Opinion Breakaway Discussion - Discrimination & Political Correctness

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gbatman said:
AFL need to take a leaf out of the big bash's book on how to start an elite female competition. The WBBL Was well viewed on television and successfully used as a curtain raiser. AFL take note! This is massively important for the game.
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s**t, if we had a women's team, it might be worth following them more closely than the men's for the next few years!
 
HARKER said:
You have to finish the sentence off to have some meaning:

This is massively important for the game..........because............
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.... 50% of the population is female.

.... There is still a chauvinist edge to Aussie rules

.... The game will be much healthier if there is a greater and better-rounded fanbase.

Satisfied?
 
HARKER said:
Doesn't answer the question though, does it?
Why is it important to the current game we have?

People make stuff up without qualification. So the game won't survive without female participation?
Maybe more males should play netball and softball then, to make those games better rounded? :)
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I suspect a women's league will not be profitable in isolation.

But I expect it would increase some women's interest in the game as a whole.

As an example, I have two daughters. They may grow up idolising netballers because they see women playing the sport. If there were a women's afl league, they may grow up playing and following footy.

The men's game would benefit on the back of that.

Could see Carlton have more members, bigger crowds, greater merch sales, bigger tv audiences, more valuable tv rights contracts...

I'm not saying it's broken at the moment, only that a complementary league (which in honesty would only be fledgling for many many years) could benefit the main event.
 
With this women's league, what will they be wearing? Same shorts/jumpers as the men?

Just wondering if they wore something similar to the women's basketballers if it would get some more interest from a male audience, in the same way that some women get more enjoyment out of the current tight shorts and sleeveless shirts, my mrs included (I swear she's called me Lenny (Hayes) before in a moment of passion).

Not saying take it to the level of the lingerie football league stuff where the credibity goes out of the game.
 
Kruzering said:
With this women's league, what will they be wearing? Same shorts/jumpers as the men?

Just wondering if they wore something similar to the women's basketballers if it would get some more interest from a male audience, in the same way that some women get more enjoyment out of the current tight shorts and sleeveless shirts, my mrs included (I swear she's called me Lenny (Hayes) before in a moment of passion).

Not saying take it to the level of the lingerie football league stuff where the credibity goes out of the game.
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At least make them wear skirts with thongs...

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
HARKER said:
You have to finish the sentence off to have some meaning:

This is massively important for the game..........because............
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Because it brings this area of our game out of the dark ages for a start! This archaic view that the game is just for men is what is holding it back. Same reason it's important to cricket. Australia is going to be a cricket powerhouse in 20 years because of big bash, because it's seen participation rates and viewership skyrocket and brought in a load of kids to a game that needed this badly.

The AFL are trying desperately to expand but just creating new teams and plonking them in areas is not enough. It's hard work to expand a game that is only for half the population.

To promote women to play you need an elite comp, something for young women to see and aim for and emulate.

What it creates is not just more girls playing the sport but more boys playing which is what our game needs because frankly, with the extra sides brought in, the talent is a little watered down and the AFL is a little less elite these days. Families who have both boys and girls can now take both kids to the same event, Auskick. Women who see women playing on tv are more likely to let their kids play footy. women who have played footy are more likely to promote an interest in footy to their kids and those kids are more likely to play because of it. At grassroots level this also brings more organisers to the game. Women playing and participating means more interested women which means more attending AFL games and purchasing club memberships.

We should not just be expanding into different regions of the country but also into different demographics as well.

The WBBL has already proved what a massive impact this has on a sport and what it is going to have on it.
 
FlowersByIrene said:
We wont be trading out of the first round in consecutive years. No one has suggested that and we wont be.

At worst, very worst. It would be a first and a second with a third or player coming back with wines.
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If we do get Wines, at least our quota of players with a head too big for their body will be back on track...
 
A women's league might help more teenage girls stay interested in footy. I know that when I was kicked out of playing footy when I turned 12 (and all my girl friends were in the same boat) we stopped giving a s**t about footy until we got to about year 11, when all the boys played at lunch time.
 

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I have a niece who's ten. She, and the rest of the family mind you, show no interest in sport. I was walking their dog one night and wandered past the local cricket oval. The girls team (15-16ish) were practicing kicking and running drills...

"Hey, I saw some girls playing footy down the road. Maybe when you're a few years older"
"Yuck! Why would I be interested in that?"

So yeah maybe this new footy league will get some girls off the couch...
 
ferrisb said:
I suspect a women's league will not be profitable in isolation.

But I expect it would increase some women's interest in the game as a whole.

As an example, I have two daughters. They may grow up idolising netballers because they see women playing the sport. If there were a women's afl league, they may grow up playing and following footy.

The men's game would benefit on the back of that.

Could see Carlton have more members, bigger crowds, greater merch sales, bigger tv audiences, more valuable tv rights contracts...

I'm not saying it's broken at the moment, only that a complementary league (which in honesty would only be fledgling for many many years) could benefit the main event.
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You've gotta ask yourself, @Ferris, what we did in our past lives to deserve two daughters each... #wouldntswapthem #thenagain
 
Kruzering said:
With this women's league, what will they be wearing? Same shorts/jumpers as the men?

Just wondering if they wore something similar to the women's basketballers if it would get some more interest from a male audience, in the same way that some women get more enjoyment out of the current tight shorts and sleeveless shirts, my mrs included (I swear she's called me Lenny (Hayes) before in a moment of passion).

Not saying take it to the level of the lingerie football league stuff where the credibity goes out of the game.
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I can't even......
 
gbatman said:
Because it brings this area of our game out of the dark ages for a start! This archaic view that the game is just for men is what is holding it back. Same reason it's important to cricket. Australia is going to be a cricket powerhouse in 20 years because of big bash, because it's seen participation rates and viewership skyrocket and brought in a load of kids to a game that needed this badly.

The AFL are trying desperately to expand but just creating new teams and plonking them in areas is not enough. It's hard work to expand a game that is only for half the population.

To promote women to play you need an elite comp, something for young women to see and aim for and emulate.

What it creates is not just more girls playing the sport but more boys playing which is what our game needs because frankly, with the extra sides brought in, the talent is a little watered down and the AFL is a little less elite these days. Families who have both boys and girls can now take both kids to the same event, Auskick. Women who see women playing on tv are more likely to let their kids play footy. women who have played footy are more likely to promote an interest in footy to their kids and those kids are more likely to play because of it. At grassroots level this also brings more organisers to the game. Women playing and participating means more interested women which means more attending AFL games and purchasing club memberships.

We should not just be expanding into different regions of the country but also into different demographics as well.

The WBBL has already proved what a massive impact this has on a sport and what it is going to have on it.
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Spot on, Batty. Not to mention the games themselves have surprisingly agile, athletic, skillful players. Surprising cause I ain't seen this stuff before.
 
Kruzering said:
With this women's league, what will they be wearing? Same shorts/jumpers as the men?

Just wondering if they wore something similar to the women's basketballers if it would get some more interest from a male audience, in the same way that some women get more enjoyment out of the current tight shorts and sleeveless shirts, my mrs included (I swear she's called me Lenny (Hayes) before in a moment of passion).

Not saying take it to the level of the lingerie football league stuff where the credibity goes out of the game.
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Didn't realise the men's kit was designed based on what would be sexy for women to watch. Stupid me thought it had more to do with match performance. My bad.
 
Lace_Out said:
Improved range of motion, will give their kicking an extra 10-15 m

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
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I'm not one to not admire a striking female form, and I'm sure you're just having a laugh, but I'll just take this opportunity to make the general comment that worrying about what they wear while they play football is probably a bit rich. Having watched a couple of the women's games last year, I was struck by their skills and how much it reminded me of football of old. I can't remember noticing that they could have been wearing something skimpier. And I'm glad.
 
I like a contest and if it is the pinnacle of that sport, even better. So a women's league will be the pinnacle of the sport ... for women. When they start playing a full season and a full finals series and sponsors start getting on board, the quality will improve (not that there isn't already some quality there).

I have been watching a bit of the W-League lately. They are in the midst of their finals. I realised I don't have to see the best skills that you might find in the EPL, I just have to see a contest, heart, passion. It feels less slick and more grass roots and I can't look away.

If the AFL Women's League is televised, I will watch it every week. I would love to see a Carlton team in that comp. Double the pleasure (or pain).
 
HARKER said:
Yep. Great response. :thumbsu:

But.....Has any organizations stopped women playing AFL football before or have women just largely not cared for the sport?
I have no issues with an organisation reaching out to attract more involvement........we'd be silly not to........but isn't that in itself just a little self-serving?

Anyway, it's a good thing. No argument.
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I think the sport has always been targetted at a male audience, and about the physicality of the game.

As the game has changed and developed, there is much more of a focus on athleticism, endurance and skills than brutality. The day of whacking someone behind play, or sling tackling an opponent in the turf seem to be almost behind us, and this makes the sport more appealing to females to play.

The only thing outstanding is for there to be a professional league for other girls to aspire to. If there is no pinnacle in AFL for women, then it makes it harder for girls playing the sport to have any real goals - unlike the mens competitions where there are clear outcomes for effort and ability.

Increasing the size of the AFL competition benefits the AFL as it increases their audience (and would particularly help them make inroads in rugby footholds). This shouldnt be seen as an alterior motive, I think its pretty transperant from the outset.
 
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