Roast Annoying terms introduced to AFL

[Stocka]

I find it annoying when commentators and fans apply terminology to AFL that implies some sort of higher knowledge or level of understanding or analysis of the game, when in reality, many of these people don't understand the term that they are using (as evidenced by how they use the term or their inability to explain what it means) and have merely borrowed and repeated said terms from other sports or from a particular coach who has mentioned the term in one instance, in order to sound knowledgeable about the game.

Here are a couple of terms that come to mind for me personally:

Forward Press - every time I've gone to a game of football this year I've heard people in the stands lamenting how their team doesn't have a forward press, yet, I bet that very few of these people could actually describe what a forward press actually is and how their team could enact one. (I'm not saying that I could either). A few years ago you could have put "rolling zone" in here instead.

Power Forward - is this some stupid basketball term that has been applied to football? Not new to football dialogue, but entirely cringeworthy on the basis that it seems like an unnecessary descriptor to add to football terminology and one which is not particularly clear in relation to exactly what types of players to which it should refer.

What terms that are in use annoy you for similar reasons as mentioned above?

 

[Jorgo]

Not really a footy tactic example but I hate the phrase "up and about". It's taken over the media, the players, frickin' everyone!!

I'm also getting a bit tired of "super sub" in relation to players coming on with fresh legs and dominating. To me it seems pretty straight forward that a player with fresh legs is going to look quicker and more active than everyone else on the field if they come on in the last quarter. Do we really need to give it such a spuddy name? Speaking of spuds, if we're going to be stuck with the aforementioned atrocity phrase, why isn't there a "super spud" for those subbed on players that come on and do nothing like a bunch have in the last week or so?

 

[John]

Gold Coast Suns. Oh right you said terms not teams, sorry.


If it is terms you want I despise Quarterback and Substitute.

 

[Rockliff38]

Delicious.

 

[John]

Sub cam for cripes sake. They have a bloody sub cam. Or is that a thing?

Another one is Rules Changes Committee. Or is that another thing?

 

[Grimreepah]

One term I don't get is when players win an award they say they are "humbled". Getting badly beaten by an opponent would be a humbling experience. Begging to get your job back would be a humbling experience. Winning an award would be the opposite.

 

[MacMum]

Agree with you Grim.....also annoys me - in the deee-fence.......or playing in the big dance..... or having a crack...it used to be having a go..

 

[Mr Ripper]

"AFL" as in the sport, not the comp.

 

[3KZ is Football]

I've never been a fan of player's aerobic fitness and their ability to run for extended periods being described by the size of their tank.

Tank - ORIGIN early 17th cent.: perhaps from Gujarati tānkũ or Marathi tānkẽ ‘underground cistern,’ from Sanskrit tadāga ‘pond,’ probably influenced by Portuguese tangue ‘pond,’ from Latin stagnum.

 

[Grimreepah]

"AFL" as in the sport, not the comp.

Sometimes I say this. Having grown up watching league, to this day it still feels a bit funny saying 'football' or 'footy' in reference to other codes.

 

[Grimreepah]

3KZ, I say that too.

 

[Tairy Greene]

'He's gunna be something!' Usually said when a young player does something above average. Ofcourse they're all going to be something, footy players for the most part.

 

[Lehmo87]

It's not used much anymore, but "frontal pressure" was one of the more unusual terms. When I first heard it I could have sworn it meant something else!

 

[Stocka]

It's not used much anymore, but "frontal pressure" was one of the more unusual terms. When I first heard it I could have sworn it meant something else!

Yeah, another one is "Pressuring Acts" which has entered into the statistics rundown provided in the HS. I get what it means, but some of the aspects of the game which it is supposed to measure must surely be quite tenuous if they don't deserve an actual column of their own.

 

[3KZ is Football]

3KZ, I say that too.

I think I have used tank before aswell Grim, but it annoys me and I'm trying to stop.

 

[Grimreepah]

I think I have used tank before aswell Grim, but it annoys me and I'm trying to stop.

What about 'engine'?

 

[3KZ is Football]

What about 'engine'?

A bit the same, but because I hear it less, it tends to annoy less. Motor on the other hand ...

 

[Grimreepah]

A bit the same, but because I hear it less, it tends to annoy less. Motor on the other hand ...

You're not leaving us with many options...

 

[POBT]

- what do they stand for? Often in reference to Port.

- our brand. A Ross Lyonism

 

[Grimreepah]

- what do they stand for?

I remember when Robert Walls asked Mark Harvey this question. As much fun as it was watching Harvey flop around like an untrained seal, it's a bit of a nothing question. What's he meant to say? 'World peace'?

 

[Dylan12]

When a commentator, coach or player refers to a side as being a "proud club." Are they inferring that there are clubs that aren't proud clubs?

 

[Hanley]

I find it annoying when exceptional players are described as 'mercurial'.

Mercurial means like the substance mercury, so essentially volatile and unreliable. It can mean lively, in an erratic sense, but never excellent. It also seems to be linked in almost every mind with the word 'genius', also overused in footy.

The classic 'he is literally on fire' is too funny to visualise to get annoyed about.

 

[Mr Ripper]

- what do they stand for? Often in reference to Port.

- our brand. A Ross Lyonism

Yes, yes, YES to both!

 

[The Flying Belgian]

"Tank" I beleive would be a reference to a fuel tank. The more petrol in your tank, the further you drive.

"Shorts it", "Catch", "Shot on goal" would top my most annoying terms, along with the ubiguitous "AFL" as Rip points out.

 

[Grimreepah]

"a captain's goal"