AFL - A plea

[Cher]

The silly things people talk about during the off season!
Calling our game 'Rules' sounds as silly as calling our footy jumpers 'strip'
It will always be Footy for me, and if I'm chatting to someone overseas they will say 'What is Footy?' - because they don't associate Footy and Football as being the same thing.

I met a Yank who didn't know what Grid Iron was, because they don't call it Grid Iron in the USA! (I certainly wouldn't call that weird game football!)

Roll on March so we can talk about the Footy!!

[sharpie]

a ****, by any other name, is still a ****.

[sprite]

Peterh

Unfortunately, this abberation is creeping into Melbourne.

Something needs to be done and quickly before the country becomes even more Sydneycentric - neat word huh!

Perhaps the AFL could become involved

re Soccer, you can be penalised for handling the ball. Which places the onus on the player to control the ball and in a majority of cases dispose of the ball by kicking it, Aussie rules the player controls the ball in most cases with their hands. Point taken on scoring - but to score you need to control the ball in the first instance.

Perhaps we need to get some adjudication as to what defines football??

[Plugger46]

The competition is called the "AFL", not the sport. It's traditionally footy, and I'm right with you on this one Shearer.

[Damien]

'AFL' being referred to as a sport is only an issue in the Northern states and it was a necessary move really. Aussie Rules needed to be identified as seperate sport to move forward, fighting to be the 'footy' code isn't going to work in Sydney or Brisbane.

I am originally from Tassie, and like in Melb, Ade and Perth, if you mention Footy, the only thing that pops into most peoples heads is Aussie Rules.

[Bear]

i think you need to live in Syd or Bris to understand why it has been important to establish a consistent, recognised brand name for the sport of Australian football - although it is not the ideal scenario, it has helped to lift the profile of the code and the AFL competition and should be understood in this context

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Having spent time in both Canada, the USA, Germany, NSW, Qld, as well as the southern states I'm somewhat of a chemelion in terms of what I dub my sports. I never warmed to calling the NHL Ice Hockey just "Hockey", because to me hockey is what the Hockeyroos win gold medals at at the Olympics. ("Field hockey" to Yanks & Canucks).

In Melbourne & the Southern States or in speaking with the converted I call footy "footy". But when speaking with Sydneysiders I guess I'm malleable as to what I call the game. "AFL, Aussie Rules, "Rules". It doesn't matter. Just as long as it doesn't get called "aerial ping pong", which luckily really seems to have died out in the Sydney venacular in the last 10 years.

If you really want to press me on the issue, I still feel that "soccer" really has the right to be called "football" over other codes. This has often led to quite heated debates amongst the people who follow Northern Spirit-some who follow other sports and some who are brought up overseas who think the term "soccer" is both demeaning and incorrect.

But as I said, I've lived in Canada, where "football could mean either the CFL (Canadian football) or American Football (both collegiate football or the professional NFL.)

As Rue Paul once said, "I don't care if you call me a he or a she. Just as long as you CALL ME, honey!"

JF