Jared Brennan of Brisbane gets the ball away ahead of Jordan Roughead of the Bulldogs during the AFL NAB Cup Round 01 match between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions at Manuka Oval. Slattery Images
It’s Good Friday. It’s a public holiday, a day off. The hot cross buns have been eaten, and now it’s time to relax. But what’s on? No live footy. Why not?
On a quiet day, would a game of footy be in order?
The NRL certainly think so, and have two games scheduled. Super 14 rugby plays on Good Friday. Overseas, football leagues around the world schedule games; so too does the NBA and Major League Baseball.
But the AFL continues to hold out and no games are scheduled on Good Friday.
But do the reasons stack up?
The first reason given is religious sensitivities, showing respect to Christian traditions. But are AFL fans more religious than fans of other codes that makes it okay for them to play and not the AFL?
And is it a problem for Christians to attend football on Good Friday? As a Christian myself, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. My church has a Good Friday service at 9am. Most other churches have their Good Friday services at a similar time.
By the afternoon, the religious observances are over – so there’s plenty of time to get to the footy.
There is no clash.
Christian footy fans have been used to 1pm starts on Sundays for years. We know how to get from church to the footy.
And not all Australians are Christians. We have people of other faiths, and play on during their religious occasions. We play during the Jewish Sabbath, during Passover and Yom Kippur.
We play day games during Islam’s Ramadan. And through the holy days of other religions. Even within Christianity not all dates are aligned, and we play on Orthodox Good Friday. Why do we show respect to one branch of one religion but not to others?
The second reason given is the Royal Childrens’ Hospital Appeal, which Channel 7 televises in Victoria. It’s a valid concern – it’s a big event in Melbourne and to have another event on could detract from that.
But the Hospital Appeal is only shown in Victoria, and isn’t a factor around the rest of Australia. Matches involving a Victorian team may divert attention from the Hospital Appeal, but not all the AFL’s teams are Victorian.
In two years’ time our league will have 18 teams, 8 coming from outside Victoria. A match between the non-Victorian teams would have little impact on the Hospital Appeal, but provide a footy fix for the non-Victorian supporters.
That could easily be arranged by Channel 7 showing the Appeal in Victoria but taking an additional game elsewhere in the long weekend in Victoria only; while televising the Good Friday game around the rest of Australia.
Two new teams are coming, in Gold Coast and West Sydney. And although the tradition has been to not play on Good Friday, new teams provides the opportunity to create new traditions.
GWS v Gold Coast FC on Good Friday evening would be a winner.
Televised on Channel 7 except in Victoria, it would showcase the game on an otherwise quiet evening. It would have little if any impact on the Hospital Appeal in Victoria, but provide an extra opportunity to show some footy to the rest of Australia.
How about it AFL?
Brian
Guest
Its quite sad how often us Victorians will take pride in our religious laxness and that sport is our religion. Yet the American bible belt has NBA games both on Xmas & Good Friday, Many European leagues play on Good Friday and yet the AFL do not play on Good Friday. I suggest scheduling a socceroo game on Good Friday at the MCG. Then we'll see the AFL gmae soon after.
captain nemo
Roar Guru
its great to see a contact sport being played in melbourne today :)
bever fever
Guest
A good argument can be mounted either way but i tend to agree with you.
Bogan Bill from Bogan Hill
Guest
They have to think outside the octadecagon. (18 sides, in 2012 get it?) All they need to do is schedule the Saints v the Demons, it would have a religious angle to it. Geez I'm an ideas man.
pH
Guest
In such a hectic consumerist world - we all desperately need just 2 days in 365/366 - to be a day of rest - free of shopping, holiday (from HOLY DAY etymologically) for all but essential services workers - free from major events too. A day to simply wind down, go to church if that is your thing, reflect, spend time with family and close friends. Those two days are Xmas Day and Good Friday.
Michael C
Roar Guru
ha ha, only saw this now......good one J-Naz.
Matt
Guest
The News Corp/Channel 9 cartel that controls the NRL strikes again...
Anthony
Guest
I am a practising christian (Anglican) & I am more offended by the AFL having a game on Maundy Thrusday night. That is an important night when christians go to church, & I would rather that was footy-free & have a game on Good Friday.
Redb
Roar Guru
Interesting points and your right it is not a good fit for a sports forum, even the United States through their constitution who were at great pains to separate church and state ensuring secularism was nominally part of the landscape still have public holidays for Christmas and Easter.
Ken
Guest
Hey WCR, As a non-religous person, I agree with your main point that there's no need to change the traditional holidays that have taken on their own significance and tradition outside of religion. I'd be very sad if my own children (and, one day, grandchildren) didn't experience the excitement of Easter and Christmas This might be going into possibly unwanted territory here for The Roar but I believe though that Australia was founded with a distinct and intended secularism - apart from our foreign Monarch also being the head of a church, which is something we ought to have fixed a decade ago (another argument probably not suited to this forum!). One of the few freedoms our constitution protects is any imposition or prohibition of any religion. Timmuh's logic is taking this to far I believe but the concept that Australia was founded with a basis in religion is myth.
Working Class Rugger
Guest
Timmuh Give us a break. I'm sorry but I'm really sick of this politically correct BS that seems to dominate our society. I'm all for religious and cultural freedom but suggesting that the majority should do away with their traditions and celebrations to appease minority groups is just rubbish. Australia as a nation at the time of Federation was founded with a distinct Judea-Christian tradition. To this day something along the lines of 64-67% of the population still indentify with this tradition with the next largest other grouping being Atheist ( and still I know many who who celebrate traditional Christian holidays). Political correctness has been a blight on Western Society and needs to be abandoned. This whole policy of appeasement tends to build animosity and intolerance regardless of its intent. Abandoning traditions that have been part of Australian society since European settlement to appear to be enlightened is ridiculous.
Timmuh
Guest
Its quite simple. There shouldn't be a public holiday. We don't have any Buddhist, Moslem, Hindi, Jewish, etc holidays; why is Christianity still regarded as different in a largely secular society? Just scrap Easter and Christmas, if necessary replace them at other times of the year with non-religious holidays.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Announcement was made a couple of weeks ago. It gets a bit confusing having AAMI Stadium and AAMI Park, same as two Skilled grounds and formerly two Telstra grounds. And two seperate grounds, one in Brisbane and one in Sydney. have been called ANZ Stadium. The bubbledome was always going to have a sponsor name. But it does get confusing.
Oh Dan, Dan, Dan. You are up to your old tricks again, telling lies (like that one about Sheedy). Australian Football was created here, not transported. You can cite all the marn grook, gaelic, rugby and English football rules you like, but none of them resemble Australian Football. There are just as many dissimilarities as there are similarities. There is a clear distinction between all of these sporting activities, no matter how many times you keep chanting it until you're blue in the face. Dan, when will you stop lying?
"I imagine though it’s more a legacy than an actual sign of Melbourne’s piousness..." I agree, it stems from tradition in my opinion rather than from religious observance. With regards to the Good Friday Appeal perhaps the AFL can arrange to donate $X from the proceeds of the match. Question: when people give to charity, would they rather get nothing (materially) out of it? Or a game of football?
BigAl
Guest
Yes ! , even, dare I say it, a bit . . . girlie ! Still, it'll only be for 8 years
Brett McKay
Guest
I'd not heard it either Al, AAMI Park sounds a bit how-you-going actually...
Michael C
Roar Guru
Yup back to March 16 in the H-S, you're a bit behind there BigAl!!!!, what's going on???
Dogz R Barkn
Roar Guru
If anything, it makes a lie of people's assertions that the AFL is megalomaniac and wanting to stomp out all other sports. The NRL will have Melbourne all to themselves on that day, and hopefully we'll get a good turnout. Good on 'em both. I find it rather quaint that Melburnians do not wish to watch any footy on Good Friday, and it's sort of healthy as well (that there can be a holiday during the footy season with no footy).
Republican
Guest
No, there is no need to expound further mds 1970, it's blatantly obvious really and has something to do with the word 'Easter'. Yeah, we simply want it ALLL - all the time don't we!