Australia’s code wars took a turn for the worse this week with the furore over a ‘joke’ coined by a comedian with a penchant for Aussie rules.
The ensuing row was as predictable as a Tim Cahill goal celebration.
There was outrage and then a backlash against such outrage, claiming that you can’t say anything these days though why anyone would want to say anything like that at a time like this boggles the mind.
But aren’t people getting sick of the inter-sport squabbles? Perhaps things have gone too far when there are those who see a plane crash involving a team from a rival sport as an occasion to try and make a joke referencing negative stereotypes.
In a year that has seen the growing popularity of divisive forces throughout the world, is it too twee to ask if we can’t all get along?
At least we can agree to disagree.
There are obviously issues that annoy some fans of some sports about other sports.
AFL fans have a point (though not in the form of jokes about the recently deceased) in that there is too much play-acting in football and there can be a certain smugness in the fact that football fans trumpet the international aspect of their game as opposed to the perceived parochialism of AFL and others.
Football fans have a point when it comes to how much of the mainstream media has double standards when it reports on anti-social behaviour of spectators. Other sports in the country have an embedded media advantage that is tough to shift.
As a football writer, my bias moves towards football and I have sympathy for fans down under.
I remember, many years ago, having a beer in a Kyoto bar, wearing a Johan Cruyff t-shirt. I was told by a passing Aussie that he was tired of people telling him what he could call football and what he could not.
It seemed strange to me. Why would I care what someone else called the game and why would he care what I did?
Perhaps it is time for a reset in relations? Surely most people like numerous sports. It would be strange to like one sport and then eschew all others.
In musical terms, it would be similar too liking one group and one group alone. You can dig the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And if you like one and not the other, it is just one of those things. People have different tastes.
Personally, I like cricket but (apart from my time in India many years ago) have lived in Asian countries that are not into the game. It is easy to lose touch. I don’t mind rugby and have never really had the chance to watch AFL.
Australia should celebrate its sporting culture which is strong and vibrant. I loved watching the Big Bash on television when I was down under for the 2015 Asian Cup and it was great to visit the MCG.
There are four major team sports vying for the nation’s affections – and then the usual tennis, golf, Formula One etc – and they each have their own strengths, weaknesses, histories and cultures.
It could be like England where there is one game so dominant that it pushes other sports aside. The Aussie system is healthier and more diverse even if it can be a frustrating experience at times for football fans.
There are always going to be issues but there is surely more that unites than divides. It’s time for to cease fire and ire.
Perry Bridge
Guest
"Gaslighting".....okay, so not what happened to the Olympic Lyon goalie in the video on theRoar currently.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Kasey As a son of European immigrants - whereby soccer was the natural fit for me - I've adopted Australian football for me, and while thankfully I live in Victoria, I have to put up with the Sydiots who attack the game (as they have since the 1880s). With most of the Australian media based out of Sydney it unfortunately gives a more invested platform to the Sydiots. Do I feel sorry for you? Not really. Your game has the rest of the world. Console yourself with that. My game has spent about 140 of it's almost 160 years fending off the imported codes. re News Ltd - well, I've long given up having their papers delivered, simply because their quality of journalism is characterised by an absence of actual journalism. I've seen News Ltd (The Daily Telegraph) outright lie in Sydney (around the Blacktown funding) simply to whip up anti-AFL sentiment in Rugby League 'heartland'. I've seen News Ltd show total ignorance (or outright lies) when reporting around issues like the AFL illicit drugs policy almost 10 years ago now. And a question - since when did anyone get GIVEN a fair go??? Since the 1880s there's been no 'fair go' given to Australian football by the Sydiots. And for you Kasey - on a personal level you MUST be able to make the distinction - otherwise you're no better than those you're complaining about.
marron
Guest
It's based on nothing - just supposition, in contrast with actual evidence showing other kinds of distinctions were made at the same time. It comes from someone who tells the old tale about it all being mob games until the private schoolboys came along, which is also not quite the case, as there is much evidence of organised small sided football in the lower classes. An interesting note about the polo. It seems a bit odd to me that in order to play polo well you'd have to graduate from foot to a horse, but what do I know, i'm just an un-cultured oik.
rasty
Guest
That would be to suggest he ever had it.
rasty
Guest
Please keep it going Hubris... Very funny, maybe a little unfair on an undeveloped mind, but funny all the same.
Perry Bridge
Guest
How do you know when you've got #Nemesis beaten.... He trots out the old 'point for trying' line. Gee Nemmy.....scraping the bottom of the barrel - much.
Kasey
Guest
#Perry. It goes to "Pattern of behaviour." Football is far too often the butt of the joke or the insensitive comment. If you're a football fan you've long since stopped making the distinction between a published Opinion Piece from a rabid attack dog of News Limited and the semi regular potshot from a who-dat? looking for 15 seconds of attention. It all piles on and as I've said before If you're not emotionally invested in football you cant possibly understand the mindset of having the sport you love ridiculed and marginalised in a seemingly organised manner. Often it feels like the whole Australian sporting commentariat teaming up to refuse to give football a fair go.
Kasey
Guest
#Mister Football: are you familiar with the term Gaslighting? from wiki: gas-lighting is a form of psychological abuse in which a victim is manipulated into doubting their own memory, perception, and sanity.[1][2] Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. I see it in a mild form here all the time. Flat out denials that injustices have occurred and explained away by telling football fans they are being paranoid and whinging about nothing.
punter
Guest
AR irony plus. Giants a baby club. Wanderers a powerhouse. Giants older then Wanderers!!!! LOL.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#marron Not entirely 'total rubbish'. Firstly - the references of 'play at ball' are real and date back to around the 1100s. re the played on foot vs on horseback The Polo tie in is always a tad odd - in that it really only re-birthed for the British via coming out of India in the early-mid 1800s. And interesting description here though: Every boy begins to play on foot as soon as he has strength to hit a ball. When the boy becomes a man he plays on a pony, and needs but little practice to become a good player. And this shows pretty well the distinction - in the days of horses, going from playing on foot to on horseback was a bit like going from riding a bicycle with training wheels to getting you P plates. So - to me it seems a bit dismissive and simplistic disregard this notion.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Punter However - it seems a bit limiting that some (#Nemesis, for example) seem to limit their choice to but one narrow stream of the broader spectrum of available choice. But - yes - it is wonderful to have choices in life......then we get married.....and live vicariously off the choices still able to be made by others.
Hubris
Guest
Well I'd rather hoped it was how we would spend Friday nights, Fuss. You know it makes sense. Also, good work on "people like you". A lot of solid progressive thinking includes the phrase "people like you". It's always a good sign when someone says "people like you". That's why people like you and me go so well together.
Nemesis
Guest
"double ice cream, plenty of rosé and a bit of Netflix " Really? That's how you spend Friday nights? Wow. I know people like you exist, but I've never actually mixed with anyone from such a social demographic. Each to their own. Enjoy whatever you enjoy.
Hubris
Guest
I knew you'd had a bad day, Fuss, but I didn't realise it was quite so bad. Sounds like I should pop round right away for double ice cream, plenty of rosé and a bit of Netflix and Chill. Catch you in 20.
c
Guest
hello kasey succinctly nailed
marron
Guest
Didn't the a-league just have its first 0-0 of the season?
marron
Guest
Total rubbish. the distinction you talk about was a spurious suggestion made by a code warrior a few years ago that has found its way on to Wikipedia.
Nemesis
Guest
I aimed at a target 6m wide and infinity height ... and I missed. Don't cry, AFL will give you a point for trying. Chin up.
Hubris
Guest
Fuss. If a football match ends 1-1, does this mean all scoring was meaningless? Are two thirds of goals scored in a 2-1 victory meaningless? If a knockout cup match ends 4-4 and goes to penalties, are the eight goals scored under normal playing conditions meaningless? And if one team ends up scoring all five penalties and the other team only scores four, is it in any way correct or sensible to say that there was only one penalty that wasn't meaningless? "Meaningless scoring" as a criticism of any sport is, well, meaningless. You seem to be having a bad day. Maybe you and I can go out later on for rosé and ice cream?
Perry Bridge
Guest
#AR What is it Punter is trying to say? There's no E-Wall of China to prohibit websites and tv coverage of international sporting events like Wimbledon (pretty sure it's NOT a suburb of Sydney), 3 of 4 tennis grand slams (pretty sure Sydney don't have any of them - and that pesky 4th one is in Melbourne...granted during summer). Young Punter has completely lost it - here on a Friday arvo.