Australian rules football culture
Australian rules football culture is the cultural aspects surrounding the game of
Popularity
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Aboriginal_football.jpg/260px-Aboriginal_football.jpg)
Australian rules football has attracted more overall interest among Australians (as measured by the Sweeney Sports report) than any other football code, and, when compared with all sports throughout the nation, has consistently ranked first in the winter reports, and most recently third behind cricket and swimming in summer.[1][2] In some of the southern states, it is the most popular of all sports.
As a football code, it is the most popular form of football in the
It is particularly popular amongst
Australian rules is the national sport of Nauru.
Attendance
Australian rules football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia: government figures show that more than 2.5 million people attended games in 2005-06.
As of 2005 the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues in the world with an average
The
In addition to the national AFL competition, some semi-professional local leagues also draw significant crowds. Although crowds for state leagues have suffered in recent years, they continue to draw support, particularly for finals matches. The South Australian
Outside of Australia, the game has drawn notable attendances only for occasional carnival type events, such as International tests and exhibition matches.
Television
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Afl_grand_final.jpg/300px-Afl_grand_final.jpg)
The national AFL is the main league which is shown on television in Australia.
The 2005
According to OzTAM, in recent years, the AFL Grand Final has reached the top five programs across the five biggest cities in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2007, it was #1 in metropolitan markets. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both 2004 and 2005.
Some of the more popular regional leagues in Australia have the "match of the week" televised locally and free-to-air on
Some of these regional leagues also attracted a national audience through free-to-air broadcasting on television networks such as
Australian rules also has a nominal but growing international audience. Since 2005, some AFL matches have been shown in the pacific rim region for the first time through the
According to
New media
The AFL website was the #1 most popular Hitwise Australian sports website in 2004, increasing in market share by 9.86% over that year.[12] In 2006, other consistently high traffic websites in the Australian Top 20 included AFL Dream Team, (Trading Post) AFL Footy Tipping, BigFooty.com and Bomberland.[13] In 2006, the search term 'afl' represented the highest number of search terms (2.48%) that delivered users to Hitwise sports category listed websites.[14] Statistics show that Victorians consist of 43% of all visits to the AFL football category.[15]
Team rivalries
Rivalries are one of the main drivers in generating passionate supporter bases. In almost every league, there is a team which everyone loves to hate, like Collingwood, Port Adelaide and even the Southport Sharks. The AFL in particular encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as Rivalry Round where many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend.[16] Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary matchups, or ignoring stronger, more recent rivalries.[17]
Traditions of the game
Clothing
As part of their uniform, players wear shirts called
Traditionally, umpires have worn white and were sometimes derogatively referred to as "white maggots"[18] amongst supporters. AFL umpires now wear bright colours to also avoid clashes with the player guernseys and AFL goal umpires now wear t-shirts and caps, rather than the traditional white coat and broad brimmed hat (similar to what was worn by many cricket umpires) which they wore before the 1990s.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Richmond_Cheer_Squad_Rd_21_2006_copy.jpg/200px-Richmond_Cheer_Squad_Rd_21_2006_copy.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Four%27N_Twenty_Pie_at_the_AFL.jpg/200px-Four%27N_Twenty_Pie_at_the_AFL.jpg)
Typical supporter wear includes the team scarf and sometimes beanie (particularly in cooler climates) in the colours of the team. Team guernseys are also worn by supporters. Team flags are sometimes flown by supporters at the start of a game, when a goal is scored, and when their team wins.
Gameday and crowd
![]() | This article possibly contains original research. (July 2023) |
Before AFL matches, it is traditional for teams to run through a
In recent decades, for important matches, a Welcome to Country has become an important part of pre-match ceremony.
Australian rules supporters (or "barrackers") are said to "barrack" for their team, the Australian slang term originated in cricket in the 1870s but has become more widely used by football fans.[21] The Collingwood Football Club song is the only one to reference the word barracker.
Though other cultures have had an influence at various points in its history, Australian football tends to have different atmosphere to sports like soccer and American football. Partly due to Australian culture, Australian rules spectators are generally more solitary animals.[
At
At the end of the match, it is traditional for a
Reading the AFL Record and recording the goals kicked by players alongside the team lists is also commonly done by spectators.
Imported culture
Over time, the leagues have experimented with importing traditions from other sports and overseas (mostly US culture) which had been successfully imported into other sports in Australia.
One example is American-style all female cheerleading which is absent from the game in Australia. In 1979, Carlton Football Club started a trend of the scantily clad "Carlton Blue Birds" which were for a time sponsored by Carlton fan Geoffrey Edelsten,[26] however the Blue Birds disbanded in 1986. Nevertheless Edelston reinstated the idea when he bought the Sydney Swans with the "Sydney Swanettes" in 1986[27] Christopher Skase's Brisbane Bears employed the "Brisbane Bearettes" for several seasons from their 1987 debut season. The practice was seen as flashy and inappropriate by fans and VFL clubs had abandoned their cheer squads after a few years. In 2014 Collingwood president Eddie McGuire flagged the reintroduction of Melbourne Storm style cheerleading but with a gender diverse dance crew be introduced to the club though such a move was increasingly frowned upon by the public.[28] The AFL in 2018 stated that it is unlikely approve the reintroduction of cheerleaders.[29]
With its growing popularity in soccer, the
The AFL has experimented with Americanisation of the game in many ways since including its implementation of the much hyped AFLX format, an AFL Combine, Free Agency and Wildcard Series few of which have been popular with Australian fans.[30]
Injuries and prevention
Australian rules football is known for its high level of physical body contact compared to other sports such as
Some ruckmen wear shin pads and thigh pads and players with head injuries sometimes wear soft helmets. Mouthguards are worn by most players but are only compulsory in some leagues.
Players can suffer head injuries;[34] however, spinal injuries are extremely uncommon and comparatively much lower than rugby football.[35][36]
In cases of injury, players are able to be treated whilst on the ground and umpires generally only stop the play when players are removed from the ground on a stretcher. Most leagues have implemented a blood rule which forces players with bleeding wounds to leave the field for treatment until the bleeding is stopped to prevent the transmission of blood-borne disease.[citation needed]
Australian rules football does not have the range or severity of
In a study of retired VFL/AFL footballers found that the most common problems amongst the group in old age included arthritis, hip replacements and significantly reduced capacity to participate in athletic activity.[38][39]
In recent years the AFL has commissioned official studies as well as introduced new rules and precautions aimed at reducing the number and severity of injuries in the sport,[40] and there are variation games which significantly reduce the contact and risk of injury to players and allow players of any age to continue to participate.
Women
Women have been involved in Australian football since its inception, with many early match reports remarking on the equal representation of both sexes in the crowds.[41] The trend continues with around half of modern day AFL supporters being female, which contrasts with other codes both in Australia and overseas. For instance, only 39% of NRL (rugby league) supporters in Australia are female.
There are
Popular culture
For many years, the game of Australian rules football captured the imagination of Australian film, music, television and literature.
The Club, a critically acclaimed 1977 play by David Williamson, deals with the internal politics of a Melbourne football club steeped in tradition. The play was adapted as a film, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jack Thompson and Graham Kennedy, in 1980.
Many songs inspired by the game have become popular, none more so than the 1979 hit "Up There Cazaly", by Mike Brady. Brady followed the hit up with "One Day in September" in 1987. Both are frequently used in Grand Final celebrations.
AFL players and the media
Footballers' off-field behaviour is as highly scrutinised as their on-field behaviour. Footballers are held by many in Australia to be role models.
Betting
"Footy tipping" is the term for
Traditionally
Violence
Player violence
On-field assault has historically been socially tolerated in Australia, but, in recent years, this has changed with some players being charged by police for their on-field actions, including a recent jailing in Victoria[42] and the much publicized case involving VFL player Leigh Matthews which ended the public perception that on-field football assaults are somehow legal.[43] League penalties for such actions have also generally increased in recent years[44] and overall violence has decreased over time.[45]
Violence has also affected the International Rules Series, with the Irish team objecting to the level of violence tolerated by Australia.
Supporter violence
Multiculturalism
Australian rules football has involved a diverse section of society and the AFL has multicultural programs to engage people from different backgrounds.
Racial vilification
The
- 1993
- Nicky Winmar reacted to overt racism from the crowd at Victoria Park, Melbourne, turning to face the offending segments of the crowd, lifted his Guernsey and defiantly pointed to his skin (at the end of a game between St Kilda Football Club and Collingwood Football Club). This act was captured in a series of famous photographs and led to far-reaching reform in the AFL in respect of racism in the game.[46][47]
- 1994
- Essendon Football Club champion Michael Long complained to the Australian Football League over an alleged racial vilification incident involving Collingwood Football Club's Damian Monkhorst which was the result of an extensive investigation throughout 1995.[48]
- 1997
- Robert AhMat was involved in an alleged racial vilification row with Essendon Football Club player Michael Prior.[49]
- 2007
- The Herald Sun launches a special investigation into racism in junior Aussie Rules, revealing several controversial incidents.[50]
- 2010
- Former Australian rules player Mal Brown apologises for referring to aboriginal Australian Football League players as "cannibals" and that he could not select Nicky Winmar or Michael Mitchell because "there were no lights" [at the poorly lit Whitten Oval] during a promotion for the E. J. Whitten Legends Game. The comments prompted AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou to express his disgust.[51][52]
- 2011
- Joel Wilkinson racially vilified in multiple incidents, including by Brisbane Lions player Justin Sherman[53] and by a Collingwood supporter in June 2012.[54]
- Majak Daw racially vilified by Port Melbourne spectators.[55]
- 2013
- Majak Daw, Daniel Wells and Lindsay Thomas allegedly racially vilified by spectators in a matches against Hawthorn[56] and against the Western Bulldogs.[57]
- Adam Goodes points to a Collingwood spectator in a match against Collingwood after an apparent "ape". The person later apologised to him.[58]
- Video reveals Collingwood supporter racially vilifying both Adam Goodes and Lewis Jetta.[59]
- Eddie McGuire apologises for "King Kong" gaffe in reference to Goodes.[60]
- 2015
- 2016
- A spectator threw a
- 2019
- Two 2019 documentaries, The Final Quarter and The Australian Dream, using the Goodes controversy as a starting point, examine the role of racism in sport as well as more generally, racism in Australia, both historically and today. Following the release of the films, the AFL and individual clubs offered apologies to Goodes.[69][70]
- 2023
- In April 2023, In April 2023, the AFL confirmed 23 reported incidents of racial abuse in AFL, VFL, and the Talent League games since the season began. Four Indigenous players – Brisbane's Charlie Cameron, Adelaide's Izak Rankine, and Fremantle's Michael Walters and Nathan Wilson – had received abuse[71] over a period of two days.[72]
Player drug abuse
Footnotes
References
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