Cheers from Canada

[McFist]

Hi all, Canadian here, fresh faced and noobish as can be.

I grew up an ice Hockey fan (pretty much bred in the bone in Canada) and my dad, originally from the UK, was a Rugby Union coach so I grew up with that too. Back some time in '08 I stumbled on an AFL match and was made an instant Footy fan. I'm hard pressed to choose between hockey and footy now as a #1 fav sport.

Anyway glad to be here, I'm hoping to learn from all you die hard fans out there as I'm still green.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Hi there! Welcome to Big Footy. You like my two favourite sports so that's a good thing. Sens not so much I'm from Melbourne originally but living in Vancouver now.

 

[McFist]

Haha right on, good to meet another hockey fan! And back at ya as far as the Cats go, I'm a Hawks and Saints man. I'm Ottawa born and raised, so there's no team but the Sens for me. Your Oilers are gonna be fearsome at some point in the near future.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I don't mind the Sens too much but hate Hawthorn and St. Kilda pretty much more than any other teams. Haha. Good luck to you though! It's cool to find a Canadian that's into the game. Do you get AFL coverage on TSN2 over in Ottawa? I think the Hawks vs Eagles game is on this week.

Yep, looking forward to what the Oilers can do in the next few years. Would like some solid blueliners but certainly loaded up on forward talent.

 

[McFist]

I've been almost spoiled for Hawks coverage on TSN2, with the game against the Swans last week and now WCE. But yeah I get the 1 game a week thing, which is only a tease in my mind. Next year I'll be subscribing to that pricey internet package thing.

Oilers really are in need of some solid D, but that'll come I'm sure, Tambellini will have to wise to it sooner or later. I think it could make for another dynasty team tbh.

I've seen a lot of Hawks hate around the internet and such, is that common for all teams, or are the Hawks notoriously hated (like the Canucks) or something? Because outside of the matches themselves I'm still fairly ignorant.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Yeah, that one game a week is kind of annoying. I did have that internet package last year but didn't bother this year.

Traditionally, there are the big 4 teams in Melbourne. They are Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. All of those teams really hate each other with a passion. Essendon also have a big rivalry with Hawthorn. This comes from the 80's when both teams were very successful.

The Hawks team had a lot of big egos in the 80's. Kind of like the Flyers in the 70's. A few of them are still around in the media and a lot of opposition supporters don't like them. Geelong and Hawthorn is starting to turn into a pretty big rivalry. We beat them in the 1963 Grand Final, they beat us in probably the best Grand Final ever in 1989, they had an upset win against us in 2008 and we've had some very close games since with Geelong winning each time. We have 9 premierships in history and they have 10.

Honestly though, a lot of the hate you see is an internet thing. A few teams really dislike them but apart from that it's not too bad.

 

[McFist]

Oh awesome info! Thanks for that, really helps knowing some of the background stuff. I guess what I was reading came from a few specific fanbases.

Even though I became a Hawks fan in 2008, I missed that Grand Final (Canadian TV, go figure) and was totally shocked to find out Geelong didn't win after the way they dominated the whole comp that year. I also got to see that '89 GF match recently due to the magic of the internet!

I've been trying to watch as many classic matches as are available around the net. There's a lot of old VFL - SANFL 'State of Origin' matches to see on youtube, and quite thrilling ones at that.

 

[Ed_Gein]

Welcome. And oh yes, Hawks and Bombers hate each other. If you've got a spare 10 minutes, watch this (doesn't kick off until 1:50 or so);



There is also a bit of a collectors item in there, Scott Lucas actually handballed at 9:26. lol

And there is also this;

 

[McFist]

I'd seen that first clip before, but never the second one. Was even nastier! Bad blood's an understatement there hahaha. Yeah I've heard Lucas handballed less than he even kicked with his right foot, which was basically never.

Thanks for the welcome and filling me in!

 

[BomberFletch31]

Welcome to BigFooty. I love your country, I've been there three times and I've got family in Vancouver

I started watching the NHL over there and I do have a soft spot for the Canucks although I don't follow the sport religiously, so I have no clue what's going on this season.

As for your choice of footy teams ... WHY???

 

[Armforward]

Hi all, Canadian here, fresh faced and noobish as can be.

I grew up an ice Hockey fan (pretty much bred in the bone in Canada) and my dad, originally from the UK, was a Rugby Union coach so I grew up with that too. Back some time in '08 I stumbled on an AFL match and was made an instant Footy fan. I'm hard pressed to choose between hockey and footy now as a #1 fav sport.

Anyway glad to be here, I'm hoping to learn from all you die hard fans out there as I'm still green.

 

[Armforward]

McFist, does Mike Pyke rate a mention in Canada? And do you follow him at all?

 

[Catfish Alley]

I haven't heard anything about him. There may have been a small blurb in the newspaper when he started but AFL doesn't get a mention here. You get one game a week on TV and that's it.

 

[I bleed Blue]

Great to hear our game is capturing the imagination of people around the world. Good on you for keeping up with everything. It must be really hard with the time difference, and the fact that probably not too many of your friends know/follow AFL, meaning you wouldn't have too many people to chat about it with over there.

Plenty of banter here on bigfooty though so you have come to the right place. Enjoy the ride, I think you are going to see your Hawks win another flag this year.

 

[Ed_Gein]

Hello everyone,
I'm Anthony.I'm football fan.I just found this forum at google.I seen some interesting threads and posts so I thought I would sign up.I'm just new in this community but I'm looking forward to have a great conversation or exchanging ideas with you guys.

Are you sure you're name isn't Brett?

Welcome.

 

[skilts]

McFist, your experience on these boards is going to be a limited one. Nobody I know hates Canadians. Mind you, if you keep barracking for the Hawks and the Saints, there will be a ruckus.

 

[Stewies Power]

Did Mike Pyke get much media attention over there after the grand final?

 

[Rack Watts]

I was going to welcome you, then I realised you picked the Hawks

Welcome to Bigfooty squire.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Did Mike Pyke get much media attention over there after the grand final?

Nope, nothing. Nobody cares about it here. A lot of people do know the game and realize that it's on TV occasionally but when you mention Australian Football most people just think you mean Rugby.

 

[Topkent]

Did Mike Pyke get much media attention over there after the grand final?

im an aussie living in canada atm and he got a small mention on sports centre, it was like a 15 second mention of him being the first canadian to play in the game, ive also seen jeremy howe and andrew walkers hangers on the top 10 catches here as well!

this is in manitoba mind you.

 

[Stewies Power]

im an aussie living in canada atm and he got a small mention on sports centre, it was like a 15 second mention of him being the first canadian to play in the game, ive also seen jeremy howe and andrew walkers hangers on the top 10 catches here as well!

this is in manitoba mind you.

I saw that there was an article on him in one of the local papers as well, but that's pretty cool that he also got some TV time, albeit just a few seconds but still.

 

[Topkent]

I saw that there was an article on him in one of the local papers as well, but that's pretty cool that he also got some TV time, albeit just a few seconds but still.

yeh it was the last thing before the end of the show but he did rate a mention, yeah i have to get up at 4.30 in the morning here to watch the friday night games and occasionally they throw the saturday arvo game in as well !

 

[mark73]

Nope, nothing. Nobody cares about it here. A lot of people do know the game and realize that it's on TV occasionally but when you mention Australian Football most people just think you mean Rugby.

I'm back in Australia now but it's the same in the US. Trying to explain the game initially is hard because you first have to go through the "weening" period of trying to explain that AFL is not rugby. Because in a lot of places that's what they assume. But it is getting better.

 

[Mile Designs]

Hello Everyone!!

I am Steve from Western Australia.It's reallu helpful post with us.I am really thanks for share informative thread post.
Drafting Perth

 

[ScottishRoos]

Hi all, Canadian here, fresh faced and noobish as can be.

I grew up an ice Hockey fan (pretty much bred in the bone in Canada) and my dad, originally from the UK, was a Rugby Union coach so I grew up with that too. Back some time in '08 I stumbled on an AFL match and was made an instant Footy fan. I'm hard pressed to choose between hockey and footy now as a #1 fav sport.

Anyway glad to be here, I'm hoping to learn from all you die hard fans out there as I'm still green.

Welcome friend