AFL vs FFA/FIFA: No contest

Forgive me! The post title is deliberately inflammatory and slightly misleading. This post is about personal preferences.

 

The “world game” simply leaves me gasping — for some Aussie rules!

 

Is it the lack of scoring or the pathetic staging and diving? Yes, they’re part of it, although I get the impression there are fewer boring 0–0 draws in the modern game. The goal that was scored from behind the centre line in the EPL this week was staggering. The top-level players are undoubtedly enormously skilful, as you’d expect, and the extent of their ball control is sometimes breathtaking. Thierry Henry showed recently just how good they could be if they could use their hands as well!!! And yet, the spectacle eludes me. If you find it enjoyable and exciting, terrific!

 

Aussie rules though, gets my heart pumping. Genuine physical contests with no quarter begged or given. Ball control skills with an irregular ball that, without a shadow of a doubt, rival the skills of the other code. The full involvement of the players in Aussie rules — kicking, marking, handballing, running, tackling, shepherding — seems more satisfying to me.

 

Were the FFA to pull off the completely fanciful and win the rights to host the FIFA World Cup, they certainly won’t have to save a seat for me. No doubt Frank Lowy and Sepp Blatter  will be tossing in their sleep wondering how they’ll survive without aussierulesblog in the stands, but I suspect they’d get by.

 

And there’s the nub of my attitude to the World Cup bid. Fine, go ahead if you must, but I don’t really care. Don’t spend too much taxpayers’ money along the way and don’t disturb the games that are most important to the majority of us.