Every year, in front of 90,000 plus fans, two Melbourne clubs battle it out in a traditional match. The rest of us battle it out in the public forum over the validity of the game.
So much of the debate is centred on the two teams involved. Many feel it should be a privilege to play on such a sacred day, not a right solely afforded to Collingwood and Essendon. These people often argue the previous year’s grand final teams should have the privilege, a la the NRL and most state-based competitions.
Others argue the round should be shared in other ways, Like Lethal Leigh Mathews, who argued recently the game, being incredibly Melbourne-centric in nature, should be a right for the two highest-ranked Melbourne teams.
Undoubtedly this would anger both the traditionalists and the non-Victorian rabble-rousers over the border (of which I am proudly one).
But changing the day at all would risk damaging years of hard work and the resulting revenue for both clubs, the AFL (and by extension the rest of the clubs), and the nature of the day, which should rightly be steeped in tradition and ritual.
I argue that the game between Collingwood and Essendon, which yearly draws in more people than the NRL with its grand final teams model could even dream of mustering, should remain sacred. Even a foreign crow-eating heathen like myself can see the advantage in having such a gem of a game in the league’s crown.
But for those who (quite rightly) wish to share the pie, or perhaps the ANZAC biscuit, this won’t do. After all it’s simply another chance for the Vics to enforce some imagined ownership of the game and neglect the rest, right?
Well, wrong.
Every school kid knows the game was not an AFL initiative, but one launched by the Woods and the Dons. A grassroots, tail wagging the dog initiative.
Please sir, may we play on ANZAC day and create something unique?
Such initiatives are so rare in modern sports that they should be respected, rewarded, and honoured. If other teams want the right to play on ANZAC day, fantastic – get a plan, get together with your neighbour, and do it.
The Crows and Power recently began just such a plan, with negotiations supposedly under way behind closed doors between the two South Australian clubs. Any game played between these clubs may or may not be played on ANZAC day, but another ANZAC tradition in another state would not only be good for the league and the occasion, but for the ANZAC Day tradition as a whole.
After all, such great events held in the public eye help to not only honour but entrench the memory of the ANZACS and their deeds. This should not be a Victorian sentiment, but a national one.
In a perfect system, Collingwood and Essendon would play their traditional game on ANZAC day. It brings in the crowds, the bucks (no pun intended), and it has the history and tradition. Like anything that was there first, it deserves credit. At least.
Then the weekend would host rivalry round. Now that we have legitimate rivals in each state of the country, we could bill the round less as the old hatreds being reignited, but as a day for neighbours to stand together and remember the cause.
Power and Crows fans standing side by side in silent reflection as the Last Post plays. GWS and Swans fans shaking hands and sharing a bear at the pub after. Richmond and Carlton fans letting their kids play together just for the day.
Not only enjoying the day and the freedoms the ANZACS died to give us, but also embodying our Diggers – they, like footy fans, came from every walk of life, from different ethnicities, creeds and political persuasions, but still stood side by side for the cause.
We as footy fans could embody this by sharing the chips and sauce with our most hated neighbour. Across the Ditch, similar sentiments could be expressed with exhibition matches. I love Saint Kilda’s initiative to play for four points in The Land of the Long White Cloud, and the AFL should be at pains to allow it and find them an opponent.
If ANZAC days is for all, which it is, then the day should be shared. But taking the day from two teams who have worked on creating a grand spectacle is not the way.
Expanding it across all rivalries would truly embody the memory of the ANZACS.
TW
Guest
Republican, I admire your zeal on the NZ situation - However things move along. Schoolkids are getting involved over there albeit in very small numbers from zero bases. First up St Kilda are looking for another home base. They would have looked very closely at what the Hawthorn Hawks have done in getting the game into previously inaccessible schools since 2009. The Sainters are going to emulate the same strategy in the schools around Wellington it appears. To have two AFL Clubs active will be very positive. In reality crowd figures are not known. Historically the pre season games 10 years ago attracted up to 9000. I would nominate that figure plus 2500 flyins - If they can make money out of that plus guarantees etc etc it maybe ok for the Saints who are aiming for a 500,000 return. "Initially" who cares if they are Kiwis or expats at the game. Their NZ dollars are the same. I repeat -The AFL wants the clubs to expand the game internationally and this fixture if it goes ahead is the result of that policy.
allblackfan
Guest
TW, you're kidding!! 20,000 AFL fans in NZ?!? WHERE!!??!! Besides, what connections does Sydney have with Wellington??
Republican
Guest
20K locals, seriously! I would be surprised to see this many Kiwis travel the length and breadth of their fare country to watch a code they consider akin to stand up comedy. These 20K would have to be ex pat Aussies surely, or are all the Kiwis I have met and spoken with both here and in NZ over many years, closet Aust Footy devotees. This is farcical how ever many turn out because its all about the circus and the event that AnzAc affords these promoters, while those i.e myself, who have been supporting our code generationally are expected to resign ourselves to the commercial expedience that will unfold in favour of the undeserving NZ based on the current AFL strategy, to fast track a top down engineered market there. Sydneys connections to NZ are strong because there are so many Kiwis carving out a living in Sydney, rather than what you seem to be suggesting, that some special affinity exists between the two. This is hardly enough to guarantee NZ membership of the AFL when 99.9% don't even know what a Sherrin is. Sadly however, this is what the AFL hope to achieve and no one seems capable of stopping them, or even remotely interested in challenging them.
TW
Guest
As far as I can make out -20,000 locals plus 10,000 fly ins. AFL NZ and others reckon from up and down NZ 20,000 should be achievable with plenty of media promos and the Anzac Day focus. With a bit of good fortune this event will build over the years and more importantly raise the profile of the sport. The Sydney Swans would be my preferred away team against the Saints - Sydney because of the obvious strong connections generally between NZ and that city.
Republican
Guest
Where are the 30k supposed to be coming from - not NZ surely?
TW
Guest
Emric, The question about the Wellington ratepayers susidising the AFL match has already been asked by the NZ media. The Wellington City Councillor John Morrison has explained it this way- Apparently there is a group of inner city businessmen who have banded together to authorise the Council to try and get more major events for Wellington for obvious reasons. - They bring in money for the inner city and is the reason for the hoped for football code festival The normal ratepayers are not involved in this. Contact John Morrison for confirmation if you are a normal ratepayer and have concerns. John M is very happy with progress so far in this deal. The only figures that I think are optimistic are the 10,000 travelling AFL fans being tipped to fly over. Crowd attendance is another unknown but they are hoping to get at least 30,000. The AFL - Read as Andrew Demitriou - would not touch this unless it pays its way. He gets bonuses for every profitable venture.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Emric you have my sympathies about ratepayers having to put in for this "event", because in truth, no one has a clue how it will turn out (in terms of interest). I can understand cities in Australia wanting to host AFL games, and bidding amongst themeselves for the privilege, but I don't really understand why Welly would want to do it - I hope what they put in is minimal. As for kicking against the wind, in many of our closed stadiums these days, kicking into the wind is less of an issue, so there is a good chance that a windy day might impact on the game, especially if there is a scoring end - that's something we were well used to in the 70s and 80s when more open suburban grounds were used. Hard to know how a modern day AFL footballer would handle gale force winds - you might be pleasantly surprised.
Emric
Guest
thats not a bad idea ABF. I wouldn't care if the AFL held the game if the money for it was coming from their 250,000,000 dollars a year budget - honestly it woudn't surprise me that 250,000,000 was bigger then what the Wellington Economy is worth.
allblackfan
Guest
Emric, take some mates and turn up at Well Council's next meeting and ask the hard questions. Apparently they see it as some sort of tourism event. Please!! The Hobbit is due out in December; that should be more than enough tourism marketing!
Emric
Guest
I was wondering what would happen if we had a 80 to 100 knot gale hitting us when they are playing a game based on kicking. Every Wellington Schoolboy is taught to kick the ball low and hard into such winds and even then its dosn't always work. I'm hoping that the Lions might put a stop to this madness before the Wellington rate payers become nothing but another source of income for this Australian game. Since when did Wellingtons city council turn into traitors and against our national sport.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Abruptly occurs to me why the Australian rugby game won't stop it with the kicking compared to the Kiwi teams...
allblackfan
Guest
emric, it will provide a good laugh if the game is played during a windy day!!:-) Standup live comedy (otherwise known as AFL)!! Can you imaging them trying to bounce the ball or kick from deep pocket with a northerly in their face? They'll have to run with the ball in hand and cut out the kicking. Oh wait! We got a game like that -- it's called rugby! Two if you include league!!
Emric
Guest
So Wellington Rate payers, like myself, are paying for the AFL to play a game in Wellington? What benefit is this going to provide Wellington?
Republican
Guest
Why on earth am i censored in airing a view that does not support the expansion of our code to an overseas demographic with NO footy cred whatsoever, at the expense of domestic ones i.e. ours? I am fed up to to back teeth, at the lack of empathy and comprehension of how disenfranchising this NZ obsession has become and the double standard that the AFL obviously shows in having a totally different set of criteria for Wellington, compared to what has been set for Canberra for many decades now.
Con
Guest
Yeah, but take away both essendon and colligwood. Which other two teams could fill the G with 80,000 - 90,000 people each year?
Paul
Guest
Being American, I can tell you that your perception of a dislike for California is incorrect. Oh, no doubt, many Americans do not care for California's (Or New York City's) politics, but still respect (possibly even admire) the state and the city. Most strong rivalries in the US are city based because of our much greater population. The two biggest rivalries I can think of are the New York City-Boston and San Francisco-Los Angeles rivalries. The only state-based rivalry I can think of, and then it is only in university football (gridiron) is Ohio - Michigan.
TW
Guest
According to this article today the NZ AFL Anzac Day game in 2013 is almost certain to be a goer. The concept has attracted all of the big hitters in the AFL and elsewhere. They do not know whether to have the match pre or post the MCG game. Also it will be likely to form part of a football code extravaganza three match series over a month with Soccer Football and Rugby Union at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Some big ideas being floated by the Wellington City Council. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/st-kilda-takes-anzac-day-to-new-zealand/story-fnca0u4y-1226341209751
Whites
Guest
Well it was only officially the ANZAC Test from 1997-99 when they had permission from the government. So you'll be happy to know it hasn't been called the ANZAC Test for more then a decade. However, since it is still played close to ANZAC Day it is still commonly called the ANZAC Test.
Whites
Guest
It's not really state based but there is some level of north-south antipathy remaining in the US. Afterall there was a war. It's probably more in some parts of the south then it is in the north.
The Great G Nepia
Guest
I don't have a problem with club teams from any code playing each other on ANZAC day. What bothers me is the use by rugby league of the phrase "ANZAC test" as a cheap, and tacky marketing ploy, especially when rugby league did not suspend its competitions during World War I.