- Joined
- Aug 6, 2000
- Posts
- 3,546
- Reaction score
- 50
- Location
- Denver, Colorado
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- GB Packers, STL Cards, PHI Flyers
AFL won't ever become mainstream in the US. There are too many pro sports already for people to soak in I think and we Americans by nature generally aren't open minded enough to accept new ones quickly. Particularly when people try to run it down our throats (soccer).
AFL has a cult following in the US and has for about 20-25 years. When the fledging ESPN network started in 1979 it had serious problems trying to fill out its schedule, particularly during the overnight hours.
Aussie Rules matches were supposed to be a temporary filler, but people actually started watching it on a regular basis and even to the point where it became the highest-rated show anywhere on cable after 10 pm for awhile. ESPN's producers credit Aussie Rules with helping it survive as a 24 hour network in the early days.
But after a few years, I think the novelty wore off. It must have, because ESPN started showing crap like the national cheerleading championships and the world series of water skiing.
I'm not sure the popularity of the sport will ever really move to a higher level than it was in the 80s or is now. More people in the US are playing it than ever before, but it's still barely a blip on the radar screen in the grand scheme of things. I've been trying to find organized competition where I live but if I wanted to play I'd have to drive two hours out of town.
All I really want, as an American, is for it to succeed enough that TV networks continue to show it regularly enough for us to follow it as close as we do. I would be happy if that's as good as it got. If Aussie Rules became an American game, it would lose a lot of what makes it special.
Besides, we'd find a way to ruin it.
AFL has a cult following in the US and has for about 20-25 years. When the fledging ESPN network started in 1979 it had serious problems trying to fill out its schedule, particularly during the overnight hours.
Aussie Rules matches were supposed to be a temporary filler, but people actually started watching it on a regular basis and even to the point where it became the highest-rated show anywhere on cable after 10 pm for awhile. ESPN's producers credit Aussie Rules with helping it survive as a 24 hour network in the early days.
But after a few years, I think the novelty wore off. It must have, because ESPN started showing crap like the national cheerleading championships and the world series of water skiing.
I'm not sure the popularity of the sport will ever really move to a higher level than it was in the 80s or is now. More people in the US are playing it than ever before, but it's still barely a blip on the radar screen in the grand scheme of things. I've been trying to find organized competition where I live but if I wanted to play I'd have to drive two hours out of town.
All I really want, as an American, is for it to succeed enough that TV networks continue to show it regularly enough for us to follow it as close as we do. I would be happy if that's as good as it got. If Aussie Rules became an American game, it would lose a lot of what makes it special.
Besides, we'd find a way to ruin it.
