I think watching footy live is still fantastic, but when its on TV its not nearly as good. Also note that Port Adelaide's home games are ridiculously better than other clubs'.
AFL coverage is utter garbage compared to other sports. The awfulness of commentary and Seven's penchant for SD has been done to death, but for mine, our tolerance of the actual direction of camerawork is bonkers.
You watch NBA, NFL, EPL, whatever. You get a nice field of vision that shows you all the relevant action. Be it a player on the ball, be it a player passing the ball, be it the ballhandler's options, you see everything you need to see to give you a full visual sit-rep in a given moment.
Once the play is over, time is stopped, a goal is scored, or it's quarter/half-time, then we get the super-slomo replays, zoom-ins and multiple angles required to show something notable from a closer perspective. Be a dunk, catch, goal, injury or foul, we see it in forensic detail before returning to the nice wideview action that keeps us abreast of everything.
With AFL coverage, for as long as I can remember, we've been treated to jarring zoom-ins and angle changes for literally no ****ing reason.
Ball gets kicked long, pack forms, oh it's a zoom-in where the only thing filling the screen is the 3 or 4 players contesting in the air. Then when it's a mark/spoil/other, we're given a zoom-out where we're fleetingly given a long shot of some more of the field, before being given another zoom-in of whoever's got the ball as he's surveying options we're not allowed to see until just as he's about to kick it.
Another favourite is when a player is running with the ball. Why are we treated to a zoom-in - often from a bizarre angle - that denies us the chance of seeing would-be tacklers or leading forwards?
I've always just assumed it's because they're trying to give guernsey sponsors and kit suppliers as much advertising time as possible, but isn't there enough of that when the ball goes out, or play is dead, when marks and goals can be replayed in all their slo-mo zoomy glory?
It's as if the techniques for filming footy were set in stone some time in the 90's and no-one has had the balls to stray from that template ever since.