Does the AFL have to get rid of "Australian" for Aussie Rules to be successful?

[Peter P]

It's good. A few names are likely to have currency for a while, one may eventually stick, the game may always officially be Australian Football or semi-officially Australian rules football or "AFL", but by the end of the century with more playing outside than inside Australia, some other name may have caught on - dynafooty sums up the key energy of the game.

In the same way American Football is officially just that, but less officially NFL, and outside America often know as Gridiron.

Just a clarification - I wasn't suggesting any Generation Y marketing yuppie design a name for the game. Nor giving my vote for "dynafooty" as a name, just commenting that Aussie Rules is a more dynamic game than most others. I was just saying that over a long period of time some name may come to the fore, though multiple names may remain and haven't hurt American football. Getting Aussie rules into one word may come to pass, and in an SMS century, perhaps "Ozirulz" is the quickest spelling to spit out the name?

 

[Goat]

I still reckon Ultimate Footy would have been fine. But like I said, it will almost certainly remain Aussie Rules or Australian Rules football or footy.

Yeah, shame about the metro idea not being supported. I think that sort of rejection because of traditional views is not new and has held the game back elsewhere. But if the game stagnates people may come around to the idea.

 

[Rednecknow]

I had a discussion yesterday about the very term "Metro Footy" There seems to be one strong connotation of what the term should mean and another perhaps more simpler definition.

For sure there are reservations out there about the value of playing reduced sized games on small fields etc as happens all over this country now, as we know most of this comes from hardened traditionalists, normally Ozzys. The 'metro' term is perhaps unfortunately tagged forever for people with this mindset. Mind you the percentage of games played 18 on 18 here would be as low as 3-5%

However the other area is the word 'metro' to several teams here in the US and certainly ours means local metropolitan footy. Footy that you dont have to drive 5 hrs to play or fly on increasingly expensive flights to play normally on substandard fields with virtually no facilities and often not even correct line marking etc etc.

For the clubs that really want to see success, as we do, they will be expanding their smaller leagues into much bigger leagues with a goal of playing full size games on full size fields. Once you have 5-6 teams playing in that league another smaller league can be started similar to what we have today.

Mind you all these teams will likely feed one city team as we have already seen in Arizona and now Chicago. The clubs that continue on this path will be the most successful not only in growth but also bringing the game to as many locals as possible and bringing as much of real game of footy to that particular location.

This then should satisfy the 'traditionalists' but for the moment they appear not to be able to see the forest for the trees.

 

[cos789]

.
. Some players are far to purest on the game and deny us access to expansion. For instance when i brought up the idea of a metro league in my city i was met with alot of "No ways" from our australian players. fail.

Paul

I think the way to approach it is to emphasis that you are trying to replace traditional footy but enhancing it ; by playing as a "filler" between "tradional" games and as a way of attracting more players .In fact "nines" is just the equivalent of an intraclub scratch match of a team of 18 .So personally I don't see a problem and if you are able to get more than 2 metro teams then there's the bonus of diversity .

 

[VikingSven]

Honestly, no joke. The name Dynafooty has diddlyskwat to do with the Stockholm Dynamite. It was the invention of the two execs at home on a cold, rainy Stockholm summers day - I and my wife

"Dynafooty sounds GAY"

- that's sounds a bit homophobic.

Interestingly, there could be a day in the future where "gay" footy finds it place in the world, but that's probably another subject for another time...

 

[Rednecknow]

Interesting you might say that here in Atlanta there is actually a gay rugby team, like in a lot of sports there are minority groups looking to compete on equal terms..

http://www.atlantabucksrugby.org/

 

[CalgaryBlue]

Political correctness is not my strong suit. In fact, it bugs the hell out of me. My apologize to anyone offended by the comment GAY!

I still think Dyna-footy, ultimate footy, or anything with the word extreme is ******ed!

My apologize to anyone offended by the term ******ed.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[Goat]

Anyway, in answer to the original question, it seems like the consensus is no, it probably doesn't have to be renamed, and there's no chance of a consensus on a new name anyhow, and no one is in a position to push it anyway. So maybe some common term will emerge over decades, but quite possibly not.

 

[littleduck]

Anyway, in answer to the original question, it seems like the consensus is no, it probably doesn't have to be renamed, and there's no chance of a consensus on a new name anyhow, and no one is in a position to push it anyway. So maybe some common term will emerge over decades, but quite possibly not.

I reckon the "AFL" brand name should be promoted overseas in the same way its succesfully promoted in NSW & QLD. Other countries can start to play a game they call "AFL".

 

[Monkster]

I reckon the "AFL" brand name should be promoted overseas in the same way its succesfully promoted in NSW & QLD. Other countries can start to play a game they call "AFL".

The only problem with marketing the name "AFL" in the US is that their already was an AFL (which from what I hear was a cross between WWF and NFL) and I believe that league no longer exists? so people may confuse the 2 leagues and think this new AFL is the same as the old one.

Going back a few thoughts to Aka's claim that "Victorian Football" prevented it being popular over Rugby that seems like rubbish to me considering that Rugby was also named after it's birthplace.

 

[cos789]

I reckon the "AFL" brand name should be promoted overseas in the same way its succesfully promoted in NSW & QLD. countries .

You're a bit slow LD , it's already happenning . Canada and Japan have changed from CAFA and JAFA ; whilst a lot of countries are/were set up initially that way . e.g. US , NZ , Germany and RSA . as you suggest when people view TV and see the AFL logo it is a good marketing tool .Personally I like the creativity of the individual country .As for the maming most people call it what we do "footy" .

 

[cos789]

The only problem with marketing the name "AFL" in the US is that their already was an AFL .

In the US the AFL is the Arena Football League .Which is cut down version of American Football .Clearly the main body , the USAFL does not clash , but when promoting the AFL from downunder there could be .

 

[Centimetre Perfect]

In the US the AFL is the Arena Football League .Which is cut down version of American Football .Clearly the main body , the USAFL does not clash , but when promoting the AFL from downunder there could be .

Even though the Arena Football League is the AFL now, when you mention the AFL to most people over here, they'll STILL think you're talking about the old American Football League that was a rival to the NFL back in the 1960's, and merged with them in the early 1970's. They're the reason gridiron plays the Super Bowl. Originally, it was a game between the NFL and AFL champions. The AFL's New York Jets famously beat the NFL's Baltimore Colts in the third Super Bowl in a HUGE upset, after the Jets' quarterback Joe Namath boldly stated that they would. A few years later, the two leagues merged. Everyone still remembers that as the AFL.

It's going to take the Arena Football League years still to become known as "the" AFL over here, so to try to call Australian Football "AFL" over here would be pretty futile -- there are (or will be) TWO domestic leagues called the AFL already in people's minds...

 

[littleduck]

Why not just "Aussie Rules" as most people call it?