Australian Rules Football- Blog Assignment #6

Today we went to the training facilities of the Greater Western Sydney Giants team of the Australian Football League (AFL). It was one of my favorite experiences so far. As someone who is extremely interested in how sports work and everything that goes on both on the fields and behind the scenes, this was a amazing insight into a professional sport. I was shocked at how accessible and accommodating everyone involved was. We met professional trainers, directors of player developments, all-time legendary coaches of the team, and the General Manager of the team.  They were all the nicest people you could meet and wanted nothing more than to just inform and educate us on their sport. I honestly couldn't believe how I could just pick the brain of the general manager of a professional sports team, I never thought that would happen to me, and it was great. From this you might think this is a small league, but the AFL is a 1 billion dollar industry...

That kind of puts the differences between American and Australian sports into perspective. Besides the accessibility and openness, another huge difference is how the government views sports. In Australia, they view sports as part of wellness and health, to better the fitness of the general public. They love growing sports because they know that it is a great thing for the public to have access to, and it makes the quality of life better here. For example, the Giants we visited today were funded as an investment by the government. They have a 20 year plan to grow this sport in an area that is very up and coming and 90% of the people don't follow Australian Rules Footie. I would say this sums up how they feel about sports pretty well, they care about the industry, and spreading the sport they love.

The game of Australian Rules Football is much different from our own version of the sport. Firstly, the ball is different, it is much more similar to a rugby ball. Secondly, they play on a much bigger field. It is a oval that is much larger than our own fields. Thirdly, on this field they don't run in straight lines and have downs, but rather in any direction all over the field. Finally, the sport is probably more appropriately named because you have to kick the ball to score, and feet are extremely important to the game. Oh, and they don't where ANY pads...

We didn't get to see an australian rules game because it is the off season right now, so I am basing my views of the fans off of the soccer match we went to. Mostly, I would say they are just more passionate about their teams specifically, if not the sport in general. They have a huge fan section that cheers for literally the entire match. I know in America we have pretty passionate fans and take it really seriously, but I just loved the sense of unity they had here, singing different songs and chants throughout the entire game, which everyone knows every single word. You can tell this is loved by the players because they return the favor and respect and acknowledge all their fans too.

The players are treated a lot like in the states as in that they are celebrities and superstars here. Especially with this being the national sport. But in contrast to most sports, this team has an average age of 19. I was really impressed with how they handled having that many young people and educating them and putting them on the right path. Whether its teaching them to cook, or providing housing, training and people to help them with any problems they might have, you can tell they care about them. This is a little different from the NCAA or the NFL..

I loved being able to see all the little things this team is doing to become a household name and it was amazing to see them in just their second year. I can tell they have big plans for this club and can't wait to see how they are doing 10 or 20 years from now.