same vintage. The most obvious explanation is that soccer and the rugbys were games of the empire which were exported from the United Kingdom by the British military and civil service. Had Australian Rules been exported to Britain in the late 19th century things might have been different.
estibador
8 May 2008, 19:23
It's a fair point that, after 150 years, Australian Rules is a sport played in isolation in the southern states of Australia whereas the major codes, soccer and the rugbys, are played globally although of the same vintage. The most obvious explanation is that soccer and the rugbys were games of the empire which were exported from the United Kingdom by the British military and civil service. Had Australian Rules been exported to Britain in the late 19th century things might have been different.
That's just it. The fact that Aussie rules isn't played world wide has nothing to do with the relative merits of the sport compared to others - it's all about the socio-political history of colonialism and cultural imperialism.
Deep down the soccer people know that - and any who don't are just shallow thinking idiots.
I clicked on the 'leave feedback' at the end of the article, I wonder if I'll get a reply for the bad things I might of said?
Carn Hawkas
8 May 2008, 19:34
He thinks it's a bad thing that Aussie rules is only played here? Thats what makes it so great. It's OUR game.
Captain_Judd
8 May 2008, 19:36
That's just it. The fact that Aussie rules isn't played world wide has nothing to do with the relative merits of the sport compared to others - it's all about the socio-political history of colonialism and cultural imperialism.
Deep down the soccer people know that - and any who don't are just shallow thinking idiots.
If I were as articulate, I would have said something to that extent.:thumbsu:
TassieSaint
8 May 2008, 19:43
That was neither brutal nor an assessment, it was some prick on the internet trying to overcompensate for his favourite sport's small stature in Australia by making a lame generalisation of Australian Football and basically saying it's lack of international recognition is an indication it is a poor quality sport (which is bullshit for many many reasons)
PowerOfThePussy
8 May 2008, 19:48
His big argument is how it`s played hardly anywhere else, what a ________. It`s one of the reasons as to why it`s so , so good. I love it how the rest of the world just don`t get it, especially America, they would just wreck it.
So true :D No doubt they would kill it if they got their hands on it. Love the fact that it's OUR game. Makes it so unique and special.
Demonheart
8 May 2008, 19:50
So the basis of his opinion is that it isn't played all round the world?
What about games like Hurling which i believe is a great sport, to watch and play. Does this mean that it is even more inferior to footy because it's played by less people? What about Lacrosse?
One word describes this guy - meh
Black Thunder
8 May 2008, 19:50
That was neither brutal nor an assessment, it was some prick on the internet trying to overcompensate for his favourite sport's small stature in Australia by making a lame generalisation of Australian Football and basically saying it's lack of international recognition is an indication it is a poor quality sport (which is bullshit for many many reasons)
exactly, since being in ireland, i've grown to love the game of hurling, a game played only in ireland and by some of the irish ex pats around the world.
anyone who's seen this game live or on television (live is always better) will appreciate the courage and skills on offer.
the fact it's not played elsewhere only adds to the appeal.
Lets Beyblade
8 May 2008, 20:13
His last name is Lamington! Should we really be taking this seriously:)
His big argument is how it`s played hardly anywhere else, what a ________. It`s one of the reasons as to why it`s so , so good. I love it how the rest of the world just don`t get it, especially America, they would just wreck it.
I love Aussie Rules, obviously, but I'll tell you one thing - If America, hypothetically, had it as their national game, with their 300 million people and incredible African-American athletes, they would dominate us. As good as Aussie Rules is, it would be even better if everyone else played it too.
I'm not quite sure as to how you think they would "wreck" it. Is there something that makes a human different if they happen to be born in the U.S that makes them wreck something???? We're all the same. At the end of the day, the rules of the sport dicate that it can only be played by following those rules, regardless of what country takes it up.
I don't think Australians "wrecked" Basketball, for instance. We just play it according to the rules that were invented by an American.
I'd love it if Americans fell in love with our game.
PumpyChowdown
8 May 2008, 21:53
Soccer is WAY down the list of quality sports to watch.
Hurling
Gaelic football
Cricket
Baseball
Ice hockey
Golf
Rugby League
Rugby Union
are all superior sports.
blues4flag
8 May 2008, 22:04
Anyone who belittles one game in order to advance the cause of another is pathetic.
Well said. It serves no purpose other than to piss off fans of the opposition code and will never sway anyone. The insular mindsets of some supporters of all leagues is amazing (the "axis of evil"? WTF?:confused:)
DarwinRoo
8 May 2008, 22:11
The knob has no idea. Just because Rugby League is played at a professional level in more countries than Aussie Rules doesnt mean its a superior sport. The RLWC is a joke. Has any other team besides Australia ever won it?
Cruiser23
8 May 2008, 22:16
Soccer is WAY down the list of quality sports to watch.
Hurling
Gaelic football
Cricket
Baseball
Ice hockey
Golf
Rugby League
Rugby Union
are all superior sports.
What? You are as dumb as a brick if you honestly believe what you have just written. Baseball? Hurling (haven't even watched it, says something doesn't it?)? Golf? Gaelic Football? Cricket (as much as i enjoy it)?
Soccer must have really beaten you up real bad when you were a kid.
Skeppersap
8 May 2008, 22:29
What? You are as dumb as a brick if you honestly believe what you have just written. Baseball? Hurling (haven't even watched it, says something doesn't it?)? Golf? Gaelic Football? Cricket (as much as i enjoy it)?
Soccer must have really beaten you up real bad when you were a kid.
Yes, it does say something. It says that you are commenting on something from an uninformed position, and as a result your input into this thread is meaningless!
I love soccer, I love playing it. I played it all through school. I used to love watching footy as well, but was never good at it as a kid.
In the last 3 years I have started playing AFL, and it is awesome. Best sport to play! Best sport to watch.
FWIW, my favourite sports are as follows:
1. AFL
2. American Football (awesome sport, people say they dont like it, but realisticly 90% of them dont understand it).
3. Cricket (used to be number one, by far. Recently it has gone down, and the IPL is taking it down further very quickly).
4. Soccer
5. Rugby Union
Cruiser23
8 May 2008, 22:45
Yes, it does say something. It says that you are commenting on something from an uninformed position, and as a result your input into this thread is meaningless!
I love soccer, I love playing it. I played it all through school. I used to love watching footy as well, but was never good at it as a kid.
In the last 3 years I have started playing AFL, and it is awesome. Best sport to play! Best sport to watch.
FWIW, my favourite sports are as follows:
1. AFL
2. American Football (awesome sport, people say they dont like it, but realisticly 90% of them dont understand it).
3. Cricket (used to be number one, by far. Recently it has gone down, and the IPL is taking it down further very quickly).
4. Soccer
5. Rugby Union
Nah mate, you obviously didn't understand what i was pointing out. You don't need to have watched something to know it's shit. By the way I know exactly what it is but I haven't watched it because i don't want to watch it, its sounds rubbish and to say it's a better sport than soccer, the guys is a spud.
Nah mate, you obviously didn't understand what i was pointing out. I know exactly what it is but I haven't watched it because i don't want to watch it, its sounds rubbish and to say it's a better sport than soccer when probably the majority of the world don't even know what it is, the guys is a spud.
You're doing exactly what Lamington was doing here.
Cruiser23
8 May 2008, 22:51
You're doing exactly what Lamington was doing here.
Changed my post by the way, don't have the same view as him.
Ron The Bear
9 May 2008, 02:05
Like most lunatic ramblings there's a grain of truth to some points, but the overwhelmingly bitter tone ensured he failed to score (as often happens in soccer).
Copernicus
9 May 2008, 02:08
I would have thought it was more comical than brutal. Just sounds like some muppet's screed that gets posted on the Melbourne Victory forum than anything that took a moment's thought.
Truly an idiot. So many logic leaps in his article he surely must have been on some designer drug, in his crumbled designer suit, with his metro' gold chains and with the keys of his "fully sick" Commodore stuck somewhere up some oriface when he wrote it.
I have no idea why grown men get such a high out of watching a game where some metro' has to fall on the ground every five minutes clutching his shin like he's stepped on a land mine...only to get up and take a kick as easy as you like- in Australia, we call that posing or just being a poofter. Soccer is ok in small doses, but footy is a game suited for Aussies- just like Rugby.
PumpyChowdown
9 May 2008, 02:50
What? You are as dumb as a brick if you honestly believe what you have just written. Baseball? Hurling (haven't even watched it, says something doesn't it?)? Golf? Gaelic Football? Cricket (as much as i enjoy it)?
Soccer must have really beaten you up real bad when you were a kid.
How can you comment on something you've never seen? Hurling is awesome.
And for what it's worth, soccer has never "beaten me up". I don't mind it at all, it's just that IN MY OPINION those other sports are superior. Too many draws in soccer, too low scoring, WAY TOO MUCH diving and nancy-boys playing the game for any credibility to be attached to it.
WATCHDOG
9 May 2008, 05:03
Sounds like he got the taste for the World Cup when we finally qualified after 150 years (oh ok, 32 years) and realises that we will never be a world power in soccer.
He no doubt realises that the best and most gifted sportsmen in this country will choose AFL as their sporting pursuit and continue to starve soccer of potentially the best hope Australia has of being taken seriously on the World stage.
Wake up call Lamington, this will not change, our best male sportsmen will continue to play AFL as kids so get over your bitterness. Don't blame AFL for your sport's shortcomings in this country, blame the fact that yours is less appealing when kids choose a sporting code to pursue.
I love soccer, don't get me wrong, but AFL is so far superior to watch the 2 cannot be compared.
Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't a recent poll show that 41% of sport viewers in Australia prefer AFL, whilst something like 8% were for soccer?
Once the rest of the world gets a taste of Aussie Rules, it's gonna be the end of soccer, just like it's gonna be the end of Rugby in Australia in the near future.
Once, when? After 150 years AFL doesn't even dominate the whole of Australia, let alone the rest of the world.
:D A soccer freak calling our game fumbleball!:D I may as well call soccer Diveball!
I would've thought the damning thing for soccer is in countries that have their own indigenous football codes, soccer is a distant 2nd or 3rd place in most cases.
Soccer spread through Europe much like Australian Rules spread through the southern parts of Australia. In fact if you look through the historical records it was even doing pretty well all along the east coast of Australia until the NSW establishment opted for rugby. The telling difference was the European presence in the rest of the world - a developing nation was never going to be able to take Australian Rules to other countries given few countries saw Australia as nothing but a colony of Great Britain. And as soccer has found, competing with an established code is very difficult and almost a impossible task.
You may ask, with all the immigration from mostly soccer playing nations, "why, does not soccer dominate Australia?"
It doesn't have to dominate Australia when it dominates the rest of the world. Btw, extraordinary good things spread around the world pretty quickly regardless where are they from [think AC/DC, Crocodile Dundee].
Also, there are no "indigenuos football codes", they all come from England. Aussie Rules and American Football have revisedc rules to suit them. In both cases it was students who studied in England that used the basis of football laws [which is what is called rugby union today]. Tom Wills then on a long trip home had nothing else to do then have a look at those rules and modify them.
Anyone who belittles one game in order to advance the cause of another is pathetic.
This is what your comrades are doing here as well.
Well Soccer is a Game For Girls because they are scared of getting hurt and Actors who can't play footy:)
They are not scared but their employers who invested lot of money are. Go and say that to Duncan Ferguson or Roy Keane and see what would happen next. Players are under pressure because there's a worry that they may be 200 milion people less tuned in if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't line up for Man Utd. I've warned that the AFL is on the way to become the same. In 4 years time when TV rights go over billion and AFLPA wins free trading, you'll see it for yourself. All that's needed is a Aussie version of JOHNNY BOSMAN.
Soccer is WAY down the list of quality sports to watch.
Hurling
Gaelic football
Cricket
Baseball
Ice hockey
Golf
Rugby League
Rugby Union
are all superior sports.
That is your personal opinion that is not shared by over 6 billion people
Now, the bloke who wrote that article is a joker who wants publicity....something like Kevin Sheedy few years ago when he slammed the world game. But that joker has some valid points and some of them I raised in between.
I love the AFL as a game and am as passionate about Freo as the next bloke, but there's only one true football and that's the world game, although it's not the same game I grew up with. They sort of stole my game with their money and if you think I'm not pissed off about ____en diving and faking you're wrong. But I'm also optimistic enough that FIFA will stamp it out.
HighettBomber
9 May 2008, 07:41
AFL not being international is a strength, not a weakness. It means we get to see the highest standard every week. This is why the A League will never be successful, its a 3rd rate (or worse) competition.
Once, when? After 150 years AFL doesn't even dominate the whole of Australia, let alone the rest of the world.
It doesn't have to dominate Australia when it dominates the rest of the world. Btw, extraordinary good things spread around the world pretty quickly regardless where are they from [think AC/DC, Crocodile Dundee].
Also, there are no "indigenuos football codes", they all come from England. Aussie Rules and American Football have revisedc rules to suit them. In both cases it was students who studied in England that used the basis of football laws [which is what is called rugby union today]. Tom Wills then on a long trip home had nothing else to do then have a look at those rules and modify them.
This is what your comrades are doing here as well.
They are not scared but their employers who invested lot of money are. Go and say that to Duncan Ferguson or Roy Keane and see what would happen next. Players are under pressure because there's a worry that they may be 200 milion people less tuned in if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't line up for Man Utd. I've warned that the AFL is on the way to become the same. In 4 years time when TV rights go over billion and AFLPA wins free trading, you'll see it for yourself. All that's needed is a Aussie version of JOHNNY BOSMAN.
That is your personal opinion that is not shared by over 6 billion people
Now, the bloke who wrote that article is a joker who wants publicity....something like Kevin Sheedy few years ago when he slammed the world game. But that joker has some valid points and some of them I raised in between.
I love the AFL as a game and am as passionate about Freo as the next bloke, but there's only one true football and that's the world game, although it's not the same game I grew up with. They sort of stole my game with their money and if you think I'm not pissed off about ____en diving and faking you're wrong. But I'm also optimistic enough that FIFA will stamp it out.
I'm a sports lover as much as he next guy. I will give any sport a go and watch virtually any with interest, either live or on TV.
I just cannot get in to soccor, or understand why others are. Two main reasons:
- It is so low scoring! If it were higher scoring it may be more interesting. I mean, the main objective of the game is to score a goal. When 120 minutes have passed and NO-ONE has achieved this, surely that is a failure of the game rules. The low scoring means that often the better team doesn't win. In fact the better team can have 20 shots at goal, and, because it is so hard to score, not get one. Then the opposition, who have been well dominated, get one flukey goal and they win. Go figure.
- Contests in the middle of the pitch are virtually meaningless. Because it is so hard to score, if your team loses possession in the play you think "who cares, they won't score anyway". It makes general play as boring as ___ and is half the reason why the crowds fight and sing to keep any interest. In most other sports, including the AFL, general play is pivotal to the interest of the sport because a team can hold possession and score if they get the turnover. It gets you on the edge of your seat, watching every facet of every contest, to see who can work harder to get the vital possession.
This is not a soccor troll, just an honest observation why soccor will never overtake AFL. We are used to a far more exciting code. How can we go backwards to a less stimulating code just because it is played world wide? Its like saying you would dump Jennifer Hawkins, to start dating Margaret Thatcher, just because everyone else in the world was screwing her.
Skeppersap
9 May 2008, 11:13
I'm a sports lover as much as he next guy. I will give any sport a go and watch virtually any with interest, either live or on TV.
I just cannot get in to soccor, or understand why others are. Two main reasons:
- It is so low scoring! If it were higher scoring it may be more interesting. I mean, the main objective of the game is to score a goal. When 120 minutes have passed and NO-ONE has achieved this, surely that is a failure of the game rules. The low scoring means that often the better team doesn't win. In fact the better team can have 20 shots at goal, and, because it is so hard to score, not get one. Then the opposition, who have been well dominated, get one flukey goal and they win. Go figure.
- Contests in the middle of the pitch are virtually meaningless. Because it is so hard to score, if your team loses possession in the play you think "who cares, they won't score anyway". It makes general play as boring as ___ and is half the reason why the crowds fight and sing to keep any interest. In most other sports, including the AFL, general play is pivotal to the interest of the sport because a team can hold possession and score if they get the turnover. It gets you on the edge of your seat, watching every facet of every contest, to see who can work harder to get the vital possession.
This is not a soccor troll, just an honest observation why soccor will never overtake AFL. We are used to a far more exciting code. How can we go backwards to a less stimulating code just because it is played world wide? Its like saying you would dump Jennifer Hawkins, to start dating Margaret Thatcher, just because everyone else in the world was screwing her.
This can be a strength of the game as well. It can keep excitement in the game because any forward moevement could be a match winner. Low scoring also means that goals are much more valuable and celebrated harder.
The failing i see in soccer is that refs can change the result of a game so easily, by awarding a penalty. Now, we all whinge about umpires in AFL, but how often do they honestly change the result of a game? Not often. Look at the world cup. Australia Vs Italy, the 90th minute. At that stage smart money is on Australia. The ref makes an abysmal decision (due to a diver), penalty, game over. Extremely unfair. Australia pack their bags and go home, Italy go on to win the biggest event in World Sport.
To me, Australias campaign in the soccer world cup showed the good and the bad of soccer within 4 games.
The Good - Australia being behind against Japan, going BANG BANG BANG and winning the match. Dispair turning to elation in the space of 5 minutes. The drama of Australia Vs Croatia. If there has ever been a more dramatic sporting match, I would like to see it.
The Bad - Australia denied the chance of playing in a quarter final due to diving and poor refereeing. The cheaters (Italy) going on to win the world cup.
There's no other country in the world brave enough to play it.
We tried to create a hybrid game to develop with Ireland...but they just couldnt handle the strength side of the game. You could develop skills perhaps...but you cant develop the heart. Gridiron is played with a lot of protective gear...whilst Rugby is played with an off-side where you can brace for contact.
It's the sort of sport that people may be interested in, but only Australian's could ever play.
cammiss05
9 May 2008, 11:44
yeah because soccer is SOOO big in Australia :o
Too bad we can't even watch it on FTA (unless you watch ch 31 and then you can see the Oakleigh cannons play or whatever)
Furthermore, in order to watch all euro 2008 this year people require 'setanta sports' on their foxtel.
'boganball?', I know where i'd like to shove one....
I follow AFL.
I have a passing interest in rugby.
I don't follow league or soccer.
I really couldn't care less about what non-AFL people say about our game.
The only points of interest raised in this thread are about the administration of the game:
1. The administration of the game has done a poor job of expanding the territories of Aussie Rules.
2. The yanks would ruin it if they had control of it.
The first represents the fact that the AFL is firstly a football league and prioritises the league over the game.
The second represents fears over the direction the game would take given a saturation of sport-as-entertainment philosophy, obviously driven by media coverage of a league, rather than a game.
Both points highlight the need for a separate body to the AFL to look after the game at grassroots level, expand it's player base, and preserve the rules in competitions run outside of league-based interests e.g. SOO, the International Cup, and any international hybrids. This is one principle soccer does have right. The AFL organisation needs to divide if it is going to effectively expand beyond one country.
Bender571
9 May 2008, 12:37
It doesn't have to dominate Australia when it dominates the rest of the world. Btw, extraordinary good things spread around the world pretty quickly regardless where are they from [think AC/DC, Crocodile Dundee].
Also, there are no "indigenuos football codes", they all come from England. Aussie Rules and American Football have revisedc rules to suit them. In both cases it was students who studied in England that used the basis of football laws [which is what is called rugby union today]. Tom Wills then on a long trip home had nothing else to do then have a look at those rules and modify them.
Thats a poor comparison. Music and film can move across borders much easier than a sport. The sport requires people who understand the rules and can play the game, it needs a specific sporting ground to be played on.
Can you think of a new sport that has actually been able to spread successfully?
I reckon most Australians understand the rules of soccer, yet most choose to follow footy, where as people overseas don't understand footy and therefore can't make a choice.
fishmonger
9 May 2008, 13:03
I don't think Australians "wrecked" Basketball, for instance. We just play it according to the rules that were invented by an American.
I'd love it if Americans fell in love with our game.
Exactly.
Don't see any Four 'n Twenties or crepe banners at the basketball.
And if anyone thinks it would ever take over, they'd be dead wrong. Most of them would struggle just to understand our sport. The most we could ever hope for is a microscopic 1% marketshare, but that would be enough for them to compete against Australia.
And if it did, what would happen ? Sure, the AFL would be 2nd tier. But would that matter if the first tier was on the other side of the planet ? Think of Australia. Before the AFL became the biggest game in Adelaide, people in Adelaide watched and supported SANFL. Suprise, suprise, they still do. While not as many, they still watch it and follow their clubs even though the AFL has higher paid players. Rep footy (State of Origin) unfortunately went down the gurgler. But if we had good rep footy, who would care about the AFL ? Think Australia vs USA ... that would be the ultimate.
Runknisse
9 May 2008, 13:18
All I can say is: This bloke is a knob.
What you people don't realize is that this website is about highlighting all the nasty stuff newspapers and news services say about Association Football, inparticular the AFL dominated newspapers and there writers such as Mike Shehan and Trevor Grant to name but two who try to trash talk the game like this person has done with AFL they highlight what they call flaws in Association football and why they hate the game. This is a propaganda campaign mostly driven by Australian football diehards who fear the game so much they write such sensationalist stories like riots at games, boring etc etc. Very rarely does a Association football writer publish anti AFL or NRL articles there is no need for them because they cause reactions like this. If you don't like a code don't watch it and don't slag it off in the media to make you feel better about your own game.
I'm a sports lover as much as he next guy. I will give any sport a go and watch virtually any with interest, either live or on TV.
I just cannot get in to soccor, or understand why others are. Two main reasons:
- It is so low scoring! If it were higher scoring it may be more interesting. I mean, the main objective of the game is to score a goal. When 120 minutes have passed and NO-ONE has achieved this, surely that is a failure of the game rules. The low scoring means that often the better team doesn't win. In fact the better team can have 20 shots at goal, and, because it is so hard to score, not get one. Then the opposition, who have been well dominated, get one flukey goal and they win. Go figure.
- Contests in the middle of the pitch are virtually meaningless. Because it is so hard to score, if your team loses possession in the play you think "who cares, they won't score anyway". It makes general play as boring as ___ and is half the reason why the crowds fight and sing to keep any interest. In most other sports, including the AFL, general play is pivotal to the interest of the sport because a team can hold possession and score if they get the turnover. It gets you on the edge of your seat, watching every facet of every contest, to see who can work harder to get the vital possession.
This is not a soccor troll, just an honest observation why soccor will never overtake AFL. We are used to a far more exciting code. How can we go backwards to a less stimulating code just because it is played world wide? Its like saying you would dump Jennifer Hawkins, to start dating Margaret Thatcher, just because everyone else in the world was screwing her.
That's alright mate, that's why majority of people appriciate the difficulty kicking a goal that is 6.00m x 2.20m and also protected by a goalkeeper.
The only points of interest raised in this thread are about the administration of the game:
1. The administration of the game has done a poor job of expanding the territories of Aussie Rules.
2. The yanks would ruin it if they had control of it.
The first represents the fact that the AFL is firstly a football league and prioritises the league over the game.
The second represents fears over the direction the game would take given a saturation of sport-as-entertainment philosophy, obviously driven by media coverage of a league, rather than a game.
Both points highlight the need for a separate body to the AFL to look after the game at grassroots level, expand it's player base, and preserve the rules in competitions run outside of league-based interests e.g. SOO, the International Cup, and any international hybrids. This is one principle soccer does have right. The AFL organisation needs to divide if it is going to effectively expand beyond one country.
I agree with this one, time to get some fresh faces at the AFL administration.
Thats a poor comparison. Music and film can move across borders much easier than a sport. The sport requires people who understand the rules and can play the game, it needs a specific sporting ground to be played on.
Can you think of a new sport that has actually been able to spread successfully?
I reckon most Australians understand the rules of soccer, yet most choose to follow footy, where as people overseas don't understand footy and therefore can't make a choice.
Innit, but it's not poor comparison kicking unprotected goal of huge proprtions and kicking towards a goal 6x2.2m with the goalie on?! New sport? And I thought AFL celebrated 150 years of existence. If you couldn't ship it to NZ at least, well...
What you people don't realize is that this website is about highlighting all the nasty stuff newspapers and news services say about Association Football, inparticular the AFL dominated newspapers and there writers such as Mike Shehan and Trevor Grant to name but two who try to trash talk the game like this person has done with AFL they highlight what they call flaws in Association football and why they hate the game. This is a propaganda campaign mostly driven by Australian football diehards who fear the game so much they write such sensationalist stories like riots at games, boring etc etc. Very rarely does a Association football writer publish anti AFL or NRL articles there is no need for them because they cause reactions like this. If you don't like a code don't watch it and don't slag it off in the media to make you feel better about your own game.
Gee, one of the better posts around :). Should be a compulsory reading for every one-eyed AFL fan.
Unfortunately, there are lot of people who believe that you can cathegoricaly only follow one code of footy and that's it. That's very narrow-minded.
crackers57
9 May 2008, 14:08
What I don't understand is that if soccer is such a 'great' game and has been around for so long why did it never take on here in Australia?
It has had over a hundred years to dislodge footy from the number one spot and hasn't been able to do it.
Surely being such a popular game it should have squashed footy while it was still in it's infancy.
fishmonger
9 May 2008, 14:10
Very rarely does a Association football writer publish anti AFL or NRL articles there is no need for them because they cause reactions like this. If you don't like a code don't watch it and don't slag it off in the media to make you feel better about your own game.
No, actually that's because hardly anyone reads them and hardly anyone cares.:o
If they did publish it, they'd have even less readers. And do you really think that journos like Sheahan is actually turning people away from the AFL ? I don't think so.
So quit your jibber jabbin. :rolleyes:
http://www.blogcadre.com/files/images/Mr.T.thumbnail.jpg
I agree with this one, time to get some fresh faces at the AFL administration.
Not quite what I meant. Currently there's ambiguity about what's good for the league and what's good for the game. A separate organisation with a clear mission statement would cater for this distinction.
Obviously this is an idea of little practical importance except in the far future, but a separate body now would alter the direction of these hypothetical expansion arguments eg. "What would happen if Aussie Rules was big in America?"
edgehead47
9 May 2008, 14:58
The guy who wrote that shit is an uneducated knob. However soccer is a great and exciting game to watch, its easily the biggest spectactor sport in the world, its big in europe, asia and africa. But it has nothing on the AFL here or NFL or baseball in the US. I personally would love to see the A-league improve but it will never knock off our game as the no.1 code in Australia. So really the whole things a non-issue, i'd hate to see our game go international, what would be the point anyway?
It doesn't have to dominate Australia when it dominates the rest of the world. Btw, extraordinary good things spread around the world pretty quickly regardless where are they from [think AC/DC, Crocodile Dundee].
Also, there are no "indigenuos football codes", they all come from England. Aussie Rules and American Football have revisedc rules to suit them. In both cases it was students who studied in England that used the basis of football laws [which is what is called rugby union today]. Tom Wills then on a long trip home had nothing else to do then have a look at those rules and modify them.
The question was why does soccer not dominate Australia, when so much of the population in this country came from soccer dominated countries. From 1900 onwards Australian Rules should not have stood a chance if soccer was such a superior code. BTW AC/DC and Crocodile Dundee both occurred once Australia was a 1st world country not a perceived province of England.
Also. So the English were the 1st to invent kicking a ball in an organised fashion? Think you need to do some research. My use of the word indigenous refers to the first place a code was played not where it was invented or it's mother code was played. The point is that soccer managed to fill the hole first, when workers rights 1st included 1 and a 1/2 days off a week, not because it was a superior code but because it was brought to other countries long before Australian Rules, Gridiron and even Gaelic Football.
The only code that soccer could possibly use the "but it is played in so many countries" argument is against rugby as they both had the same opportunity to spread, at the same time.
What I don't understand is that if soccer is such a 'great' game and has been around for so long why did it never take on here in Australia?
It has had over a hundred years to dislodge footy from the number one spot and hasn't been able to do it.
Surely being such a popular game it should have squashed footy while it was still in it's infancy.
So, it has to be No.1 in Australia in order to be the greates game on earth? Give me a break. Again, it deosn't matter if it's No.1 code or not, the fact is that it is played on these shores whether you like it or not.
No, actually that's because hardly anyone reads them and hardly anyone cares.:o
If they did publish it, they'd have even less readers. And do you really think that journos like Sheahan is actually turning people away from the AFL ? I don't think so.
So quit your jibber jabbin. :rolleyes:
Rather ill-tempered reactions here speak differently.
Not quite what I meant. Currently there's ambiguity about what's good for the league and what's good for the game. A separate organisation with a clear mission statement would cater for this distinction.
Obviously this is an idea of little practical importance except in the far future, but a separate body now would alter the direction of these hypothetical expansion arguments eg. "What would happen if Aussie Rules was big in America?"
This is actually worth of a reply. In order to expand the game to other countries the administrators need to look in their own backyard first. There are a lot of footy clubs, particularly in country areas, that are struggling. Those clubs are the starting point for a lot of future stars of the game and it's a shame that a bigger slice of the pie doesn't go to them yet there are lot of useless employees on the AFL payroll who waste lot of money, eg "rule change comitee"...
The guy who wrote that shit is an uneducated knob. However soccer is a great and exciting game to watch, its easily the biggest spectactor sport in the world, its big in europe, asia and africa. But it has nothing on the AFL here or NFL or baseball in the US. I personally would love to see the A-league improve but it will never knock off our game as the no.1 code in Australia. So really the whole things a non-issue, i'd hate to see our game go international, what would be the point anyway?
Agree with this one. It is not an issue.
The question was why does soccer not dominate Australia, when so much of the population in this country came from soccer dominated countries. From 1900 onwards Australian Rules should not have stood a chance if soccer was such a superior code. BTW AC/DC and Crocodile Dundee both occurred once Australia was a 1st world country not a perceived province of England.
Also. So the English were the 1st to invent kicking a ball in an organised fashion? Think you need to do some research. My use of the word indigenous refers to the first place a code was played not were it was invented or it's mother code was played. The point is that soccer managed to fill the hole first, when workers rights 1st included 1 and a 1/2 days off a week, not because it was a superior code but because it was brought to other countries long before Australian Rules, Gridiron and even Gaelic Football.
The only code that soccer could possibly use the "but it is played in so many countries" argument is against rugby as they both had the same opportunity to spread, at the same time.
The last thing on those people's mind when they arrived in this country at the time was sport. They came here in search of better life, not to spread soccer to the masses. They had to adopt to a lifestyle that was already here. In those early 1900's, immigrants from Italy, Greece and former Yugoslavia generally came from remote villages, often uneducated and illiterate. Back then, soccer was almost exclusively played at universities and big cities
Do you really think that Poms didn't know about the football code played here?
Americans invented basketball and they succesfully exported it to the rest of the world. Basketball is the second biggest sport in the world. What was basketball's status here 20-30 years ago? I don't think it was as big as it is now. Same is with handball which is third biggest sport in the world, yet handball, as good as it is [it's proabably one of the highest-scoring and fast-paced sportsx in the world] is almost non-existant in Australia. Which is a pity really.
estibador
9 May 2008, 16:12
Americans invented basketball and they succesfully exported it to the rest of the world. Basketball is the second biggest sport in the world. What was basketball's status here 20-30 years ago? I don't think it was as big as it is now.
Actually basketball went through a boom here in the 80s early 90s before dying once the novelty wore off.
The last thing on those people's mind when they arrived in this country at the time was sport. They came here in search of better life, not to spread soccer to the masses. They had to adopt to a lifestyle that was already here. In those early 1900's, immigrants from Italy, Greece and former Yugoslavia generally came from remote villages, often uneducated and illiterate. Back then, soccer was almost exclusively played at universities and big cities
Do you really think that Poms didn't know about the football code played here?
Americans invented basketball and they succesfully exported it to the rest of the world. Basketball is the second biggest sport in the world. What was basketball's status here 20-30 years ago? I don't think it was as big as it is now. Same is with handball which is third biggest sport in the world, yet handball, as good as it is [it's proabably one of the highest-scoring and fast-paced sportsx in the world] is almost non-existant in Australia. Which is a pity really.
Again you need to do some research. Yes organised soccer competition was mostly in schools and big cities, that doesn't mean it was not played in villages. Also immigrants were not solely from isolated villages, immigration from Europe was as you said to begin a better life, they came from many social levels and back grounds. There has also been countless social changes, for the good, that were adopted from immigrant cultures, so a superior code of football should have been able to take over from a code in the early stages of development like Aussie Rules.
So, by the 1950's, when soccer was the dominant sport in the world and we had our influx of 10 pound Pom's closely followed by the Italian's, Greek's and German's etc, etc, what happened? Surely then, soccer should have begun to compete against Aussie Rules? But again it didn't happen, the children of these immigrants (for the most part) also adopted Aussie Rules. Australia, USA, NZ and to a lesser extent Ireland have all had a competitor for soccer and the only country that soccer even comes close to the dominant code is in Ireland.
Of course the Pom's (and American's) know about Aussie Rules, but, we never tried to export the game in any way until the 80's, well and truly after soccer (and Gridiron in the US case) had established itself into the culture of the other countries.
As for your example of basketball, well 20 years ago it was just approaching it's peak in Australia (crowd and participation levels) and for the last 10-15 years has been on a steady decline. It also has been exported from the US at a time when the US was the dominant country of the time - much like England and soccer.
Handball is non-existent in many countries. Not just Australia, not a good example.
Thunderbird
9 May 2008, 17:41
VFL is only popular in four states of Australia
Football ... is played in every country on the planet
Obvious double standard.
Australian football is played in a number of countries, and soccer is not the most popular sport in every country.
See: Australian rules football around the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_around_the_world).
watch their country battle it out for the VFL World Cup.
Australian football is more like cricket in about 1850. There's one dominant country, and a number of countries where the game is played but not by enough players to make a national team that can challenge the dominant country in an unhandicapped representative match.
And there IS an Australian football world cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_around_the_world).
Yes, it is an obvious soccer troll.
I love the AFL as a game and am as passionate about Freo as the next bloke, but there's only one true football and that's the world game, although it's not the same game I grew up with. They sort of stole my game with their money and if you think I'm not pissed off about ____en diving and faking you're wrong. But I'm also optimistic enough that FIFA will stamp it out.This is my biggest gripe about soccer and that's the supporters. Comments like this shows that they have this supperior attitude when it comes to sport.
Copernicus
10 May 2008, 03:44
This is my biggest gripe about soccer and that's the supporters. Comments like this shows that they have this supperior attitude when it comes to sport.
To be fair, there are a lot of Aussie Rules supporters with a similar attitude. All sports have it.
Although, to me, there is something uglier about the soccer fan's determination to have soccer become the dominant sport in every country, but that's another story.
rickydysonforbl
10 May 2008, 07:37
The article raises some very good issues that we, as a game, should confront. I hope Andy D is taking note.
Obvious double standard.
Australian football is played in a number of countries, and soccer is not the most popular sport in every country.
See: Australian rules football around the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_around_the_world).
Australian football is more like cricket in about 1850. There's one dominant country, and a number of countries where the game is played but not by enough players to make a national team that can challenge the dominant country in an unhandicapped representative match.
And there IS an Australian football world cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_around_the_world).
Yes, it is an obvious soccer troll.
Are you serious? You are actually comparing two sports on the world scale?
Enough said.
This is my biggest gripe about soccer and that's the supporters. Comments like this shows that they have this supperior attitude when it comes to sport.
Funny, that's what I encounter from AFL supporters. Remember "Sheilas Wogs and poofters"?
To be fair, there are a lot of Aussie Rules supporters with a similar attitude. All sports have it.
Although, to me, there is something uglier about the soccer fan's determination to have soccer become the dominant sport in every country, but that's another story.
This sort of discussion is possible only in Australia. If you go to Glasgow right now and ask an average Jock what he thinks is the biggest sport in the world and is he for a total domination of the world football he'll tell ya that he doesn't know what are you talking about and to go and get some counceling. People in the other countries don't give a FF about what is the most popular sport. Generally it's football, anyway ;)
morgoth
20 May 2008, 12:55
Yeah AFL is so bad, maybe we should all start punching on, stabbing oppostion supporters and then riot for 24 hours after our team plays.
Great game the world game.
TARRANTLESS
20 May 2008, 13:07
Surely a lot of you are missing the point. He isn't saying soccer is more popular he is saying in 150 years AFL has failed to even conquer the state next door.
Which is very true. Nobody in Sydney gives a toss.
DrewMorphett
20 May 2008, 14:29
Yeah AFL is so bad, maybe we should all start punching on, stabbing oppostion supporters and then riot for 24 hours after our team plays.
Great game the world game.
Someone obviously believes everything the media tells them.
It's a rather undeveloped article, but the reality about this whole 150yr rubbish is that it a feel-good exercise for the AFL, and the most utterly disgraceful thing about the whole exercise is that it is fundamentally VFL/AFL-centric, and shows little respect for the VFA, SANFL, WAFL and Tasmania, where leagues were just as popular and just as good as the VFL.
It is not about football at all, it is about AFL
Like rivalry round and heritage round, the 150yr thingo is another gimmicky attempt to try and reinvigorate some of the splendid, but dead tradition and history of what was a great Australian sporting culture, all but exterminated by Jackson, McGuire and Co.....
'My sport's better than your sport'.
That's all you hear.
Get over it. People should appreciate all sports, but you do not necessarily have to like them.
It's impossible to just totally discount a sport on the basis of your personal opinion.
And people who like both are laughing at both sides of this pitiful argument.