What is Australian Football?

Question

Is it like Soccer, or more like American Football? Tell me about it.

Answer 1

In the last 12 months or so there has been a movement over here to call what has always been 'soccer' football. There is some success here. I guess it stems from our large population of English, Italian and Greek people. They all call it football.

Mind you I assume you are referring to Australian Football League (AFL) football.

Probably the best thing you can do is google it as I am from Queensland and we are more Rugby League based up here.

However I will tell you what I know. It is played on an oval field. The ball can be kicked (usually once it is dropped from the hands) and passed through the hands. You score goals by kicking through any two of four vertical bars. If you get it through the centre ones you get 6 points and the outer ones 1 point.

From my very vague knowledge I would say it is closer to your American Football but the game that it is really closest to is Irish Gaelic Football.

It is a very popular sport in Australia especially in Victoria and South Australia. The popularity is also growing in the northern states.

Answer 2

Australian football is believe it or not but it is soccer there basically its soccer but calls it football

Answer 3

Aussie Rules

AFL

Much better than soccer, and no pads like the NFL

http://afl.com.au/  will probablly be the best place for you to start

AFL shops would be good too

Answer 4

http://afl.com.au/

Answer 5

It is commonly known as A.F.L. . . Australian Footbal League. . . It has 18 players on each team and two field umpires.An oval shaped ball similar to your american football made by sherrin,usually red in clolour.The objective of the game is two score goals between two sticks where six points is rewarded,and there is a further two sticks either side of these where you actually get one point for missing the goal if the ball goes between the goal stick and one of these outer sticks. . It is quite a physical game and demands skill,If you catch a high ball on the full this is called a mark and you are rewarded a free kick.It is a proffesional game attracting athletes of a high calibre,it is more popular in the southern states of australia but has spread nationwide.There is a national league with franchises spreading all over the country. . the closest football to it is probably gaelic football but is not really the same. Hope i have helped,is hard to explain a whole concept like this.........

Answer 6

I am American and I love Aussie rules football. There is nothing in the States that compares to it. If the average American, who has 5-nano second interest level, were to watch it, the US NFL (National Football League) might be out of business in a week.

36 men go at it for about two hours in a combination of soccer, rugby, "American" football, boxing, kick-ball, and wrestling. They play in the "winter" in uniforms that remind me of old US basketball uniforms while everyone in the stands is bundled up against the cold.

At the end of the Grand Final match (like the US Superbowl) the two teams sit down on the field and out come a mob of kids dressed in the uniforms of the two teams in the final. One at a time the players come to the podium to received the second and first place medals from the kids. Really nice.

Another thing about the sport that's rather neat are the team songs. When I first heard some of them I was really surprised - one team's song is to the tune of the US Marine Corps Hymn - others are set to similar familiar melodies. I haven't found out yet if "we" Americans borrowed the melodies from the Brits, or did the Aussies adopt those melodies during WWII when thousands of Yanks were stationed in Australia.

Watch Aussie Rules - you'll get the hang of it after a while. Great fun and incredible player skills.

Answer 7

www.google.com

Answer 8

Great answer Mike B.  Others described the game but you hit the passion and culture.

No, it's nothing like American football.  No pads, no helmets but full on speed and quite tough men.

The aim as a player is to get into a position to receive the ball or just go and get it out of a pack, then you can run with it but you have to bounce it every ten metres, hand pass it, which means punching it off your hand, or kick it (usually a drop punt).  If you're tackled with the ball, it's a free kick against you.  If you catch ('mark') the ball from a kick, you can stop for about ten seconds to decide who you kick to.  Usually players 'play on' regardless of whether they've marked.

Ultimately you and your team mates are trying to kick between the two 'big sticks' to earn six points.

Umpiring is tough and they'd be lucky to make 80% right decisions so everyone screams abuse at the umpires when things are going wrong for their team.  It's a great lark mate and worth freezing your butt off under a brolly!

If you want to see "footy" at its best watch the 'Preliminary Final' from this year between Collingwood and Geelong.  That was a close game and you can see how passionate the fans are.  And then for an exhibition of almost perfect football watch the Grand Final between Geelong and Port Adelaide.  Geelong played almost perfectly to record the biggest winning margin of all time in a Grand Final.

EDIT: I think you can get both these games on Amazon.com

Answer 9

It is the Ultimate game.

No Padding, No helmets.

Body against Body

Bring it on!

Answer 10

Its not like soccer

Or American football.

http://www.answers.com/australian%20foot...

The history aint tat important...but try th link