Why AFL Footy Sucks Explained in One Sentence.

[Lavender Bushranger]

Michael Voss: ...118 points...that's just too much.
We scored well, and that was probably entertaining for everybody...so we made a good game in that way. Ummm, sorry if you're a footy follower I'm sure it was an entertaining game...ummm...but we didn't do some important moments right and we didn't defend when we needed to for long enough.


In summary: "I'm doing everything in my power to ensure that fans do not get entertaining games of footy."

I'm a Voss fan, and I completely understand what he's trying to say here. His job is to win. And having both teams score relatively freely makes that harder to achieve. I get that. I don't blame him. You don't get to keep your job if you lose entertaining games.

But surely the glaring disconnect between what fans want from footy and what coaches want from footy is a massive issue?


What sort of product has the most influential people in the industry doing everything in their power to make the product less appealing to their customers??!!

It's such a bizarre conflict of interest.

 

[PhilX]

What sort of product has the most influential people in the industry doing everything in their power to make the product less appealing to their customers??!!

This isn't unique to AFL. As you said, coaches are paid to win, not to create an entertaining spectacle, and it happens in a wide range of team sports.

In general, coaches tend to preach defence first, whether it's AFL or NFL or hockey or whatever. And good defence is often something that bores fans, especially casual ones.

 

[dockshark]

Perhaps the problem is the overly simplistic supporters that only seem to see high scoring games as exciting which is a somewhat uniquely AFL trait.

There is a lot to love about strategic battles between different game plans and low scoring games can be fascinating arm wrestles.

If you are Voss it doesn’t matter if you score 300 and lose, you still lose. Getting into a shootout with the Cats this year is not a good strategy.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

First part from my side is the goals are really irrelevant to me. I can appreciate an absolutely classic battle where the winning team only registers 9-10 goals.

Second part is I feel like most - if not all - professional sporting codes could see coaches expressing similar sentiments, that what they're trying to do to perform their role isn't always perfectly aligned with what would be best for the spectacle for most of the audience.

I clearly recall after one of the greatest games in recent memory - the 2022 Geelong v Collingwood QF - Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

48

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

(the winning coach) expressed that he was frustrated with how that game had been played. Because it was just turned up to 11 for the entire game, contest after contest after contest. The strategy and set plays basically went out the window, so the coaches had practically no control over what happened. I get where he's coming from.

 

[Franc de Borges]

Have you heard of Jose Mourinho?