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Why I support the AFL's fan crackdown

17th June, 2019
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Roar Guru
17th June, 2019
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1014 Reads

AFL fans and finding something to complain about go together like a pie and sauce.

Be it the sluggish state of the game, preposterous rule changes, or inconsistent application of the rules, the AFL has become a melting pot of dissatisfied supporters from its terraces to social media websites.

Marnie Cohen illustrated the fact that the game has become dialled to the negative to the point where an obsession with what’s wrong with the league, a club or a particular player consistently overshadows what might be great about all three.

So when fans become clued on to the fact that the AFL might be doing something to temper crowd behaviour in the stands, there was uproar, tempers flared and the booers got booing – ironically more than they had been initially.

Fans have cried out that the AFL is their game, and that coming to the football constitutes a weekly escape.

Both claims are well-founded and entirely correct. Indeed, crowds have every right to throw their whole-hearted support behind their team for 120 minutes, enjoying the successes and feeling the struggles, but not to the point where their barracking leaves another uncomfortable.

Because to do so would violate the ultra-fan’s proclamation that the AFL is the fans’ game.

At the crux of the matter is this: regardless of how vocal we might be in our support, no one fan’s enjoyment of the match-day experience is more important than any other’s.

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Geelong Cats fans AFL 2017

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

How many of us can honestly say that we would want to sit near or next to the proverbial ultra-fan, whose pleasure of the game is derived solely from excessive barracking, swearing and general bad behaviour – the same fan whose overpriced pie and sauce ends up over the back of your neck lest they miss another opportunity to berate a poor on-field decision.

We’ve all been there, and it ranges from comical to downright unpleasant.

Is that really the fans’ game?

Purchasing a ticket to attend a match does not give supporters a free pass in terms of behaviour. That which is acceptable within the stands ought to be outside them as well.

It is important, too, to consider the potential motives behind the recent action, be they the appalling increase in brawls that have taken place within the stands and on the concourse this season, or the unrelenting booing of champion players such as Gary Ablett.

It’s probably the fact that the AFL’s shortcomings with regards to the crowd treatment of Adam Goodes have been brought back into the spotlight with the release of The Final Quarter.

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Criticised in hindsight for not doing enough to prevent his mistreatment in 2015, the governing body has since apologised to Goodes.

The AFL has a reputation to uphold, and as a national organisation, that means taking a stand and having a voice when it comes to social issues. In this sense, any one AFL match ought to be a reflection of the wider values of the community.

And these values do not include the unfiltered hurling of abuse – be it vilifying of any kind, or simply in relation to an unfavourable umpiring decision.

While there were fans who felt miffed by increased security presence at matches over the weekend, it is reasonable to assume this was more about making a statement as to the seriousness with which the league and its venues are taking this matter.

This is not PC gone mad, it is not the league stealing the game away from those who make it, it is a preventative step in the right direction to ensure the AFL doesn’t have to reach the point where – like in football – fans need to be separated by plexiglass because they can’t enjoy the game together.

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