March 9 - Aussie Rules Football

One of the reasons we had a late dinner on our first night in Apollo Bay was that we got wrapped up in an Australia Rules Football game between Brisbane and Geelong. It wasn't just another game; it was the conference championship game with the winner going onto the equivalent of our Superbowl. We thought we might have a chance to see a game while we were in Melbourne and have the benefit of my friend Peter's brother Chris to help us understand the game. Well that didn't work out but the TV coverage captured our attention rather quickly.

Aussie rules football is fascinating and seems to have taken pieces of other sports like soccer (kicking the ball), rugby (shape of the ball, tackling and piling on), volleyball (passing the ball by hitting it with one hand), basketball (dribbling) and of course football (field goals and tackling) and rolled them all together with the game I recall playing as a youngster called "smear." Smear was basically a catch and tackle event where the kid with the ball was the target of full on assault of all the other players until he gave up the ball. It was one against many. Aussie rules is not exactly like that since they do have teams but it sure looks a lot like smear.

The blokes playing Aussie rules football are bruisers with amazing toughness and stamina. They are quite adept at kicking the rugby like ball to a teammate (a pass but made with the foot) or kicking it 40-60 meters through the goal posts for a score while on the run and being pursued by the bruisers from the other team determined to capture the ball and/or tackle the opponent. Oh, did I mention that they wear no helmets or padding of any sort? Their uniforms look like traditional soccer uniforms. The game is played at a frenetic pace -- similar to soccer but more like the up and down the court tempo of basketball teams featuring fast break offenses. There are very few stoppages during regular play except after a score or a compound fracture. Note: the bone must be clearly visible however, otherwise the ref just yells "play on, play on."

American football looks timid in comparison. Only the very best NFL players could play Aussie football -- think Ronnie Lott or Donovan McNabb. The pace is just too demanding and the skill set too different for all but a few NFL, NBA or MLB star athletes.

Happened to see a poster on a store window in Apollo Bay announcing sign-ups for youth football leagues much like our little league of soccer sign-ups every year. Images of little league or high school age kids playing this game sans helmets and pads makes me shiver. Can't imagine the soccer moms (and dads) in Menlo Park/Atherton being able to stomach such a thing. Australia is a tough country with a tough hardy people. Maybe Aussie rules football explains the source of that toughness. Check out this promo video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E