A few years ago we used to have code wars articles. Been a long time since we got one 

I just don't understand how AFL is so popular in some cities of Australia!!!!

Thankfully not in Sydney.

I guess they figured that just by ignoring our game on purpose/freezing it out of any significant coverage in 'mainstream' media, it achieves the same effect but w/o blatantly making them look bad💡

i was born and raised in Vic- used to love afl in 80’s and 90’s. Was a full on Carlton member etc. The game really was better back then - no flooding, game involving less running and more tactics- less handballs - used to flow better and be more aesthetically pleasing to watch. Now i fucken hate it. But it is ‘traditional’ game in old afl established states. Sad but true 

Funny, I would say the game was less tactical back then - but that was actually a good thing. IMHO it's a game that, by its very nature, shouldn't be over-reliant on tactics bc that just ends up stifling its free-flowing(as it was back then, anyway) nature.

The   question   is ,  why   aren' t    FA  &   APL   more   active    in   the   media ?   The   game   seems   almost    invisible    these    days .. .

They only arc up when we get too big for our boots. 

It's not coincidental the code wars raged the most when they were selling out derbies with 40k and 60k crowds.

Basically we're not worth the bother at the moment.

Basic geography mate. If you grew up in Mumbai, statistically cricket would be your favourite sport. If you grew up in Vancouver, statistically ice hockey would be your favourite sport. If you grew up in Manchester, chances are you love football. If you grew up in Melbourne, chances are you like the AFL. Doesn't matter how good, bad or boring a sport is. When you grow up with it being part of the local culture it just makes sense. Personally I can't stand AFL, but because I was born and raised in Melbourne, I understand why people like it. On the flipside, people from Vic really don't get rugby at all. Most people down here see it as just a bunch of big dumb blokes who can't count past 6.

The most pyro I have ever seen in a stadium here, and on the street - both in consecutive weeks, not a peep from the media.

As muz said - if the stadiums were sold out we'd have an Army general addressing the nation regarding it. 

Well by coincidence its starting today. The NRL is having a sook about stadium availability during the WWC.

AFL footy is OK… but I passionately hate everything about the way they run the game. The incredible arrogance. They don’t give a fuck about the fans (and how the fans never fight back). They way the expect taxpayers to fund all of their infrastructure. The rule changes. The fixturing. The sycophantic media. They all make me sick.

Then you have your run of the mill ignorant AFL bogan who thinks their game is the best and most skilful sport in the world and sokkah is for divers.

But I do love my AFL team who I have supported all my life.

In summary, hate the people who run AFL. Hate the media. The supporters are idiots. But I love my team. 

I haven't really heard of a intelligent afl player might I add but I hear you coming from a Vic pov obviously having to knock the rugby codes.
I'm not invested in those games but always interesting hearing peoples opinions to trash either games.

What is very telling the diff of the sydneyite and victorian real football supporter.
Countless of you guys are afl supporters in the first place just as FTB's post, sure hate of the people who've run afl but all of you support it and likely gone to many games whereas many up here are not nrl/aru devotees since our young days but for passing interest despite it having the lions share of the media here.
The countless countless people I have come to know and my many years of playing football to date there is only a handfull who mention afl, mention of nrl/aru due to their pitful WC's but purely because its Aussie NT vs whoever, 99% of discussions are football, some support and attend AL since its starat, countless discussions and banter of the euro leagues.
You guys do talk afl for if you didn't back in your young days you'd be bagged out or whats wrong with you, got to mix with the majoirty in the playground right.

Yes .  It' s   actually   an   insult   to   the   game   that   it   is  NOT    being    targeted    in   the  media  ...  

My sentiments exactly. There's few things in Oz domestic sport I'd love to see more than my AFL team be able to pick up from where Collingwood Warriors and Carlton SC left off in the NSL way back when..but done right this time.

The problem is that, as you've alluded to, the AFL & its clubs are run by boomers/even older who don't want to acknowledge that Menzies has been wormfood for half a century/that the White Australia Policy hasn't been a thing for about as long...let alone ⚽'s place as a legitimate and permanent part of our national sporting landscape.

SEN radio been getting heated lately. Simon hill when nuts the other week at em. 

What happened? 

Given he and Brosquey co-host a show for them on Tuesday nights, I can't imagine he'd have teed off too hard.

A Garang Kuol hat-trick for Newcastle United would put the fear in them a bit.

this is it.....i grew up in Melbourne and although i 'follow' AFL i have always described it like this.... i will follow football no matter where i live esp the Premier league and Socceroos but IF i ever left Victoria i doubt i'd watch AFL or follow it 'very closely' - but being in Victoria it is the number one sport by a mile -  people love it and to not follow it at least casually kind of makes it hard to talk to people.
 
AFL is ingrained in the culture when i went to school we had wear you afl team colors day, we have a public holiday for the Grand Final, it is always on the news and thats not just Channel 7 which has the rights but 9 and 10 thrash it as well as print media..... 

i dont mind the 'game' itself it is fast pace and entraining but i find it incredibly boring to follow esp if your team is shit and the offseason is 'really long'- the draft is shit, there is no internationals as no one else cares about it, there is not much to it outside of Victoria so if your season is junk the game is 'fairly hollow' and you notice it with fans most people only support there side if they are 'in the 8' or in with a 'shot' 

i think the other thing going against Football in Victoria is Premier league kick off times are incredibly shit i watch most Utd games but im pretty dedicated - thus you cannot 'build' a football culture esp since the NSL died. The AL does not have that 'same passion' Melbourne Victory are well supported because they were the only team for many years in a state of almost 5m people but otherwise it is hard to talk Football outside of the world cup Football is relatively quite 

Footballs biggest 'strength' bar the game itself is it is incredibly fascinating to follow, transfers, youth development, off field drama, the lives off the players who have 'such wealth' they are essentially living like a rock stars, over the top managers like Jose, Klopp, etc then you add in banter between rival clubs and leagues it just 'has so much' that outside of the game you can literally spend hours and  still be 'entertained' - plus you have internationals in which almost every country plays football and even shit countries like Indonesian love the game and national team with a passion....you simply do not get this with ANY other sport.  

the A League has 'almost' none of the above the Melbourne Derby is probably the only 'true' derby that sells out and consistently gets a big crowd - even SFC and WSW has died off - nothing else remotely 'feels' like a derby - MVFC and SFC do have a bit of banter but it isn't anything worth writing about....The Socceroos i think are 'still' loved but they have no stars - we dont have a single player in the Premier league and bearly anyone in Europes Big league

i will say this the rise of youtube fan channels and social media has made it 'easier' to connect with fan of football it has made it easier to talk about the game and raises footballs popularity esp in places like Australia you would be amazing how many Aussies tune in i dare say more watch ATV OR The United stand then actually watch the AL because they want to be 'part of something special' they want to be part of that banter and drama - good times and bad with a club that has a solid football culture and proud tradition. 

the AL is young it is improving in standard but it has not improved in 'fan engagement' matter of fact i'd say fan engagement has gotten worse i know so many people who dont bother with it anymore because the match day experience just isnt there.... 

Football is in a 'dark place' imo and i dont know what it would take to get it out of it but i have always been an advocate for bring back some of the old NSL sides because like it or not football needs 'drama' it needs stories good ones or bad otherwise no one talks about it esp when we dont have 'super stars' like Kewell, Viduka, Neill, Cahill to champion the game anymore. 

Iirc, there was at least one guy who played AFL in 80s or something who also went to Oxford or Cambridge. He may also have competed in an aths event at the Oympics. So just an all-round superstar.

Aside from that, the sheer volume of people who play it means there'll be bright people. In my school, years above me, there was a guy who had a very successful AFL career. In school, he was an absolute wiz academically. He got one of the highest ENTER scores with some of the tougest subjects and while being drafted by an AFL club and dealing with a bunch of co-curricular stuff. He also scored the most runs of anybody in the schools league. So, would have been a very good Sheffield Shield prospect, had he not pursued an AFL career.

In the UK, the British upper-classes are traditionally into rugby far more than football. I think there's probably a rugby/football split in the middle classes. But football wins overwelmingly among the working classes and migrant communities (from the very poor to the super-rich).

I get the impression that in NSW, the wealthier traditionlly like rugby. Whereas the working classes are into rugby league. But that's losing ground to football thanks largely to migrant communities.

The problem with AFL in Victoria (and I hazard a guess at SA, WA and Tassie) is that it's popularity isn't weighted to a particular class.

It dominates in both state schools and private schools. Although hopefully, our football can overtake it in the western suburbs which have a greater proportion of immigrants from developing countries.

The people in the most run-down places are into AFL. But then so too are the people from the wealthiest suburbs.

To take an example from people in public life... that's how Julia Gillard (fairly-working class origins), Josh Frydenberg (wealthy Melbourne private school) and Julie Bishop (career version of high-achieving WASPy private school girl) are all AFL nutters.

AFL has so much traction in VIC/SA/WA.

It's so prevalent across the class divide, it makes it hard for any other winter sport to make inroads.

Firstly, I agree with growing up in Melb & the AFL thing, you could say the same with growing up in Sydney & NRL, maybe not as parochial, but there the same.
Second thing I agree on is we don't have the 'super stars' Like Kewell, Dukes or Timmy in the PL, main reasons
1. We have never before or since created players of Harry or Dukes calibre
2. Football has moved dramatically & even the EPL, they want skillful players, the likes of Danny Miles, Danny Murphy & David Batty would struggle to get a run in the PL these days, let alone the England, the NSL produced more of these type of players than the skillful ones.

As for engaging with fans, half agree with you,however, I've been to many games in the A-league with SFC, v MV v WSW, BR at their peek, v Newcastle with Del Piero where the atmosphere matched any atmosphere I ever felt in any NSL games, but with bigger crowds & any atmosphere anywhere in the world.
However David Gallop got spooked.
So you wrong there.

there are obviously stand out games in which have been great - no doubt i mean SFC vs WSW 60k is a prime example of 'what the league could be' and ADP coming to the AL was a 'true marquee' i mean Tottenham and a few other top level clubs still wanted to sign him when he came. 

but 'that is the exception more then the rule' - you're also talking about match that happened in 8 years ago..... where has the AL gone....ever expansion has bar Melbourne Heart/City has been an absolute failure because the league fails to build on what makes football 'better' then other codes. 

This too I agree with you, but this is football administration in this country for as long as I can remember, we keep shooting ourselves & having new dawns every 5 mins whether we were run by Soccer Australia, Australian Soccer Association, Football Federation Australia or Football Australia.
This has been an ongoing problem in this country for over 60 years.

Well Simon Hill came on to promote that show that runs Tuesdays and the people presenting are obviously NRL/Cricket people heck they even talk about NFL more than A-league. 

They then asked Simon about the crowd numbers, he fired back saying "why doesn't the NRL fill their stadiums? considering they get all the media coverage." The SEN guy started back tracking and Simon just had enough and said he is sick of being asked about crowds. Then went on to stay soccer does not get the coverage it deserves considering there's a world cup around the corner. The callers then started coming in to say the NRL was "TV game" and that they dont care for crowds. A soccer bloke then called up and asked whats the tv viewing rights on the Rugby League world cup and how do they compare to the soccer World cup? SEN then went and changed the subject lol 

I have also noticed that the SEN guys seem to treat anything soccer related as a joke and they never take the presenter seriously that is informing them of weekend scores.. etc. 

Its not until the main guy tells them "hey they actually sponsor us" that they change to be more respectful. Why is the a-league sponsoring these idiots?

Why else..?

Wow that’s really intense. A lot of people just don’t get the sport and why it’s popular. 

Football in Australia is a niche sport and always will be.  

Well somebody is grumpy 

Problem is what Lowy and O'Neill began w/their de-ethnicisation of the game in the vainglorious attempt to have it demographically resemble every 'traditional'(ie. bogan) sport in this country..

Well-intentioned though it may have been, it's quite fair to say it's been taken further than was absolutely necessary. Let's not mince words here...at the core of it, the 'bitters' were proved right in the end💡

I've been around football a while so I'm realistic of our place in the scheme of things. 

The more you pine for acceptance the less likelihood you'll get it.