Heritage of the Game: an American perspective

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Heritage of the Game: an American perspective

Authored by: Michael Christiansen
on Wednesday, March 08 2017 @ 06:04 am ACDT

This is where Australian Football I suspect is different to American football (which to me, seemed more rooted in Colleges - similar to English school boy football). In Melbourne there were not the established institutions of academia. Football as was experimented with and played at - was very much a local community level. Granted MFC was initially limited to members of the MCC and the 'white collar' workers.
Australian Football and its older clubs share a history that in the main has avoided something other codes do - and that is private ownership. In the US - it really is just a 'franchise' to be bought and sold. It's not a club. Even in England clubs were privately owned before the end of the 1800s - but that fitted I suppose with their class based society.
So - in the AFL when I hear the players trotting out the line (pushing for more pay) of "The players put on the show" - I beg to differ - the players in many cases are secondary. It's the clubs that put on the show and the players are privileged to be there - wearing those colours and placing their own name in history.
It is a special heritage - and gladly I note that the AFL from Demetriou on have actively sought to protect the existence of clubs rather than pushing merger/relocation.

Heritage of the Game: an American perspective

Authored by: Cam Homes
on Wednesday, March 08 2017 @ 10:32 am ACDT

The inclusion of "Bankers" in South Australia's first footy competition tends to support your assertion, Micheal. Gawler, SA's first town outside Adelaide also fielded a team early on as well, the railway had reached Gawler by 1857, enabling "inter town" matches to be played.

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