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Let me start with painting a picture that all Aussie sports fans will brand a nightmare: imagine life from 1992 to 2007 without Shane Warne the cricketer.
Now dry those teary eyes, pick your jaw off the carpet and admit that those glorious 15 years would not have been so glorious if instead we had Warney the forward pocket lining up for St Kilda.
Well, that’s why the AFL is an anchor around the ankles of our international sporting success.
In recent times sports fans have been fortunate enough to watch some of the greatest sporting contests on offer – the Ashes, a Lions tour, Wimbledon, the Open Golf Championship and the Tour de France, and let’s not forget the diabolical 2012 Olympics campaign.
So far Australia has had no success at all, and if the Ashes continues with the current form of both teams, it’s unlikely that we will.
There is only one conclusion to reach given our recent poor form on the international stage – AFL is choking our competitiveness in true global sports.
From the highs of 2000, there has been a steady decline in our global performances. This decline would be even more drastic if not for our female athletes and the success they have had recently.
During this time AFL has seen steady increases in participation, audiences and revenue.
Below are some statistics from the AFL 2012 Annual Report. It would be interesting to see the change in numbers since the early 1990’s when a lot of our current Australian representatives across all sports were born.
– Participation is up 6.7% on 2011 to 844,779
– Revenue up 24% on 2011 to $425m
– Average attendance during the premiership season is in the top four globally in world professional sport.
So what do we get from AFL?
Firstly, it is now part of our national identity. People from all over the world are fascinated with our strange style of football and associate it with Australia as much as kangaroos, Paul Hogan and Fosters beer.
And let’s be honest about it, AFL is a fantastic sport to watch with many of the key elements that fans want in a sport – heroics, athleticism, full body contact. I know because I am a big fan.
I grew up in Adelaide, played the game myself for 30 years and watch at least two games a week during the season. This brings me to the big dilemma: would I give up AFL for more glory on the world sports stage? Absolutely.
The pleasure I would feel from us winning the current Ashes series, winning the recent Lions tour series, seeing an Aussie on the podium in the Tour de France, having an Aussie compete in the final at Wimbledon and seeing glory in the swimming pool at the 2012 Olympics would far out way any personal benefit I derive from AFL.
Come on Aussie, come on… let’s kick our AFL addiction and turn over to true international sports and once again bask in the glory of sporting success.
Here are some genuine examples of AFL athletes that could credibly compete in other sports at an elite level.
– Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield, Sydney’s Lewis Jetta and Carlton’s Chris Yarran adding to our sprinting stocks.
– Collinwood’s Alan Didak’s or Hawthorns Lance Franklin’s ball control would do wonders on the soccer field.
– Barry Hall representing Australia in the boxing ring at the Olympics.
– Aaron Sandilands at 211cms playing basketball for Australia.
Not to mention the other 844,771 participants who could be contributing to rugby, cricket, golf, swimming, tennis, rowing, volleyball, long-distance running, hockey, squash and cycling. Even snooker would benefit from a few hundred more contestants.
How many other examples of AFL players showing potential in global sports can we find?
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.