During World War II, military commanders recognised the importance of entertainment to maintain morale of the troops, sending singers and comedians to wherever their troops were stationed.
Similarly, the movie Good morning Vietnam showed a radio disk jockey playing a key role in keeping troop spirits up.
In 2020, as COVID-19 forces many Australians into unemployment and many more into days and weeks of ‘lockdown’ in their own homes, the AFL can be instrumental in maintaining morale in Australian households.
CEO Gillon McLachlan needs to show vision and leadership – not bow his head and turn off the lights.
The AFL could continue. Imagine clusters of teams bunkering down for weeks at a time in isolated, virus-free locations like Norfolk Island, King Island, Christmas Island and the Tiwi Islands.
In each cluster, six teams could play each other over five weekends or over three weekends if that is more practical.
The arrival of the players and support staff – many bringing their families or partners – would boost island economies that have been hit hard by the collapse of tourism. Clubs, currently facing enormous debt as broadcast revenues dry up, could be revived. And most of all, the footy could continue to be watched by hundreds of thousands of Australians who are stuck in their homes.
Amid the boredom, people would have something to look forward to each weekend. As a way to relieve built-up tension and distract people from their problems, the footy could even help stem the rise that is expected in mental health issues and crime.
But wouldn’t the movement of players and support crews to isolated islands increase the risk of spreading the virus? That would depend on the testing and quarantining regime.
A well-resourced organisation like the AFL should be able to organise frequent testing, including before players depart and after a day or two on the island. They would remain in quarantine until the results of the second test are known, then if results were favourable they would be free to play.
2020 is Gillon McLachlan’s biggest challenge. Will he revive the AFL so it can fight the virus and illuminate lives in the coming months?
Seymorebutts
Guest
Isnt that the irony, we have stopped footy ostensibly to prevent infection through crowds etc.. now nobody has job, so everybody is standing in lines at Centerlink.
Rob
Guest
I read this and wonder how long till we get a military enfoced full lock down cause clearly people dont get it... cant be far away.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Haha, yeah they've got no hope. You need water to keep footy grounds green. SA really is a crap state.
Redb
Roar Guru
Pretty pointless. The whole country is about to go into lockdown, players wont want to leave their families.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
What hope have other SA country towns? All the rest look like it doesn't rain.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
I am sure the possible million people about to be unemployed and lining up for hours at centrelink offices will be over the moon about watching a game of football.
max power
Guest
ok, but that is totally irrelevant
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Nuh. They played footy in Changi.
Chancho
Roar Rookie
Can we quit using the war analogies?
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Great idea Gecko! Big picture thinking - I agree with the sentiment. I'd even move to that island.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Thanks and very interesting. My German stepvater was aged 3-9 during WW2.
WCE
Roar Rookie
complete hypothetical story for a bit of a fun surely
peter ostle
Guest
Immoral as a waste of valuable people [doctors, nurses, paramedics, logistic people etc] and resources
Johnno
Roar Rookie
I think you are right saying 2020 is Gill McLachlan’s greatest challenge. And I agree the AFL can make a big contribution. They need to look inwards to make sure the sport across all comps in Australia is safe to move forward later, but they also need to look outwards to see how they can contribute now. What they do looking outwards could very well save them & all the comps future.
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
It's all about the "look". It morally outrageous to put on a show when toilet paper and pasta spirals are being hoarded. They could have staged round 2 this weekend by all the 2 team states playing each other and the Vics playing at home. All without ended humanity. Perhaps keeping their powder dry for attended block busters to get some cash in, should it get up and running later? At any rate, I think that the AFL risk is less than that to people in "Essential Services" and flying around the joint would be safer than clustering them. Of all the sections of the community to spread the virus the footy codes are probably the least likely. It's worth noting that Germany played top soccer league matches throughout WW2, the last in Feb 45. This with the ever present threat of bombing. Better than the Eastern Front for the players I suppose. Well you might say, that is reflective of Germany at that time but "home front" morale shouldn't be dismissed, even if it's the bad guys. In England regular cricket services and charity matches were played at Lords later in the war, regardless of the threat of V1 and V2 rocket attacks. Admittedly these weapons were wildly inaccurate but no one wanted to be the unlucky stat. Anyway it matters not now.
Adam
Roar Guru
This feels a little tone deaf
Gecko
Roar Pro
Obviously the risk would not be forced upon island (or other remote) communities. They would be given the choice of whether or not they'd like to host such a competition. And they'd have to be confident about the testing and quarantining regime before they said yes. And it's not about individuals watching sport. It's about what this could do to lift spirits across Australia. You might change your mind as the reality of mass unemployment and closed-off households hits Australian society over the coming weeks.
Daniel Poor
Guest
This would be putting the AFL ahead of the community at large - something Gil said he wasn't prepared to do. The logistics of fitting out these grounds with adequate broadcasting infrastructure, not to mention expecting players, staff and production team would be away from their home and families for long periods at a time. There are too many long-winded suggestions circulating about how this game can be 'saved' with little thought into the flow-on effects.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Just shift all of the locals out. If they picked somewhere crap, like Mount Gambier or Moe for example, they'd happily leave.
Wayne
Roar Guru
And if 1 person got it, likelihood is everyone gets it if your in an isolated camp. It's a game of Football. We will live without it. I am hopeful Fox/Channel 7 can work something out, and just replay old games to hold people over.