2007 marks the 10th anniversary of USFooty. Originally construed as the United States Australian Football Association it was later renamed the United States Australian Football League and given the appellation USFooty. This article looks at some of the people who have made footy in the US what it is today.

Matt McBriar started out in Melbourne playing Aussie Rules footy. His long kicking ability was spotted in a long kicking competition in Melbourne and through contacts including former Melbourne and West Coast AFL footballer Darren Bennett he made his way from Old Brighton in the VAFA to college gridiron football in Hawaii. He's now reached the very top - punting in the Pro Bowl.

The first match of the newly overhauled AZAFL for 2007 was played on Saturday Feb 3rd between the Devils and Dingos. The league will consist of three teams vying for the title this year, with two teams competing and the third team handling field setup and officiating each round. This report supplied to us by John ‘Pops’ Meier

Late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLI, the Indianapolis Colts' American punter Hunter Smith kicked a 32 yard drop punt to hold the Chicago Bears deep in their own end of the field. Commentator Phil Simms described Smith as holding the ball perfectly straight up and down and kicking so that it looked like a "kick off" (that is, the ball span end over end). "Aussie Rules" also got a mention when commentator Jim Nanz described the Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman's difficulty taking the snap in the wet conditions as being like an Aussie Rules game. With three Australians punting in the NFL including All-Pro Matt McBriar and possibly Sav Rocca following soon, NFL games are likely to see more drop punts. One has to wonder if the "banana" will make an appearance.

Football in the US is now over ten years old. The game is still currently evolving and trying to settle on workable formats. Clubs seem to ebb and flow in terms of their player and financial strengths and their ultimate strategies can change as they gain more experience of football life. Over the last two years the MAAFL looked like it was settling down with a pretty solid group of clubs competing for their Championship, but after rumours of changes over the offseason, more details of a new structure have been revealed, including greater flexibility and a possible new club.

We've also got further information from Atlanta's Wayne Kraska about the reasons for the change to the structure (an update since article first published).

Like Canada’s population, its Australian Football sides (past and present) are spread out in three areas, Southwestern British Columbia, the Edmonton-Calgary corridor and between Windsor and Quebec, where the majority of Canadians reside. The new Ottawa Swans side is trying to expand on the latter and so far are having a great deal of success. Ottawa is Canada’s capital and combined with outlying areas in both Ontario and Quebec, the National Capital Region is home to 1.1 million people.

Canada's new coach, Mark Block, has posted on the AFL Canada website his summary of the Northwind's trip down to Texas to take on the USA. Although his team went down by 26 points, a fairly large margin in a low scoring game, Block's report remains positive about the players' efforts and is obviously seen as just one step on the longer journey.

Photos from 2007's first major international are also available at Phototainable, the website of semi-professional photographer Edward Habgood, who captured some of the action at the match, including those pictured in this story.

Saverio Rocca, who finished his AFL career last year with North Melbourne with the aim of playing NFL football has been offered a non guaranteed contract by the Philadelphia Eagles. He earlier tried out with the Buffalo Bills, but now will compete with the Eagles' current Punter in the preseason for the punting spot.

Saturday January 20th saw the seventh meeting of US Revolution and the Canadian Northwind in the 49th Parallel Cup, held for the first time in Houston, Texas. This was the first of two games between the two teams in 2007 as both countries prepare for Melbourne 2008. In wet and blustery conditions that could only be described as “perfect Melbourne weather” (for winter at least), the Revos easily accounted for the Northwind, 4.10 (34) to 1.2 (8).

Later today the United States national Australian Football side, the Revolution, take on Canada's Northwind in the first international for 2007. Despite often being very competitive, the northerners have never managed to defeat the Stars and Stripes in Aussie Rules. The following is a press release from AFL Canada's Bill Frampton, previewing the match from the Northwind's perspective, including the squad and some history of their past meetings. WFN believes that the match will see the debut of several new players, including Vancouver's young gun Scott Fleming, probably the first "graduate" of the successful North Delta Junior AFL. The lineup also features players from Ontario's 2006 debut club, the Central Blues.