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I have never understood the largely Australian phenomenon of arguing about which footy code is the best of the lot.
It makes no sense, serves no purpose, and gives non-sports fans the perception that the world of sport spectatorship is a rude and unwelcoming one.
I know that most fans do not look at it from this perspective, but I implore you to have a good think about what you are doing the next time you want to scream at your AFL, rugby league, union or football-loving friend that their sport is not as exciting, tough, skilful, or worth their time as is your favourite sport.
While passion and loyalty are part of the joy of sports fandom, sometimes this can cause friction among friends, colleagues, and even strangers in the street.
Sport is a business, and it is completely necessary for leagues and executives to be fighting for the hearts and minds of spectators, juniors, and sponsors.
With so much sport on offer, successful self-promotion is one of the key factors in determining the success of a league, organisation, or sport as a whole.
But as fans, what does it bring to your favourite sport when you openly criticise or outright mock another sport? If I, an avid rugby league man, were to tell an AFL fan that having such a large field is ludicrous and that the lack of knock-ons means there is no skill in their game, do you think they would stop and say ‘you are right, I will stop watching AFL and will switch to rugby league immediately’?
Of course not! They would come back with a similarly aggressive argument about rugby league, perhaps claiming that passing the ball backwards in order to go forwards makes no sense, or that rugby league players are all unintelligent meatheads.
You have probably heard at least two of those four arguments many times over, as the same arguments seem to go back and forth between footy fans.
Criticising another person’s favourite sport is not going to help improve your sport or the quality of its fan-base. It is only going to make the people forced to listen to your argument dislike you and your sport. But most importantly, it is incredibly annoying!
If you consider yourself to be a sports fan, keep your mouth shut about sports you don’t follow and instead enjoy your favourite sports. Discuss them with others, and when talking to fans of other codes try to explain why you enjoy your code, rather than criticising other codes or sports.
If your goal is to convert casual sports fan to your favourite code then you would be best served pointing out the best parts of your game and letting them make their own decisions.
Don’t put down other codes! It is just annoying, and accomplishes nothing.
I learned long ago that despite my lack of interest in AFL, nothing I say will convince an AFL fan that they should stop watching, playing or attending games. And nor should it! People should enjoy the code of their choice passionately, or even multiple footy codes if that is their thing, and let others enjoy their favourites in peace.
We are all footy fans. We are all sports fans. Let’s start acting like it.
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