World Footy News

While Ben Cousins has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons lately (even to the point of being charged by the AFL for bringing the game into disrepute and suggestions of recreational drug use), it wasn't just Ben's mysterious disappearance in the USA that had many in the Australian media surprised. Many newspapers were instead fascinated by the fact that the AFL star, got attention, if not in the mainstream, but among the more influential players in the blogosphere.

Celebrity gossip site Perez Hilton, arguably one of the most popular on the Internet asked "Where In The World Is Ben Cousins????", while Dave's Football Blog, apparently one of the Top 100 most influencial sports bloggers has maintained regular features on AFL football and the most recent adventures of Ben Cousins.

Ben Cousins may not be the best ambassador for our game, though it is a change from publicity generated in the US by stories such as amputated players fingers, Adam Selwood's taunts on Des Headland and Warwick Capper's debut as an "adult actor", news of which can be found on 100 percent injury rate and Matt Ufford's withleather.com.

Naturally, one of the biggest stories to reach US blogs in recent times was Saverio Rocca's successful conversion from Aussie Rules to NFL football, which was reported by popular blogs Deadspin, Larry Brown Sports, The 700 Level, highlighting more than anything just how massively popular the NFL is stateside.

While tabloid news is not necessarily promotion of the finer points of our game, it does demonstrate a growing awareness of the Australian Football League among Americans, who are just beginning to spread the word and discover that our game is indeed different to rugby.