Part One: Interview with Shae McNamara, Collingwood FC’s American Pie

By Kim Densham for AFANA in Melbourne

Shae McNamara agreed to this interview to talk to AFANA about how he came to be involved in AFL. The interview took place at the Lexus Center in Melbourne, Collingwood Football Club headquarters.

AFANA: Welcome Shae, thanks for your time today.

Shae McNamara: Thanks, great to be here.

A: Shae, as an American, growing up with the strong influence and tradition of gridiron, baseball and basketball, what was the thing about AFL that caught your attention?

SMN: AFL seems to be a combination of the sports that I grew up playing, all rolled into one unique brand called “Aussie Rules”. How I came to play AFL was strange. I didn’t seek it out, AFL found me. I was recruited through a guy named Digger Phelps [Ed. note: former basketball coach at Notre Dame and TV commentator] who has connections with the Sydney Swans. He put the word out in the college basketball world that he was looking for someone who was tall and athletic, who could play AFL and he described the sport. My name came up with a few different coaches, some of whom got in touch with me. I had no idea what it was about. Initially I thought it was about an NBA prospect. It turned out that it was for AFL. I got the Australian part but didn’t understand the Rules part, it was quite funny and humbling because I thought it was about basketball. It turned out to be a unique sport, one that I had only seen and subsequently studied on YouTube. I saw the types of athletes who played and I knew that I could do that and be elite in the sport, that and the fact that I could be the first American to play and really do well at it. I also thought that I could have a career after my physical career ended. The prestige of being first intrigued me and the belief in my abilities as an all-round athlete doing quite well, made me take the chance.

A: Looking back now, if you weren’t playing footy what would you be doing?

SMN: Well, I would still be playing basketball overseas. After my first year I was in Germany and just before I went, I found out there was a prospect [of playing in the AFL]. I talked to the Sydney Swans before Christmas and they said I should finish out the season. I ended up having a great year in basketball and received six more offers to continue playing for various teams in Europe. I passed that up to play AFL and basically I think it is a win-win situation. I was either going to end up playing footy or basketball at one of the six clubs overseas, so I felt that I had nothing to lose and it would be silly not to try.

A: From a career perspective, have you always believed that you would play sport as a career?

SMN: As a kid I always had this notion that I would play professional sport. Not being egotistical, any ball I touched I just figured it out, it came easy and naturally to me. My dream was always to be a professional baseball player when I was a little kid and then it just evolved to whatever sport I was playing. It was always different coming to a ball game as a kid, and hearing the roar of the crowd, so it just developed from there that sport would be my job.

A: Which Club or team did you want to play pro baseball for?

SMN: Good question! I was raised in Milwaukee, but my dad was from Chicago, so I am a natural Cubs fan. I also like the Brewers, but before that it was the Yankees because they are so good. Today I like Boston and Chicago, but overall I guess it would be the Cubs, although I have a soft spot for Milwaukee.

A: So in terms of growing AFL in America, did you have any exposure to Australian Rules football growing up? Do you think that there is potential in the U.S?

SMN: Well I had no exposure but I do think that there is huge potential. I think that the AFL has to market it in the right way though. All my friends  who find out what I am doing initially think that it’s rugby. I have to tell them its nothing like rugby and  once they see it on YouTube they see that it’s this pretty cool sport, fast paced and pure athleticism in every aspect. People are drawn to it because it’s an ADD friendly game! Once you understand a few of the rules and the gist of the game it’s like “Wow this is cool”.

A: Shae, you mentioned ADD friendly, what do you mean?

SMN: I mean that because there no real stops in the play. In American football, NFL, everybody loves the strategy and the athletes are just unbelievable but there are so many stops and there can 20 or 30 seconds between each play. I suppose it would be like being in baseball and then watching cricket, it can be like watching paint dry! Footy is non-stop. Even if you turn the ball over, five seconds later there is another contest going on, whereas in most other sports, it is slower. The action is a little like hockey in that way, but on grass, if that makes sense? So I think that a lot of people will like the game. Now that an American is here, with the credibility of playing Division One College basketball and pro basketball in Europe and now being part of Collingwood, arguably the biggest sporting club in Australia, there is a lot of potential for marketing, especially if I am interviewed on radio and TV with the likes of ESPN and FOX Sports. It’s all up to the AFL and whether they want to pursue it and are willing to spend the extra dollars to market the game. I believe that it will spark interest and Americans will be drawn to it, especially if they have somebody to cheer for from a similar background, just as they do here [in Australia] supporting Andrew Bogut playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and Saverio Rocca as a pro kicker for the NFL.

A: You have obviously made changes in acquiring some of the skills required to play Aussie Rules. Taking it from pure athleticism to picking up the intricacies, skills and nuances of the game, do you think that is possible for other American athletes?

SMN: Yes, I definitely think so because America has the best athletes. Football people in Australia say that “we have tried athletes and it didn’t work”. Well I say “yes, you may have tried Australian athletes but you may not have tried any other breed of athletes”. In my opinion, a true athlete, a true sportsman, will be able to pick up any ball and figure it out. Through hard work, patience and practice, they can accomplish and achieve the skill set for any level of the sport that they are trying to play. It’s hard obviously but I don’t believe that it’s that hard, it’s just a challenge that one has to figure out. With the right coaching, critiques and practice, you can do it. Michael Jordan said that he had to practice for hours on end, and he is one of the hardest workers, probably the most athletic dude on the planet prior to Lebron James. That just goes to show that you have to put in the hard work to be successful.

Part 2 of this interview will follow on afana.com.