Social Science Things that please me - Part 3

Remove this Banner Ad

Status
Not open for further replies.
Most Americans leave home to go to college its part of the culture,its not common for Australians to change state for Uni
 
It's more that a huge chunk of AFL players are pampered private school kids

doubt its to do with the schooling.

its our culture. dont travel interstate, or even hours away, for education or tertiary education traditionally, or majoritarily. over there, its commonplace. ive always felt listening to college players, against our draftees or first/2nd year players (same age as college) is so different. college players seemed more relaxed, well spoken, but not to the point of pure media trained robots. our youngsters are called "kids" in contrast. Perhaps associated with usa students being away from home and maturing faster. or something.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

doubt its to do with the schooling.

its our culture. dont travel interstate, or even hours away, for education or tertiary education traditionally, or majoritarily. over there, its commonplace. ive always felt listening to college players, against our draftees or first/2nd year players (same age as college) is so different. college players seemed more relaxed, well spoken, but not to the point of pure media trained robots. our youngsters are called "kids" in contrast. Perhaps associated with usa students being away from home and maturing faster. or something.

Ive always hated young players being called kids. Though I’m guilty of it, it just seems so patronising to call someone playing a professional sport a kid.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

AFL players are soft utensils. South American players travel thousands of k's across the globe to play in Europe and Asia. AFL player moves from Melbourne to Sydney "waah I miss my mummy"

Leo Messi joined Barcelona (on the other side of the world) at the age of 12. When I was 12 I was still battling away at the original FIFA on SNES. Meanwhile adults in their 20s and 30s move between Melbourne and Geelong to be closer to family.

Agree that AFL players are sheltered. Australia might have 25m people but most of them are in the cap cities and like others have said if you are born in Perth then chances are you'll go to university/TAFE/whatever in Perth then get a job in Perth etc. etc. Outside the cap cities and a couple of regional centres there isn't much going on. Most people that move are drawn from the country to the city for education/work.

'Murica and Europe are very different. Dallas is called a smaller city than Perth, but in reality it's about half the area with more than twice the people. Dallas-Fort Worth is comfortably bigger than Sydney. We like to think we have big cities but Sydney and Melbourne barely scrape into the top 100 in the World as metro areas and are nowhere near it as actual cities. How many people live in Perth city proper? A few thousand? Playing for a club in a small city in the Netherlands or Germany is really like playing for a club in Melbourne or Sydney rather than playing in a small isolated city.

The AFL is also a highly regulated competition. If you are an above average player you should earn somewhere from $500k to $1m a year and you can do that anywhere, and while it doesn't translate every club should have a chance of winning the flag eventually. If you are someone like Chris Ikonimidis you have to weigh up that you might be able to get $200k a year playing for Perth but will be one of the better A-League players and will get a start each week against moving abroad in the hope of earning more and playing in a higher standard comp but risking being a bench player and falling out of the Socceroos squad. Rostyn Griffiths has played for about 10 clubs now. A-League, China and didn't like it, A-League, Netherlands and couldn't get a game, A-League, Uzbekhistan for money and didn't like it, A-League... Someone like Mat Ryan is starting to become established at Premier League level. He will face the choice of staying with a club like Brighton or risking losing the #1 shirt to move upward to a team that can contend for trophies. Or a team like Man City could come along and offer him triple his pay to be their #2. This sort of stuff doesn't apply to AFL players. If you are established in the system then your livelihood is pretty secure and you can be choosy.

Not just soccer either. Teenage basketball hopefuls apply for college in the US hoping to get drafted to the NBA. I know a guy that did that, was gone from age 17-21 and didn't make it. No one says 'I'd rather just stay in the NBL and play for the Wildcats because of mum's home cooking', they know that the NBA is head and shoulders above all other competitions in the world as the highest standard and that's where they want to test themselves.
 
I reckon I could adapt. WC have about 20 players on the list from outside WA and none are screaming to go home. Living in Adelaide or Geelong or Gold Coast isn't that bad. And you get to kick a footy for money.

Playing footy in NSW/Qld would be kinda cool. George Hewett finished 2nd in the Swans B&F. He's been on the list for 6 years so probably makes a decent salary by now, maybe $4-500k which is a lot more than the average Joe. He can probably walk down the main street wherever he lives and get a coffee without anyone recognising him. Sign me up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top