What is it with people always applying the phrases “dreaded” or “silence” or “shocking” to a drawn Aussie Rules footy match? It happens, people, so you might as well figure out how to get happy about them.
It’s easy – go and talk to anyone who follows the English Premier League.
Now, I am not suggesting you go and also stir up the usual over-wrought guff about which sport should dominate the cosmos – merely the reactions from fans to a game where the outcome is a tied score and split competition points.
Jason Akermanis tells people via his Herald Sun column on April 6 to have extra time and shootouts to decide draws, even during the regular season.
The Americans used to do that in the Major League Soccer series before sanity prevailed. Let’s not even consider going there.
According to Aker, he’d rather “lose with honour any time than feel emotionally flattened by a no-result”.
He goes on, saying sharing the points with the opposition is “unemotional” and “weird”.
And that AFL players who say they are happy with such a result are nothing but “naïve neanderthals”.
Really, please. As far as Aker is concerned, all four draws he played in during his career didn’t make him feel he’d achieved anything.
Again, try telling that to the supporters of, say, Stoke City, when they snatch an incredible point from say, Manchester City at the latter’s home ground. But no, Aker calls such people “fools”.
Unemotional? Weird? What rot.
To the underdog, a draw can mean as much as a win on some days. To the high-flyer, it can be the kick in the pants, the club probably needed or a wake-cup call for a coach in terms of his tactics.
Take the AFL’s draws from rounds one and two this year. Melbourne v Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In front of 33,951 fans, the Dees came back after trailing all the way up to the last two minutes and forced the Swans to accept just half the spoils.
Brilliant I’d say if I was a Demons supporter. There was even a goal-square volley from Melbourne’s Brad Green. Stirring stuff. Hurrah.
Fast forward a week to St Kilda and Richmond doing the same at the same venue in front of 41,465. In this case, you’d have to say that the Saints were fortunate to escape without a loss, having produced 30 scoring shots to the Tigers’ 25 but they still couldn’t make them count.
AFL.com.au’s Jennifer Witham said the result spelled “hope” for Richmond, having pushed the 2010 grand finalists all the way.
Tiger boss Damien Hardwick wished his team had actually won, telling Witham “it feels like a loss – we’re really disappointed to be honest…It’s unacceptable as far as we’re concerned. We should have won.”
So, there is clearly more to a draw, Aker and all you other draw-haters.
A mate of mine went to the Dees-Swans match with his fiancée, she being a Melbourne fans. Said mate described the result as “stunned silence”.
Said fiancée admitted to almost falling asleep during the first half because it was, as she put it, a boring spectacle.
Since when do honest AFL-obsessed die-hards associate what to some is the greatest sport in the known universe with the word boring?
The horror! Obviously no-one thought too much about what had transpired. Dees fans should have been dancing in the aisles, probably. It’s mad, mad stuff.
Who would’ve thought it then – draws can actually be valuable, folks.
Particularly if you’re the away team, unfancied to win ahead of the opening whistle or had to stage a second-half comeback.
All three reasons are valid ones for that team’s fans to have something to celebrate as they exit the stadium. Even not winning has it’s uses: it’s better than a loss.
And the other side has to share the points with you, for starters.
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