Aussie Rules Football: The Greatest Sport in Australia?
Australia is a fascinating place. The continent has some of the strangest creatures that are not found anywhere else on the planet, kangaroos, koala bears, dingoes and many others. It also has a sport that is found only there, or was until it was brought to other places, but it is still in its original form. That game is Aussie Rules Football. It is a combination of rugby and football and is a very exciting and enjoyable game to watch and take part in as well. Worldwide, it is not as popular as either football or rugby but it is a part of people's lives in Australia.
The game of Australian Rules Football was born in 1858. Australia at the time was a British settlement and the game of cricket was the first sport to be popularised in the country. A very prolific cricketer at the time, Thomas Wentworth Wills, was worried that cricketers would become unfit during the offseason and so appealed to the cricket council to devise a game that cricketers could play to stay fit. The game that was invented was Australian Rules Football and was a combination of rugby and football. Players were allowed to pick up the ball and run but then had to kick the ball after a certain time period, this was made ten metres later on. A goal is scored by a player kicking the ball through the goalposts, of which there are four, two large ones and two smaller ones behind them. The pitch that the game is played on is oval in shape and unlike other sports is not of a standardised size. It can vary with stadiums and places the sport is played in.
Over the years the game became more and more popular until today when it is one of the most popular sports in Australia. The highest professional level of the game is played in the Australian Football League or the AFL. The AFL is the most popular sports league in Australia when measured by stadium attendance and the league has two main competitions; the pre-season contest known as the NAB Cup and the main event which is the AFL Premiership season which culminates in the AFL Grand Finale at the end of every season. The AFL over the years has become financially and commercially strong. The main governing body of the league is the AFL Commission. The AFL is the most attended sporting league in Australia and it is currently the fourth-most attended professional sports league in the world in terms of attendance per match. An average of 38,000 fans come to watch every game played in this popular league. One can compare the AFL to the English Premier League in terms of financial strength, commercial value and popularity.
One of the most popular players in the AFL of all time is Wayne Carey. Considered by many to be the greatest player ever to play the sport, he was instrumental in increasing the game's popularity. He burst onto the scene in the AFL in 1990 and became very popular as a Centre Half Forward. From 1993 to 2001 he was the Captain of his team, North Melbourne, and was the star player on the team. It seems he fell from grace after 2001 when he had an affair with his best friend's wife. After that he started to be frequently featured in the media but for all the wrong reasons. Whatever happened to him after retiring, he was still the best player to ever play the game by a long shot. The league is now full of great potential young stars and it is to be seen how they perform in the years to come.
The game of Aussie Rules Football is as unique as the country that it originated in. It has become uniquely Australian although it is being played in other countries around the world. One of those countries is South Africa where the game should become very popular because it is very exciting to play and might be a great addition to the country's many sports. As it becomes more and more popular around the world, we will see the game being played in fields and schools all over the place. There might even be Aussie Rules Leagues outside of Australia that become as popular as the AFL one day. We will have to see what is in store for this great sport in the future.
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