AFANA Footy BBS

OK, Well I'm from Australia and have just found out that i am going to america for holidays and won't be home to watch the grand final. I was wondering whether anyone could tell me if the AFL granfinal gets aired in America. on cable? has it in previous years? I can't miss it!

Does anyone know?

krystina_Witt@hotmail.com

Thanks....

> OK, Well I'm from Australia and have just found out that i am going to america for
> holidays and won't be home to watch the grand final. I was wondering whether anyone
> could tell me if the AFL granfinal gets aired in America. on cable? has it in
> previous years? I can't miss it!

> Does anyone know?

Good News! Through the efforts of AFANA (which mostly means the efforts of Rob de Santos) the GF has been shown here live annually. In addition, keep your eye on the AFANA web site for information about GF watch parties across the country.

Where will you be?

  -- RW "KC Swan" Lipp

> OK, Well I'm from Australia and have just found out that i am going to america for
> holidays and won't be home to watch the grand final. I was wondering whether anyone
> could tell me if the AFL granfinal gets aired in America. on cable? has it in
> previous years? I can't miss it!
> Does anyone know?

Hi Krystina,

Welcome to our BBS. Yes, we know.

The AFL Grand Final has been live to the US for all but one season since 1980 and this year should be no exception. Coverage is expected to be on FOX Sports World (and not on any of the other dozens of FOX Sports channels in the US). Coverage should begin at 11:30 PM Eastern, 8:30 PM Pacific time on Friday night 24 September and will continue for 4 and 1/2 hrs. (Note that Sat "arvo" in Melbourne is Friday night in the US.)

FOX Sports World is carried on many digital cable systems (and only digital not conventional analog cable) and also on the two major satellite services (DirecTV and DISH Network). There will also be Grand Final parties in every major US city.

It's still to early to give you much more info than that. Watch this web site as we will begin posting Grand Final party announcements and more information here early in August.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

>
> Where will you be?
>
>

  -- RW "KC Swan" Lipp

> Just outta interest, do you guys barrack for a team..like loyal to them? or do you
> just love the game? I barrack for Brisbane lions. 3 premierships in a row! I'm
> happy..lol

Personally, I have always followed the West Coast Eagles (and am a member) but I have a soft spot for the Lions. Our fans here though cover all the clubs and many follow more than one.

> When you come to Australia (have you ever?)you'll love it...people are sooo into it.
> How'd you get interested in AFL? HAd you been to australia and seen it?
> oh another question..sorry I'm really questiony...but are normal round matches
> throughout the year aired in america?

I've been to Australia four times and probably again later this year (and saw the '99 GF in person with the AFANA tour group). When I get to Australia during the season I always go to as many matches as I can fit in my schedule. We have some of our members who travel to Australia every year just to see footy.

Like many fans here, I trace my interest in the game to seeing matches of the VFL on TV back in the early 1980's. Almost all fans of the game here (except a few newer ones who are playing the sport in the USAFL or OAFL-Canada), came to the sport via TV.

As our TV page indicates, we get a 2 hr edited Match of the Week and a one hour highlights program each week of the season.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> Just outta interest, do you guys barrack for a team..like loyal to them? or do you
> just love the game? I barrack for Brisbane lions.

Just curious. With all the teams in Melbourne, how did you come to barrack for Brisbane? Personally, I favor Geelong.

> When you come to Australia (have you ever?)you'll love it...people are sooo into it.

I was there once (in 1992). I stayed in South Yarra. And you are right. I loved the the game and I loved the people.

> so i guess somewhere in california or nevada or
> hawaii..don't know exactly.

I'm thinking that there have been watch parties in the past in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Any of those are good candidates.

If you find yourself in Nevada, I don't know that you'll find a sports book prepared to let you place a wager on the GF. I do know that several Las Vegas sports books took action on the AFL during the last NFL players strike.

I don't recall ever seeing a notice for a Hawaii party. Seems to me like it would start at a fairly reasonable time in Hawaii. In KC you get coverage 11:00pm-3:00am, and the bars close at 3:00. A few years back there was an east coast city, where the coverage would be 12:00am-4:00am, where they had to clear the bar, but the bartender put a TV in the window and let them watch from the street while he cleaned up. Honolulu time, I think, would put the coverage 6:00pm-10:00pm.

> Just outta interest, do you guys barrack for a team..like loyal to them? or do you
> just love the game?

Well, I'm not sure how many people on here realize this but my team is the Sydney Swans. Like so many others, I discovered the game in the early '80s when the then new ESPN showed VFL coverage. I didn't really have a favorite team, although I do recall Warwick Capper taking some spectacular marks.

Almost ten years ago, I started exchanging e-mail with a friend who lived in the Blue Mountains. He taught me to barrack for the Sydney Swans (and that unlike my American teams, I don't root for the Sydney Swans), and to properly hate the arrogance of the "Mexicans".

Now I barrack for Sydney first, any other non-Vic team next, then any Vics except Carlton and Geelong, and finally Carlton ONLY if they are playing Geelong.

  -- RW "KC Swan" Lipp

> Now I barrack for Sydney first, any other non-Vic team next, then any Vics except
> Carlton and Geelong, and finally Carlton ONLY if they are playing
> Geelong.

> Just outta interest, do you guys barrack for a team..like loyal to them? or do you
> just love the game? I barrack for Brisbane lions. 3 premierships in a row! I'm
> happy..lol

I've adopted the "Essendon Bombers" as my hometeam mostly because my local CFL (Gridiron team in the Canadian Football League) is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers I'm always a bombers fan

Phil Phil

> You have to excuse the swan man Krystina. He lives in the American outback, and it
> gets real hot there in the summer.

This from a man who lives in the suburbs of the largest US city north of Canada. I'm assuming the local tradition of celebrating by setting cars on fire is an attempt to keep warm in such an extreme northern climate.

Here's a quick quiz for you, Krystina...do you know why they call it "Detroit"? Because there's already a Hell in Michigan. See for yourself: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=hell&state=mi

> Even Impassioned Geelong or Carlton supporters would prefer the magnificant Brisbane
> Lions

You would have managed to sound intelligent for once, Bob, if you had just finished your sentence right there.

> This from a man who lives in the suburbs of the largest US city north of Canada. I'm
> assuming the local tradition of celebrating by setting cars on fire is an attempt to
> keep warm in such an extreme northern climate.

Actually we don't burn cars anymore. We have a new tradition - Swans on the barbie.

> Here's a quick quiz for you, Krystina...do you know why they call it
> "Detroit"? Because there's already a Hell in Michigan. See for
> yourself: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=hell&state=mi

Yes there is a Hell, Michigan. That's where we send the Swan supporters. But for nice people like Krystina we have Paradise: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=paradise&state=mi

> You would have managed to sound intelligent for once, Bob, if you had just
> finished your sentence right there.

I apologize. It's hard to sound intelligent when you're talking about Swans.

By the way, where you been? You were off the board for a long time.

> http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=paradise&state=mi

Paradise is a dime a dozen. We've got Paradise on both sides of the state line:

• http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Paradise&state=MO
  
• http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Paradise&state=KS
  

> I apologize. It's hard to sound intelligent when you're talking about Swans.

>Paradise is a dime a dozen. We've got Paradise on both sides of the state
> line:

It’s great that you have so many duplicate city names in both states. That way you don’t have to strain yourself so much learning new names when you cross the border.

>It also looks like it takes a lot longer in Michigan to get from Eureka to
> Climax!
Yes, you can get to Climax quicker than I can, but I don’t think you want to brag about that. I see where you are going with your Eureka - Climax reference. You are trying to draw me into an off-color conversation hoping I will make leading remarks about

• Protection http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Protection&state=KS
  
• or Conception http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Conception&state=MO
  
• or even Knob Noster http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=KnobNoster&state=MO
  

• http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&1c=Toronto&1s=KS&2c=Ottawa&2s=KS
  
• http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&1c=Toronto&1s=ON&2c=Ottawa&2s=ON
  

Getting by, thanks. I spend most of my time driving my 80-year-old mother in law to her doctors, painting and fixing up the house, and doing whatever else the boss lady says. I'm suppossed to be retired, but I guess nobody told my wife. I do OK as long as I keep my mouth shut and do what I’m told. I guess that’s why I’m always in trouble.

> Protection

I didn't even realize there was a Protection, KS. Truth be told, based upon the map, Paradise, KS is probably about as misnamed as Liberal, KS. (As opposed to perfectly named cities like Peculiar, MO).

> But be careful you don’t eat any bad BBQ on the trip.

I'm in Kansas City...it is VERY difficult to get bad BBQ in Kansas City.

> Thanks for catching my mistake. What I meant to say was, "It’s hard for
> anyone to sound intelligent when talking about Swans".

Anybody who makes the kind of remarks you make will fail to sound intelligent.

> I do
> OK as long as I keep my mouth shut and do what I’m told. I guess that’s why I’m
> always in trouble.

So it's not just on here!

  -- RW "KC Swan" Lipp 

> Truth be told, based upon the
> map, Paradise, KS is probably about as misnamed as Liberal, KS.

As opposed to Paradise, Michigan which is paradise (if you like primitive).

> Anybody who makes the kind of remarks you make will fail to sound
> intelligent.

Again you have me at the disadvantage. I had to "dumb down" to watch a Swans game, and I haven't recovered yet.

> So it's not just on here!

I'm an equal opportunity offender.

How about some trivia...

"God" - an Awesome name for a player.
"Sticks" - a creative and imaginative name.
"Plugger" - a plumbers appliance.

> How about some trivia...

>

"God" - an Awesome name for a player.
> "Sticks" - a creative and imaginative name.
> "Plugger" - a plumbers appliance.
>
>

And so it ends. Not with a whimper, but with a swan dive. It’s always interesting conversing with you, my friend.

Yes Krystina, we actually are friends even though it may not always look like it.

> I'll be in I don't know exactly but I go to the states on 10th of september and get
> back home 3rd october...and we are only travelling to the west coast...so i guess
> somewhere in california or nevada or hawaii..don't know exactly.
> Thanks alot Rob de Santos,
> That really helps. when mum booked the trip i was sooooooo excited coz i've wanted
> to go to america for soooo long and then i relized that I'd be away for it and it
> bummed me out...lol...I live in melbourne and live about 30 minutes from the MCG so
> it's really huge here. and it's a 24hour coverage of all things football on free to
> air tv..so no-one misses it... I'll be sure to check back to your site for details
> closer to the date.
> Just outta interest, do you guys barrack for a team..like loyal to them? or do you
> just love the game? I barrack for Brisbane lions. 3 premierships in a row! I'm
> happy..lol
> When you come to Australia (have you ever?)you'll love it...people are sooo into it.
> How'd you get interested in AFL? HAd you been to australia and seen it?
> oh another question..sorry I'm really questiony...but are normal round matches
> throughout the year aired in america?
> Thanks and bye.

Hi Hrystina -
I barrack for the Blues with Sydney - watch it, Bob - my second team. And I have tremendous admiration for the Lions as well as some money on them to make it 4 in a row.
You should have no problem finding a GF party in either Sand Diego or San Francisco as both those cities have footy teams in the USAFL
As the others said, just keep checking this site for party listings.
Lisa