The AFL today will announce that from 2013 onwards football will be played on Good Friday. Ok, I know its a little late, but that was my attempt at an April Fool’s Day joke.
So maybe the joke is on me, but anyone foolish enough to believe that this announcement may occur today or in the coming years deserves to be fooled.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has consistently ruled out an AFL match on Good Friday. Yet it would be safe to bet your hoard of Easter eggs and hot-cross buns that before the week is out, every supporter, commentator and journalist will throw their proverbial eggs in the Good Friday basket.
It started Monday when North Melbourne CEO Eugene Arocca told kangaroos.com.au that his club was still interested in playing on Good Friday.
“The NRL and other sports play on Good Friday so if the AFL ever changes its position, we would love to be involved in a Good Friday game,” said Arocca.
Arocca is just one example of people willing to waste breath and news space fuelling an argument that cannot be won.
It isn’t just the Good Friday debate. You can add the dispute over jumps racing and the Formula 1 Grand Prix to the list of April fools. It is not the validity of each argument that I am questioning, but how clichéd and repetitive each side of the issue has become.
Racing Minister Denis Napthine has said that he and the government are committed to jumps racing. Yet the debate continues.
The Grand Prix will also remain in Australia until at least 2015. Yet the debate continues.
In each of these examples, stringent and constructive discourse has crumbled into a monotonous and tiresome debate that is causing the public to disengage with both sides.
To play devil’s advocate, what distinguishes the three cases above from the war of words fought over the makeup of the Australian Test team or Mike Sheahan’s Top 50?
The Australian Test debate, like most debates in sport, requires continual re-evaluation and consideration informed upon the latest performance or doctor’s report. In essence, the content is always changing.
Good Friday football, jumps racing and the Grand Prix arguments are as tired and repetitive as they were this time last year.
It is time both sides of the Good Friday debate retreated until the football landscape changes (for instance via a new CEO or a flagging Good Friday Appeal in need of support).
The same goes for jumps racing and the Grand Prix.
The time for silence is now.
It will only make the eventual argument more compelling.
bolloxx
Roar Rookie
I agree with Joe. Most Aussies view Good Friday primarily as a day off work - indeed spend it with family and friends, go to church if you're inclined but watch footy too if you want. If this offends your religious sensibilities then don't watch football. Personally Christianity doesn't interest me - so I don't go to church. Live and let live...
amazonfan
Guest
I am completely opposed to night grand finals (as are a lot of people), and introducing a night grand final is IMO simply an example of changing tradition purely for the sake of doing so. As for playing on Good Friday, this isn't a Christian country, so the idea that we should play football on this particular religious day (as opposed to holy days for other religions) is IMO quite antiquated.
joe blackswan
Guest
Errr....I suspect most people forgo more than one day a season to spend time with friends and loved ones. There is absolutely no reason why football shouldn't be played on good friday (rugby and league play). Given that we now have split rounds, that should provide people with a break from footy if they want it.
Rob
Guest
My thoughts exactly,i just thought that article was a sea of words and his argument for his so called cause got lost in the dribble that was written about the Grand Prix and Jumps Racing! The biggest fool was the one who wrote this article and penned and attempted an April Fools joke on April 4th!! Oh and 'Raybee', Rugby league,Rugby Union,Tennis,Cycling,Soccer,Hockey and sport all over the world is being played today on Good Friday. Yes the world has its problems but are you saying every single person that goes to any of these games or sports above on Good Friday have kids who are rat bags,they dont go to the games with their families and in fact spend time with their families,they have nothing else to do with their sorry lives or are so unhappy with their lot that they have to go watch the Davis cup or the World Titles of the Cycling or for that matter any sport?????
Raybee
Guest
NO football on Good Friday, if people cant go with out forone day with out football,then they have bigger problems they need to sort out in their lives, are they unhappy at home ? are their kids rat-bags? do they not want to spend time with family and friends? Do they have absolutely else to do ? If they dont i do feel sorry for them.
I haven't got a clue what your article was supposed to mean. Was it a discourse against Good Friday football, the Grand Prix or jumps racing? It seemed to go round and round and end nowhere! If the time for silence is now, why did you bring it up?
Goanajack
Guest
The AFL draw usually comes out first (and then the NRL try to counter them by scheduling against them) so the AFL would have first dibs..
Norm
Guest
Yes - just like the 1st games in Sydney were on Sunday & televised live into Vic, SA, etc. Remember being glued to the TV on Sunday a/noons in 82 :-)
joe blackswan
Guest
Ben, as a christian person surely you should be against football being played on the sabbath (saturday as stated in the bible, or sunday for the altered catholic version)? In fact, the decision as to when the games should be played should be up to the players...I doubt any of them would care if they played on good friday.
Redb
Roar Guru
If the AFL were to play on Good Friday they would not waste the opportunity with a low drawing club like North Melbourne. I think they way around Victorian stuffiness and the Childrens Hospital appeal it is to have an interstate clash or two on GF.
joe blackswan
Guest
why is "good friday" such a sacred cow? It's not as if most footy fans are devoutly religious, probably agnostic at best (I'm athiest). Given the AFL's association with gambling (many AFL clubs' revenue stream from poker machines and affiliation with betting outlets, AND the promotion of betting odds in AFL broadcasts) it is quite hypocritical of Dementriou to be eschewing the playing of football on good friday. As mentioned above, this will change the day after Dementriou is replaced....although I would laugh if the idiot backflipped before he leaves.
Ben Carter
Roar Guru
Hi Timmy - this is me "not" talking about Good Friday footy then (er, well, I think, sort of, no, not really...). As far as the AFL goes, my view is as follows: as a Christian person, I would prefer there to be no game on Good Friday, ever. However, IF the controlling body did decide to feel the need to go ahead with it, I would have a couple of conditions. 1 - play it at night (people have the chance to go to church, share lunch or dinner with family, etc, first) and... 2 - no ifs, buts or maybes, all profits/gate takings/proceeds from the match go towards the annual children's hospital appeal (if played in Melbourne) or similar in other states/territories. If there ever has to be Good Friday footy, it must be for charity or have some common-good social benefit attached.
Matt F
Roar Guru
A Sydney Derby could also be the way to ease AFL into Good Friday. There's still no footy played in Melbourne but it will be on TV, and Sydney is already used to having sport on Good Friday anyway. You could even then bring in a second Good Friday game in the future and have an afternoon and night game. Because there's nothing open/to do on Good Friday I'd imagine that TV ratings for an afternoon game would be very healthy indeed. I've never really understood why the Storm don't host an annual Good Friday match. It's a glaring gap in the Melbourne sport calendar that they could exploit, though I guess having the NRL's schedule dictated by TV networks makes it hard to achieve.
Jamesp
Guest
I am all for it. I think it will happen (as will night grand finals which I am also for) once Demetriou leaves. He is a traditionalist but some things need to change. Can't see a problem with a Sydney derby at ANZ - who cares what Sheeds thinks...he'll be gone in a year or two anyway. The game is bigger than Sheeds!
Lucan
If anyone gets Good Friday, it should be North Melb. They did the hard yards with Friday nights, only to lose it to the big teams once it became the fashionable timeslot.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Well Goanajack did say at ANZ Stadium, not Skoda. You'd never play the Sydney Derby at Skoda anyway so it doesn't really matter that it's out of action for the Easter Show. That being said Souths and the Bulldogs have had an Easter Weekend clash (the actual day is unfortunately determined by TV) at ANZ Stadium for the last few years so they would have to work around each other.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Sheeds has been dead set against footy on Good Friday for the whole of his career - he will not change his mind now. Anyway, the Showgrounds are for the Easter show when it's on - no AFL footy then - so on two counts, I can tell you with absolute confidence that there will not be a Good Friday game at Skoda stadium.
Goanajack
Guest
The Footy channel started at 7.30 last night promoting the NRL on Good friday which I assume was Foxtels intent to get the AFL to think hard about AGL on the GF holiday. I'm assuming that when GWS get up and going the GWS v Sydney derby will be on Good Friday at the ANZtadium and entrants to Royal easter Show get a free ticket so all those country visitors can see Aussie Rules live. Not next year but the year after. The NRL has a game on there friday for the first time as a counter and in 2 years when the AFL promote this derby the NRL of course will claim they are interfering with the NRL traditional Good friday game. BTW who will be the first code to allow the new Darwin US marines into their games for free to promote their game.