As this article in the Courier Mail (and other newspapers) notes ESPN recently had fun with the Barry Hall incident in the AFL. Sadly, this is not the kind of attention that really helps the sport here in North America. It simply reinforces the stereotypical image of footy that we need to move beyond.
I will refrain from commenting on the incident itself. That has already been adequately and exhaustively covered. I will also not comment on the article's suggestion that "jumper pulling" needs to be penalized. The broader question for US and Canadian footy fans is whether the sport's real skills can get attention in the US sports media as opposed to a reprehensible display of physical violence.
In the early days of ESPN they gained lots of mileage out of AFL coverage and the "boffo" that was much more common in the early 1980's. The more athletic and high skill aspects of the sport were often lost on fans, myself included, back then. But over time the sport evolved and so have the fans. The sport has taken a hold at the grass roots level here and that is reflected both in the tremendous growth of the fan base seen by AFANA and in the growth of the USAFL and AFLC. The audience for the sport in North America is now 3 or 4 times what it was when AFANA was formed over 12 years ago.
For most of today's US and Canadian fans they only know of the early ESPN days from the "glory days" comments of middle aged (or older) fans like myself. The sport they follow does not have many (thankfully!) incidents such as the Barry Hall "explosion". However, to the broader American and Canadian audience, if they understand anything about Australian football at all, what they know of it is from the short clips of violent collisions and crushing tackles. Exhibit one in this is the famous Foster's commercial of the mid to late 90's where Dean Kemp is rendered senseless by a collision.
However, if the AFL is ever to gain mainstream acceptance in this country it won't happen if it is perceived as a higher version of the WWE with 36 contestants at one time. I don't fault ESPN, but the attention by ESPN this week is therefore unwelcome and detrimental to the future of the sport in the USA and Canada. As fans and promoters of the sport, we must work to gain positive attention from the sports media and emphasize the aspects of the sport that make it the greatest sport in our eyes.
We won't gain this attention by emphasizing the violence and we won't get it by running down other sports. Ultimately we will succeed in selling the sport by drawing attention to the very things that have made all of us fans of the sport today. The speed, the athleticism, the high scoring, the personalities, and the drama of the sport. That's what were about in AFANA and I hope you will come along with us.
