On Wednesday, Peter Costello (who has a column in the Melbourne Age – who knew?) made some both cheap and demeaning claims about the altruism of sports stars.
Melbourne in particular has been abuzz with this story.
Costello managed to first take aim at Shane Warne and Liz Hurley, perhaps fairly enough, as many a cynic ponders the very public essential Twitter guide to the Warne-Hurley antics.
However, going from the observation: ‘in show business, publicity sells’ to suddenly lining up messers Ponting, Steve Waugh and Warne for running charitable ‘foundations’, Costello states ‘I can’t help thinking that one of those clever publicists has persuaded cricketers that charity work will enhance their image and their brand’.
One can’t help but notice that Costello omitted the name McGrath.
Costello then took aim at footballers, including dredging up the false claims that St Kilda footballers did anything wrong during a school visit. Did Costello not check his facts? For Costello to posit that ‘any right thinking parent would quake with fear to hear that footballers were coming to their daughter’s school to give a little bit of inspiration’ is astounding.
As it is, he’s drawn the wrath of the broader sporting community. And also from those who have benefited from sincere, dignified and unassuming assistance.
Costello has also taken a ‘whack’ from Federal sports minister Mark Arbib: ‘If he doesn’t understand the value of what sports people put back into the community then he should keep his mouth shut”.
One can’t help but wonder if Costello chose an easy target to generate publicity for his own column that perhaps had been flying under the radar? Cynicism is a curse.
jamesb
Guest
Hello MagpieFlag I commented on this issue a week ago. Here is the source in this link http://www.theage.com.au/afl/hes-got-no-idea-costello-kicked-over-afl-attack-20110216-1avl6.html The poll stated 60% in Costellos favour and alot of comments below the article also favour Costelllo. "Its funny how people who think an article full of blatant prejudice is the good also think it is OK to assert as fact a stat they have just plain made up! Well ATM we have this street smart girl thats made life tricky for St.Kilda players and Ricky Nixon. I'm sure been a one eye AFL collingwood supporter, your probably blinded by this issue, into thinking everything is alright in the AFL, whilst in the source, many people that have commented on the story totally disagree with you.
Rob McLean
Guest
The Auskick experience you describe, Ian, is not like the one I see here in my town.
MagpieFlag
Guest
"yet normal people that have read the article, about two-thirds of them agree with costello." Source please? Its funny how people who think an article full of blatant prejudice is the good also think it is OK to assert as fact a stat they have just plain made up!
OzFootballSherrin
Roar Pro
ian - Yes, I have heard of Heather McKay, I'm of a vintage that I recall her and Geoff Hunt. As I said above - you don't need a qualification to care. Many players (of whatever sport) are involved for very personal reasons,....or, just because they are nice people. As pointed out above, Glenn Archer is an ambassador for HeartKids because, he's a HeartKid dad, his daughter has had 3 heart ops. He isn't involved for personal gain. It would be stupid to suggest such. Alas, Peter Costello made every indication that Glenn Archer would be included in his blanket statement. Other simple examples, include the players who used to regularly help out at the local Salvo's soup kitchen. For quite sometime it went without general public knowledge, but, eventually the secret came out. Or Chris Judd (I hadn't heard about this one until one of the journo's in this discussion let it out) who donated a car to be auctioned off. and simple examples, like another article in the last couple of days about Dale Thomas taking a call during the finals series last year, a young lady who's last chance surgery had failed, she was left a quadraplegic with only days to live, she was able to talk to 23 yr old Thomas, and tell him to improve his kicking, and she hoped to see them win the flag. Alas, she died before hand. It's sometimes the big things, sometimes the little things. Should any of the above be role models?? Maybe. Maybe not. However, should they simply be respected BECAUSE they are caring members of the community, rather than dismissed BECAUSE they are footballers. I leave it at that.
ian
Guest
Ozfootball Sherrin, I would say that a good role model is our society is not based on sporting prowess or ravings on this site but on how that person makes the community better without personal financial gain or leverage. I do not see how any professional sportsman, with the exception of a few, actually make this place better. Pat Rafter, Kim C, Heather Mckay ( you probably do not even know who that is) are a few who have given back withour gaining financially. Australian society places way to much emphasis on sporting prowess and often hold elite athletes in awe which is very sad due mainly to the media. I would rather see scientists, environmentalists and such people in our schools giving children role models and people they should strive to emulate.
ian
Guest
Enough, thanks guys. Roar Mods.
OzFootballSherrin
Roar Pro
and so this Ian fellow has successfully hijacked and diverted this thread to the normal anti-AFL moron typical theRoar piece of drivel. A 'brand name' is not necessarily the product name. eg Product : "Beer" Brand name : "Fosters", "VB" Nation of origin : "AUstralia" Product : "Australian Football" Brand name : "AFL" Nation of origion : "Australia" simple........well, seemingly not. Anyways, back to what Peter Costello said!!!! Or has only Amazonfan read my glorious post from earlier ....... the qualification to care soliloquy......wasted, it seems,...alas.....
punter
Guest
Yes I agree on both counts.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
"I live in Sydney & the game is known as AFL in Sydney, Australian football has a different meaning here." Perhaps, which is probably why the AFL markets the game as AFL. It is not because, contrary to what some people such as DB Swannie believe, the game is actually called AFL. "Does it really matter what others think even if you live in Rome or Adelaide & follow a code that may not be the most popular sport in that city." No, it doesn't. In fact, unless you go onto The Roar and get involved in the various footy code war threads, it shouldn't matter at all.
punter
Guest
I live in Sydney & the game is known as AFL in Sydney, Australian football has a different meaning here. My point was the same point you were trying to make with; "The fact that it is not popular overseas does not change my view that it is the best footy code in the world!" Does it really matter what others think even if you live in Rome or Adelaide & follow a code that may not be the most popular sport in that city.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Punter- "most footbal fans couldn’t care less how popular AFL, yes AFL is in Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide." AFL is the name of the league, and repeating it does not change the fact that the sport is not called AFL. I call Australian Football football, you call Association Football football. That's all fine and well, however unless you want to start a code war, at least acknowledge that Aussie Rules is not called AFL. I don't call soccer HAL. "The fact that AFL is the most popular sport in these 3 cities, does not change my view that it’s not the best footy code in the world." Well, yeh, and your point is?
Titus
Guest
Most Eskimo's couldn't care less that they don't get to lie around on a warm sunny beach.
punter
Guest
Amazonfan most footbal fans couldn't care less how popular AFL, yes AFL is in Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide. The fact that AFL is the most popular sport in these 3 cities, does not change my view that it's not the best footy code in the world.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
"Let me know when your game goes global and even one other country decides to play this sport which is offically called Australian Rules Football ( Oxford Dictionary concise Australian Edition)." Actually it's Australian Football. http://www.afl.com.au/About/tabid/13532/default.aspx#title As for other countries playing it, why does that matter? "Please let me know when I can watch that first international using the rules of Australian Rules Football , I will ensure I change channels so as to miss this epic event.Yet again I state the facts; one South American country has more professional football players than your game has participants.Some 200 plus countries play the world game, 1 plays your game and even in this country Football has 2-3 times the registerd number of players.Your on a winner here mate. lol" Soccer fans, for some reason, always resort to how popular their code is overseas. Perhaps it's because you have low self-confidence about your sport. Ian, most Aussie Rules fans couldn't care less about how popular it is overseas or whether there is a World Cup or an international featuring the rules of AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL. I certainly don't. The fact that it is not popular overseas does not change my view that it is the best footy code in the world!
OzFootballSherrin
Roar Pro
Ian - perhaps you could ask your 5 year old son to teach you. btw - what are people like me?? btw - debating? is that what you call what you've been doing?? You've simply been running off topic, putting forward false supposed facts (btw - I haven't had to google anything thus far in talking with you - - I have read a bit on the topic however, and re the illicit recreational drugs topic I followed that very closely at the time in the Aust media - - a media that was very 'confused' to put it mildly) btw - there have been many internationals using the rules of Australian Football, just precious few involving Australia, mostly restricted to the Flying Boomerangs indigenous side. Internationals NOT involving expats and NOT involving people on parent/grandparent eligibility (as I know Rugby and Soccer allow both) have in fact been played for some time. Sure, it's amateur stuff - however, even FIFA would rate a match between American Samoa and the Solomons as an 'international'. Certainly the Rugby codes count many an amateur match as 'internationals', heck, every RU match prior to going professional was an amateur contest - - so, I feel now reason to NOT count thus far 3 International Cups worth of matches (4th to kick off this year). There have been not less than 11 nations at any one International Cup. It is NOT Int Rules, it is full ground, full side footy. There have also been annual internationals such as USA vs Canada (Mens, womens, juniors) for the 49th Parallel Cup, and a good number between Denmark, Ireland, Britain and of late the Danes, Swedes and Germans have played tri-series. Also, 2010 saw the first European Championships of full side, full field footy - - as in Europe prior to that, and still - they have run the Euro 9s. Nations involved in the IC have included PNG, Denmark, USA, Canada, Japan, 'Britain', Ireland, Samoa, Nauru, South AFrica, New Zealand, Spain made one appearance, China, India, Finland and Sweden. Sure it's amateur level stuff - but, for these non Australians to pay their way to travel to the other side of the world to represent their country in this wierd little game is 'nice'. This year, there will be some further nations set to debut, Fiji most certainly will be there, others such as Iceland may. Again, I need not google any of this - I am involved in this area in a purely amateur fashion, but, involved enough to assure you that I'm not making it up or misrepresenting anything. I don't know why you keep relaying useless facts about the game of soccer,..(this thread was never about that)....including in South America. Great mate. That's nice. Relevance to Peter Costello's comments is?? What do you want me to do? I've never posited that Australian Football is bigger or smaller, or that one code or another doesn't have the right to exist based on any such measure. What's your point??
ian
Guest
OzfootballSherrin A fool cannot sea the trees for the forest, mate you are lost amongst the trees. Very lost. There is little point debating you as the logic of your argument is flawed, you have lost focus on the original premise of our debate. I can see you can google, well done to you, so can my 5 yr old son. Let me know when your game goes global and even one other country decides to play this sport which is offically called Australian Rules Football ( Oxford Dictionary concise Australian Edition). Unfortunately when people like you start comparing emergency response workers to professional footballers and the role they undertake in schools you have lost your sense of reality.Sport is sport and your "sport" is not even that in 1 other country in the world. That is why prominant well respected people in our society think that this code and some of the things it stands for is a joke. Please let me know when I can watch that first international using the rules of Australian Rules Football , I will ensure I change channels so as to miss this epic event.Yet again I state the facts; one South American country has more professional football players than your game has participants.Some 200 plus countries play the world game, 1 plays your game and even in this country Football has 2-3 times the registerd number of players.Your on a winner here mate. lol
OzFootballSherrin
Roar Pro
FIUL - What I did was 2 nights plus an on line component that is the general Australain Sports Commission component that probably all level 1 coaches have to pass. Like a lot of things these days, you have to score 100%, however, you get to re submit when doing it online until you get it absolutely right. TO be an Auskick coach, you are at minimum a level 1 junior coach. HOwever, to be a parent on the day helping out, your qualification is.....well, genetic!!!!
OzFootballSherrin
Roar Pro
JVGO - no, I wasn't quoting you, just emphasising. re other cricketers, you make me wonder whether you've infact read the article - I quote from it : "Ricky Ponting has a foundation, Steve Waugh has a foundation and, of course, there is the Shane Warne Foundation, "which raises funds to enrich the lives of seriously ill and underprivileged children"." Given that you failed to pick up that, I suggest you go back and re read the article and we'll talk again later.
JVGO
Guest
I didn't use the words 'trying to say' anywhere OFS. Are you quoting me? And where exactly did Costello criticise any cricketer other than Warnie in his article? His discussion of the branding culture and its shallowness is perfectly reasonable as far as I can see. He used the AFL brand, specifically St Kilda as the example, presumably because it's a Melbourne paper and it's a recent incident, but he could have just as easily used any other sporting code. I expect the facts he presents as regards the ST kilda incident that some are true and others debatable. Your response to the article is a far greater misrepresentation of the original Costello article than anything I said I'm afraid.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
OzFootballSherrin When you say "Auskick coaches are accredited" ... what does that mean? What formal training, if any, did you undertake to attain this accreditation?