Contributed by: Sean Finlayson Thursday, November 08 2007 @ 05:40 pm ACDT
Celebrity gossip site Perez Hilton, arguably one of the most popular on the Internet asked "Where In The World Is Ben Cousins????"[*2] , while Dave's Football Blog, apparently one of the Top 100 most influencial sports bloggers[*3] 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[*4] and Warwick Capper's debut as an "adult actor", news of which can be found on 100 percent injury rate[*5] and Matt Ufford's withleather.com[*6] .
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[*7] , Larry Brown Sports[*8] , The 700 Level[*9] , 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.
Comment (0)