Thoughts on Footy

I have been a fan of Aussie Rules "footy" since I was a kid growing up in soccer crazy Manchester England.  Coming to America as an adult 20 odd years ago, I thought my days of watching "soccer" never mind footy were over.  I threw myself into USA sports, as I was living in New York, I went to watch the NY Mets, learned all there was to learn about the game, and the NY Knicks, going to Shea Stadium and Madison Sq Garden on a regular basis.  Then came satellite TV, and my oh my, I now get to watch more live soccer than my brother back in England does. Then came ESPN, and wow, footy, and later on Fox Sports World, and now Setanta has come to Direct TV, and I get to watch footy, LIVE!  Yeah, I don't get much sleep on Friday nights, but who cares.  I can watch it live, or I can Tivo it and watch it in the morning, (no chance of seeing the scores on regular sports shows here!  Sure, the choices of games could be better; sure the magpies could have been stronger in the finals.  Heck, Setanta and the AFL might fall out, and there could be no footy for me to watch next year.

Let's face it, footy is an Aussie game, just as the NFL is an American game, even as it tries to get a world wide audience.  The NFL Super Bowl is watched overseas, heck my brother watches it.  Aussie rules may never catch on big time in the USA. Soccer is still trying, slowly but surely, soccer is making inroads.  But soccer is 90 minutes, plus 20 minutes or so for half time and add on time.  Footy takes longer, and is more physical than rugby; it should be a no brainer.  If I had to choose or rank my favorite sports to watch, footy would be number one followed by soccer, rugby union, and cricket.  Baseball is 9 innings, and a great way to while away 3 hours or so, and drink lots of beer.  The NFL, lord oh mighty, I went to quite a few New York Giants games in the mid 1980's, when the Giants were the team.  It was boring; at least at home you can change channels and come back at the end of the 4th Qtr to see the best 2 minutes of the game.

Footy is unpredictable, most times you know if a team gets 3 goals up, yeah, they are going to win.  But to see a mark made inside the 50, leaping above a ruck of players, landing on his head, back, stomach, no worries mate, I'm fine, up he gets and through the uprights the ball goes.  They lose anyway, but that one moment of magic makes the whole game worth while.  Footy has it all, running, passing, kicking, the allowance to be physical, sometimes a little too physical, but hey, he wasn't going to catch it anyway!

It's a game that looks stupid, until the get what they are doing, it's look's silly, grown men hitting the ball to a team mate, then you see them get knocked flat, because they didn't pass it quick enough.  It looks easy; just kick the ball through the sticks.  But it is not about that.  It is about surviving the onslaught, weathering the hot kicking of a forward.  Not letting the amazing mark take you down emotionally.  It is about making it look easy when you are 5 goals down at the half, coming out and playing like you are ahead. 

Bring on the Grand Final; can the Eagles get their revenge over the Swans?  Well I for one hope so, but whoever wins, I know I will be glued to the TV, knowing I will be watching 4 qtrs of non stop action.  NO shoulder pads, NO body armor, NO TV time outs, and rolling about feigning injury to get an opponent in trouble.  Break out a can of Fosters, and enjoy.

Peter in Dallas.