Expert warns of AFL demise

[dididi]

Actually football in NSW and QLD refers to both RL and Soccer

Correct, it refers to anything but Australian Rules in the nation's most populous state.

 

[dididi]

Argentina makes a great case study, and is a perfect illustration why we are not the least bit disadvantaged in the world by perferring our very own game, to one preferred in places like Argentina, North Korea, Oman, etc.

Furthermore - the Argentine league is bankrupt - so bankrupt, that the government has had to bail it out by purchasing the TV rights at double the market value to show on the government station.

And Argentina's long march to being an economic basket case continues unabated!!

You make a great argument to why nobody here should follow football - it will send us bankrupt like all those third-world countries! You sir a genius. You really should go into politics - you could make a real impact on our political stage like, say, Pauline Hanson. Your idea is almost as good as her "why don't we print more notes" proposition. I feel like I'm on the Mensa forums when I come to post here.

 

[Barkly St End]

Correct, it refers to anything but Australian Rules in the nation's most populous state.

All the Southern newspapers have retained the word soccer, and Football means Australian football.

The Canberra Times and the Australian have also retained the word soccer.

Only the Sydney Morning Herald has started using the word "football" to denote soccer.

 

[Barkly St End]

That is your opinion and thanks for sharing it.

Whether you are right or wrong, Kevin Rudd the Prime Minister of Australia has decided that our nation will be backing the bid, and we have officially lodged our bid with FIFA - there will be no going back. Some bookmakers have ranked us as favourites or near-favourties to win the rights to one of the WC's.

I hope all Australian Rules supporters will cope OK if we do actually win the bid. Some of you seem like you are going to have a heart-attack.



Thanks for providing that revelation on our economic comparison to Argentina - truly fascinating.

Here is another comparison - more people around the world know about a 22-year old Argentinian bloke called Lionel Messi than they do about all AFL clubs put together. How is that for a global sporting comparison? I hope you found my comparison as fascinating as I did yours.

Yes - but as an Australian soccer fan - why do you want to share in Messi's reflected glory?

We have our very own heroes right here in Australia - Australians - we don't need to go ga-ga over some argentine midget.

 

[Admiral Byng]

Here is another comparison - more people around the world know about a 22-year old Argentinian bloke called Lionel Messi than they do about all AFL clubs put together. How is that for a global sporting comparison? I hope you found my comparison as fascinating as I did yours.

Why does that even matter? Many AFL supporters (me included) have never heard of him. Why can't we all just continue on in blissful ignorance of the other's existence? Why should we suspend our competition and spend our tax dollars on bringing him here to play his game? For those of you interested, why can't you just go somewhere else and watch him and leave us alone?

 

[Barkly St End]

You make a great argument to why nobody here should follow football - it will send us bankrupt like all those third-world countries! You sir a genius. You really should go into politics - you could make a real impact on our political stage like, say, Pauline Hanson. Your idea is almost as good as her "why don't we print more notes" proposition. I feel like I'm on the Mensa forums when I come to post here.

Mate - there are soccer fans posting here with a fair degree of cultural cringe- preferring things that occur in other countries rather than cultural events occuring right here in Australia.

Furhtermore, there is an argument from soccer fans, going around here that we would be a better country for embracing soccer as our number one sport - but most of the countries who have embraced soccer as their number one sport are absolute basket cases!!

 

[bzparkes]

Here is another comparison - more people around the world know about a 22-year old Argentinian bloke called Lionel Messi than they do about all AFL clubs put together. How is that for a global sporting comparison? I hope you found my comparison as fascinating as I did yours.

Never heard of him and I'd suggest many Australians never have either.

Why are you so concerned that Australia needs to 'prove' itself by hosting the world cup, or being a powerhouse at soccer? It seems as though you're desperate for approval, not because soccer's a great spectacle, but because you're afraid that our country is insignificant. This seems to be the line that most soccer fans take.

It's quite laughable really that soccer fans keep harping on about how big the leagues in Europe are and how our best players go to play for huge foreign entities and that we're getting recognised on the world stage, blah blah blah, then you've even got some clown referring to soccer in Australia as 'Australian Football' If it matters so much to you, go live in England.

Does it mean so much to you soccer nuts that we get a pat on the head from the rest of the world because we play soccer? I bet the majority of you support Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc.. Soccer fans in Australia come across as being bandwagoners of the highest order and there is no bigger bandwagon than the WC.

It's quite laughable at how insecure a lot of you come across as . As for me, yeah I like watching the WC and I like playing a game of soccer every now and then, as it's a bit of fun to play and not physical if I'm just out for a bit of social exercise. I imagine that the majority of people who participate in soccer leagues across Australia are the same. When it comes to watching soccer though, unless Australia's playing then I'll pass. Nil-all snorefests where there's 2 shots on goal and about 10 minutes of guys diving, rolling around on the ground and getting straight back up again gets pretty old after the first couple of times.

Not to mention the refereeing in the last WC which bordered on farcical. For the 'World's biggest sporting event' you'd expect the standard of officiating to be quite high but for the majority, it was either very amateurish, or rigged. Would honestly like an explanation for the pathetic standard of refereeing in the last WC.

 

[Bouvet_Island]

Yes - but as an Australian soccer fan - why do you want to share in Messi's reflected glory?

We have our very own heroes right here in Australia - Australians - we don't need to go ga-ga over some argentine midget.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/88437/default.aspx

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/88437/default.aspx

St Kilda suspends Lovett indefinitely

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St Kilda has suspended Andrew Lovett indefinitely

TODAY'S HEADLINES

ST KILDA has suspended Andrew Lovett indefinitely as Victoria Police investigates allegations made by a woman against the club's new recruit.
The Saints have confirmed in a statement that the alleged incident involving Lovett, 27, was reported to have occurred in Melbourne in the early hours of Thursday morning.
"The club is currently gaining a better understanding of these allegations and as a club, St Kilda is treating the matter very seriously," the statement read.
"At this time, the club has suspended Andrew Lovett indefinitely. Andrew will not be involved with the club in any shape or form until a further decision is made.
"We are informed that when Victoria Police have completed their investigation, they will decide whether or not he will be charged.
"Victoria Police have confirmed that there is no suggestion of improper conduct of any other Saints players."
St Kilda has kept the AFL informed from the outset of the investigations.
Lovett was traded to St Kilda from Essendon in October in exchange for pick No.16 in the NAB AFL Draft.
He played 88 matches in five seasons for the Bombers, where he was twice suspended by that club in 2008 for off-field indiscretions.
Last month, just six weeks after joining the Saints, he was arrested and charged for being drunk in a public place.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon later said that Lovett's first misdemeanour wasn't "the end of the world" but that the club wasn't prepared to be "babysitting" its players.
"In the fullness of time we are happy to be judged and Andrew to be judged," Lyon said.
"From here he (Lovett) is under no illusions about the requirements and actions he needs to take to earn respect and more importantly earn trust here.
"Andrew's a good person," he added. "Everyone on our list is a good person otherwise they wouldn't be here."

"Heroes". Nice timing.

Just to pre-empt the obvious reply - all sports have their misfits, even golf.

But you have to admit that the AFL players seem to appear disproportiately often in news reports (along with NRL players), relative to the number of players and their respective salaries. Must be something about the thuggish nature of these sports.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_incidents_involving_VFL/AFL_players

 

[mickctiger]

I live in NSW - nobody here calls Australian Rules 'football'. Actually, 'football' is the official term used here for what you might call association football. Am I not allowed to use the language of the state i reside in (which is the most populous state in the nation btw)

i said Australian Football. You know the football that was made in Australia. I have no issue calling soccer football, just dont use Australian Football. Thats the indigenous sport.
NSW may well be the largest state in Australia, but its not exclusively a rugby league state in the same way that Victoria is exclusively Australian Football. You only have to go to Southern or Western NSW to realise that.

oh and Dimenhydrinate, you give me the dates that those other clubs were established.

I know it upsets you that Australian Football has a rich and vibrant history that's older than your soccer, but I'd suggest that's your problem

 

[bzparkes]

"Heroes". Nice timing.

Just to pre-empt the obvious reply - all sports have their misfits, even golf.

But you have to admit that the AFL players seem to appear disproportiately often in news reports (along with NRL players), relative to the number of players and their respective salaries. Must be something about the thuggish nature of these sports.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_incidents_involving_VFL/AFL_players

Wow, way to go off-topic and completely discredit your argument. Go the man, not the ball, eh?

I'm sure I could google any number of soccer players getting caught for off-field indiscretions. What about the fans? They seem more interested in fighting in the stands than watching the game half the time. Is it because having a punch-on is more interesting than what's actually happening on the field?

 

[mickctiger]

And that is for one of, if not the best, known AFL clubs - what chance do they know about the clubs that just represent postcodes around the slums of Melbourne?

so hawthorne is a slum now ?

 

[Barkly St End]

IN 150 years of Australian football - and fans of opposing sides have never, ever needed to be segregated - ever.

That's the proud legacy Australian football leaves the world.

We have little to learn from soccer - but soccer and the rest of the world has so much to learn from us.

 

[mickctiger]

AFL is the most-watched sport in the least-populous states in a country with a population roughly the size of New York City. Also, any global following of this sport is mostly by ex-pat Australians from these states.

and yet Australian Football is the most popular code in the land, not bad for an insignificant "folk" sport

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

oh and Dimenhydrinate, you give me the dates that those other clubs were established.

Barnes Club: 1839
Sheffield FC: 1857
Melbourne FC: 1859

I know it upsets you that Australian Football has a rich and vibrant history that's older than your soccer, but I'd suggest that's your problem

Older than soccer? Pull the other one.

 

[mickctiger]

Correct, it refers to anything but Australian Rules in the nation's most populous state.

and what sport do they play in Albury or Broken Hill ?

 

[mickctiger]

B


Older than soccer? Pull the other one.

what year was the FA established

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

what year was the fa established

1863.

 

[Barkly St End]

Barnes Club: 1839
Sheffield FC: 1857
Melbourne FC: 1859



Older than soccer? Pull the other one.

Many sports historians might be wondering how on Earth could Barnes be formed a full 24 years before Association Football was first codified?

Good question!!

You will find your answer here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_football_clubs

Notes:
In relation to Barnes: The club claims formation in 1839, while other sources say 1858 or 1862. Its first recorded result was in 1862. A founding member of the Football Association (F.A.) in 1863 and one of the first two clubs (the other being Richmond) to play a game of Association football.

In relation to Melbourne FC: The club was officially formed on 14 May 1859. On 17 May 1859, members of the club codified Australian rules football. Melbourne has participated at the highest level of its code longer than any other club.


Allow me to repeat: our better known Australian Football clubs are much older than virtually all the well known soccer clubs across the world, and yes, Australian football was codified four years before Association football was.

And yet, a small minority of Australians try and do everything within their power to slander the great Australian game. Why?

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

Many sports historians might be wondering how on Earth could Barnes be formed a full 24 years before Association Football was first codified?

Good question!!

You will find your answer here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_football_clubs

Notes:
In relation to Barnes: The club claims formation in 1839, while other sources say 1858 or 1862. Its first recorded result was in 1862. A founding member of the Football Association (F.A.) in 1863 and one of the first two clubs (the other being Richmond) to play a game of Association football.

I never said that Barnes club played assoc. football. I said, quite specifically, that they started playing a now-lost code and now play rugby union.

The claim was that Melbourne FC are the oldest football club, anywhere, ever. That was a lie.

In relation to Melbourne FC: The club was officially formed on 14 May 1859. On 17 May 1859, members of the club codified Australian rules football. Melbourne has participated at the highest level of its code longer than any other club.

Allow me to repeat: our better known Australian Football clubs are much older than virtually all the well known soccer clubs across the world, and yes, Australian football was codified four years before Association football was.

That was Melbourne rules. Nice try, though.

 

[mickctiger]

1863.

see and the VFA was established in 1858

 

[Bouvet_Island]

Wow, way to go off-topic and completely discredit your argument. Go the man, not the ball, eh?

"Go the man and not the ball" is bad now, is it?
Yet AFL fans seem to think the "bump" (which is the very definition of playing the man and not the ball) is a positive aspect of their sport.

So which is it - good or bad?

 

[bzparkes]

"Go the man and not the ball" is bad now, is it?
Yet AFL fans seem to think the "bump" (which is the very definition of playing the man and not the ball) is a positive aspect of their sport.

So which is it - good or bad?

Wow, completely missed the point yet again.

If the only bad thing you can say about Australian Football is to bring up someone who has a list of off-field incidents then you're clutching at straws.

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

see and the VFA was established in 1858

Really? Because my source says 1877.

 

[mickctiger]

"Go the man and not the ball" is bad now, is it?
Yet AFL fans seem to think the "bump" (which is the very definition of playing the man and not the ball) is a positive aspect of their sport.

So which is it - good or bad?

and hows the courage in soccer ?

 

[Barkly St End]

"Go the man and not the ball" is bad now, is it?
Yet AFL fans seem to think the "bump" (which is the very definition of playing the man and not the ball) is a positive aspect of their sport.

So which is it - good or bad?

The point remains that I referred to the cultural cringe of many Australian soccer fans to go absolutely ga ga over an Argentine midget who plies his trade in Spain, simply saying that the great Australian game produces heroes that can be followed in the flesh right here in Australia.

You used that as a cue to pick up on some alcohol story on an AFL player? (not sure)

Yet you remained awfully quite about the A-League player accused of raping a minor.