Staggering photo, cold hard numbers shut down AFL-NRL whisper

Comment: Murmurings of an AFL doomsday can be put to bed for good with one American star delivering a brutal truth about Australia.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Lance Franklin of the Swans celebrates kicking his 1000th goal during the 2022 AFL Round 02 match between the Sydney Swans and the Geelong Cats at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 25, 2022 In Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

COMMENT

The Sherrin danced around like a pinball and former NFL star Pat McAfee’s jaw dropped.

The American punter turned cult sport broadcaster could see what Australia always has – Aussie rules is the best sport in the world. We now have the numbers — and a Lance Franklin photo — to prove it.

“The sport is potentially the best sport I’ve ever seen and I had never in a million years taken the time to watch it, ever,” he told his millions of podcast listeners just days before Australian sport was given a death sentence.

The date is March 21, 2020, and the pandemic is about to rock Australia – and our sporting institutions – like no other event has in 50 years.

With the rest of the world’s sporting leagues already shut down, cancelled or killed, an unremarkable clash between AFL clubs Essendon and Fremantle was – out of desperation – screened on sport goliath Fox Sports 1 in the United States.

With the AFL one of the last professional leagues standing as the pandemic forced the NBA, English Premier League and even the Tokyo Olympics to shut down, the AFL, of all things was where sporting fanatics the world over turned to for a fix.

Scenes we may never witness again. Photo: Phil Hillyard.

Where the majority of European and North American sporting leagues gave up and cancelled seasons entirely, the AFL and NRL found a way to complete their covid-ravaged seasons.

The AFL pirouetted through every hoop and seemingly sweet talked every required state government into granting footballers lockdown freedoms that front line health care workers could only dream of.

We didn’t even question it. It needed to be done. It had to be done.

It says everything about the Lucky Country that football codes, cricket and many other sports fought to survive when most of the world watched their favourite sports go into hiatus.

This is Australia after all.

To borrow a cliche from iconic American TV series The West Wing, there is more about Australian sport that unites us than divides us – even if you consider Kevin Sheedy’s war in western Sydney.

We have the numbers to prove it.

Pulse survey data shows 94 per cent of Australians believe sport is a culturally important part of everyday life.

The data shows that only four per cent of those polled do not play sport.

It turns out even the most contentious debate in Australian sport isn’t even that contentious.

AFL is king. Look at the poll numbers below. Forty four per cent is a landslide.

Pulse survey results tell us the same thing:

- AFL is Australia’s national sport (35 per cent) followed by cricket (28 per cent) then NRL (nine per cent)

- Aussie rules football is the most popular sport to watch (23 per cent) followed by rugby league (14 per cent) then cricket and soccer (nine per cent)

- Respondents think that the AFL GF is the most significant sporting event in Australia (31 per cent) followed by the Melbourne Cup (16 per cent) then the Australian Open tennis (13 per cent). State of Origin was the fourth most popular answer.

The pulse poll also shows Australians feast on sport – and can enjoy just about every athletic spectacle on their tellies. Sure, AFL is king, but that doesn’t mean the NRL and others are diminished in any way. Most Australians are happy to hop codes quicker than Israel Folau looking at a seven-figure contract. That’s Australian sport. We can love it all and we do love it all.

Lance Franklin broke the space-time continuum with his 1000th goal. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Comments from news.com.au readers across our recent campaign exploring Australia’s favourite sport back it up. Membership numbers. Crowd numbers. Off-season court appearance numbers have all got a mention.

Reader Graham Belgrove commented on news.com.au sport’s Facebook page recently, saying: “Being a rugby league and rugby union supporter I have to agree. The AFL rules”.

News.com.au columnist Dane Eldridge last week caused a stir and plenty of murmurings — as well as more than 700 comments — with his light-hearted declaration rugby league is Australia’s premier sport.

Reader “Jimbo” commented: “I love Rugby League BUT the results from the survey contradict Dane’s article completely”.

Reader “Sam” wrote: “In the classic line from the castle, tell em there dreaming”.

Reader “Shane” wrote: “Have been watching Rugby League for 40 years. The AFL is killing the NRL”.

It brings us back to McAfee and his love of Australia’s game, which has turned out to be much more than a one-night stand as he first thought it would.

When watching footage of Buddy Franklin’s wild 1000th goal celebrations last year, he tried to explain it to his fans by saying: “Here’s Buddy f***ing Franklin, an absolute assassin”.

Somewhat lightheartedly he said his AFL romance is still burning: “We’re still fans. We’re still die hards”.

His earlier comments say everything we need to know.

“I’ve watched one quarter of Aussie rules football and I already know that this sport was supposed to be my calling back in the day,” he said.

“This was supposed to be my sport. When my child arrives in the next couple years, his ass is gonna be punting and punching balls all around the house.”