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AFL’s compensation may be huge

11 May 2010

Some sectors of sports fandom within Australia are currently having a chuckle over the fact that the AFL has voluntarily labeled itself as not being a “major event” in the context of Australia’s 2018/2022 World Cup bid.

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Mister Football has made a total of 1018 comments

Saw the light? We have the original rules of 1859, and we know the backgrounds of all seven people involved, four of whom had had prior first hand experience of school boy forms of football. The met to devise a set of rules for adults to play? What is the point you are trying to make? One voice out of seven was arguing in favour of rugby? Maybe (it's not altogether clear from the documentation in all honesty). Also, I refer you to the exact words in Wills' letter to Bells Life in 1858: ...why can they not, I say, form a foot-ball club, and form a committee of three or more to draw up a code of laws? And that is precisely what happened, seven of them formed a committee and they drew up a code of laws.

AFL is not indigenous but uniquely Australian

24 Oct 2010

The bilios postings are coming from other quarters. There is lack of appreciation of the socio-economic historical context of the birth of Australian Football, and I am hoping that by putting up a range of references, people who are genuinely interested can conduct their own research and reading to their satisfaction. Others can continue putting up amateurish speculation based on their current day knowledge of things (as opposed to what was happening during that crucial period of 1858 to 1860). Above all, I am hoping people will look at this from the historical context, with access to the source material, and with knowledge of the various drivers as they existed at that time.

AFL is not indigenous but uniquely Australian

24 Oct 2010

You shouldn't be so quick to show your ignorance so publicly. 1. Games between Australia and Ireland, using Gaelic rules, or composite Gaelic rules, have been played on a regular basis since 1967. 2. The last time they played at Croke Park, there was an attendance of 82,000, higher than meetings between Ireland and Australia in soccer and rugby. 3. The format of the game is closer to Gaelic rules, so it really has nothing to do with exposing aussie rules to the world (which is going down a separate route and is doing ok). 4. Given the context of the game - it's surprisingly entetaining, certainly faster, more open and more attacking than the other footballs.

International Rules Series will be a cracker

16 Oct 2010

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