English Premier League vs Australian Football League

King Pietersen

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To save the debate in the "Buddy" Franklin thread, I thought we should have our own thread. I'm not going to degrade the issue by adding a poll, but I think we should have a proper discussion about the 2 sports, the popularity, the sport itself, the teams, the worldwide recognition, etc. Personally I've not seen much of AFL, but the Aussies seem to be pretty up on the sport, and claim that it's better than sliced bread, and the best sport on the planet.

Worldwide Recognition

My point regarding AFL has always stayed consistent. If it was such an amazing sport, how come it's not been brought to England, America, the rest of Europe, Asia, and why's it not big in those countries/continents? People have been visiting Australia for centuries, the sports been legally running since 1877, and if it was such an amazing sport it would have been brought across by people who had seen it abroad and been enthralled by it. I've never seen a non Aussie claiming the sports brilliant.....coincidence? I think not.

Association Football's been running far longer, and has therefore had longer to spread, but lets look at the facts. It's massive across the globe, it's the major sport of countries like Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, England, Scotland, Germany, etc etc etc. There aren't many countries around the world that don't have an association football league. The World Cup, the competition for all the national teams to compete has been running since 1930 and since the invention of the World Cup the poplularity of the sport has risen even more. There were 13 teams in the original World Cup Finals, that's now risen to 32, with qualifying competitions happening across the globe, yet in the time that association football has doubled in World Recognition, AFL is still contained within Australia.

Average Attendances

Another point that's been raised is that of Average Attendances for AFL being much bigger than Football. Let's compare the AFL to the English Premier League. It's not a completely fair comparison though, and Wikipedia has the attendance at 36,076. You look at the AFL, there are 16 teams, but only 185 games played. The Premier League has 20 teams, but 380 games in a season. Then you need to look at the size of stadiums in the AFL. Every single team according to Wikipedia has a stadium that they play at with a maximum attendance of 50'000+. Alot of teams play at massive stadiums like the MCG, Telstra Dome and the ANZ stadium. None of the teams sell those stadiums out regularly though. The champions of the AFL, who you'd expect to have the highest attendance only have 41'436 Season members.

This compares with the premier league, where the biggest stadiums in the league, Arsenal's Emirates and Manchester Uniteds Old Trafford. Man Utd's average attendance so far this season is 75498, when you consider the capacity of the stadium is 76212 it's pretty unbelievable. Then you look at Arsenal, average attendance of 60058, capacity of 60432. Here's the stats for you to look at, you'll notice that the team with the lowest stadium fill percentage is Blackburn Rovers, and even they manage to fill their stadium 70%.

If we in England had the space to build stadiums the size of the MCG, Telstra Dome and the ANZ stadium then the teams would fill them. There just isn't the space for every Premier League team to build a stadium of that size, and the cost in the UK would be far too high, especially considering the current Credit Crunch. You have to look beyond the basic average attendance stats.

Also, even teams that are in big trouble within the premier league, with the fans massively unhappy with the running of the club, and the recent sacking of a manager, this club being Newcastle. They've still maintained a 90% stadium capacity, which proves the popularity of the sport, even if the team are failing to perform, and they're unhappy with the behind the scenes running of the club.

Complexity of the 2 Sports

Certain AFL fans claim that Association Football is inferior because it only lasts for 90 minutes, and that there is no substance to the sport, and it's a massively easy sport to play and a very boring one to play. They then claim that AFL is far better because of the complexity of the sport, but is that a good thing? Clearly not, Cricket's a bloody complicated sport, and the following of the sport is very limited across Europe and America, 2 big powerhouses when it comes to the success of a sport. AFL's a far more complex sport, according to Stevo I think it was who mentioned it in another thread.

A high complexity level is good for the fans that can be bothered to learn the rules, but Football appeals to everyone around the world, as anyone can just pick up or make themselves a football and kit it around and have fun. The professional game is also a massively complex one, with managers desperate to find the tactic suitable to defeat the next team. They study countless video tapes on each team, looking for weaknesses, and ways to beat them. There are thousands of different ways of winning a game of football, from the set piece specialist teams like Stoke and Chelsea, to the stylish flowing football of Manchester United. It's far more complicated than the basics make out.

The Stars of the Game

David Beckham. The most well renowned sportsman on the planet. He's possibly the most recognised man on the planet. He's a massive celebrity, he's a brilliant role model, spends time and money on developing schools for children around the world, and has been rewarded by becoming the most decorated player in the world. I'd bet that the large majority of people in major cities around the world would recognise Beckham, yet ask them about Buddy Franklin and Wayne Carey and they'd be clueless, yet these guys are supposed to be the 2 big names of AFL. Football is a glamourous sport, and it makes stars, the popularity of the sport has grown thanks to guys like Beckham, Pele and Maradona. I honestly can't see Buddy Franklin going down as one of the greatest sportsmen of all-time when he retires.

I hope that you've actually read the following post, and will not just dismiss it with ludicrous claims with no backing up or evidence. I've given my side to the argument, and look forward to reading your replies.
 

Ayub 95

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I love both sports but the premiership is so exciting to watch even the newcastle is exciting :p but AFL will never have what football has world wide fans
 

Dr. Pepper

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Am I the only Non-Aussie who likes Football and AFL. I prefer Football by far but I also like AFL though.
 

m_vaughan

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One thing everyone needs to accept that Football is the most popular global sport in the world. However which sport is "actually" better has no definite answer. It varies from person to person, and everyone will have their own opinion.

The reasons posted by the AFL fans are very valid, but so are the ones posted by the "Soccer/Football" fans. Both parties have different requirements, so see their respective sports as the premier choice.

There are certain aspects in which the AFL is better than Football, and vice-versa. However the AFL fans need to respect the fact that more people watch football across the world. This does not, however, make it a better sport. That is something, the football fans need to accept.

Personally, I prefer football. I have never really watched the AFL, so it would be unfair to comment on it.
 

mattfb

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Wow great post. I pretty much agree with everything there. People here claiming football is easy and boring, but they've obviously never played properly. They might have played a bit and just stood there and passes the ball when it came to them :rolleyes:
Alot of teams play at massive stadiums like the MCG, Telstra Dome and the ANZ stadium

To be fair, ANZ is the scummiest ground i've been too. Oversized, overpriced scum hole. Ecspecially in the NRL when we only get around 10-20k.
I'd bet that the large majority of people in major cities around the world would recognise Beckham, yet ask them about Buddy Franklin and Wayne Carey and they'd be clueless, yet these guys are supposed to be the 2 big names of AFL.

Hahahhaa honestly, I've never heard of Wayne Carey. He doesn't even feature on the back page of the newspapers here in sydney. Neither does Buddy Franklin actually.
 

.::Stevo::.

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This is pathetic..........

I'd advise mods to close the thread, and thats saying a lot coming from me.
 

King Pietersen

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You're the only one being Pathetic. You moan about me making the other thread into a football vs afl thread, so I thought I'd make one. I'm not trying to start an argument, just a discussion, and if you're not willing to put sensible, intelligent input into the thread then don't bother reading. I'm giving you the chance to defend your sport, yet you decide to snipe at the English members, and fail to put your point across. At least Ben puts his point across, albeit in an incredibly arrogant manner, but at least he puts some effort in.
 

.::Stevo::.

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But what point are you trying to make. Use some sense, its obvious Soccer is more popular, its obvious Aussie Rules is only played in Australia. So whats your point? And why should i HAVE to defend my sport from people who havn't seen the sport nor understand it.

Its just stupid to keep going on about it, its getting old.....

To fully be passionate about a sport you have to have an emotional attachment to a team, and most Australians are brought up with AFL/NRL, hence why we support it. Thats what it comes down to basically.

I do watch Premier League matches from time to time, but find most dead boring as its a much slower/ less physical game than AFL (plus i dont have that emotional attachment to any team)
 

King Pietersen

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But what point are you trying to make. Use some sense, its obvious Soccer is more popular, its obvious Aussie Rules is only played in Australia. So whats your point?

If you'd actually read the first post I was comparing the 2 sports, why they're so popular, reasons that AFL isn't popular around the world, the average attendances for the 2 sports. If I'd have just said "AFL's rubbish, Football's much better. Discuss". Then you'd be within your rights to moan, but I've explained myself, provided some evidence and some reasoning behind my claims. You've not tried to contest any of it, such as the complexity issue. That's my point, by the looks of things you've just read the title and gone off on one.
 

.::Stevo::.

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Huh, how can i possibly "contest" any of your points in the first post. Because there all obvious which no one can deny.

In my view AFL CANNOT spread globally, they simply can't bring a brand new sport created by a low population country, into countries dominated by others in todays age, its pretty much impossible. But that doesn't make AFL a crap sport...
 

aussie_ben91

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So is 75,000 the best you can get?
On ANZAC day in Australia, an AFL game between Essendon and Collingwood is annually played and it often draws 90,000 fans to the game.
The Grand Final this year featured over 100,000 in attendance and Hawthorn and Geelong aren't exactly the two most popular teams in the AFL.

The thing about England aswell is that it is a very small country.
So it is allot easier for hometown fans to travel to away games then it is in Australia when teams have to travel interstate so I'm sure this has a blasting effect on the attendance rates in England compared to those in Australia with AFL.

And for the record, several AFL players have been scouted to play American Football.
Names such as Ben Graham (Geelong) and Saverio Rocca (North Melbourne) for example.
Wayne Carey has even been approached in the past to play American Football aswell.

In my opinion, Soccer and other sports only reek over AFL worldwide because those sports were introduced long before AFL was even invented.
Sadly, because Australia is such a small country, it doesn't seem as if AFL is going to be broadcast worldwide in our lifetime although our top players deserve as much recognition as anyother sportsman in the entire world.

Buddy Franklin is an absolute superstar. Has general instinct and great mobility for someone of his height stature. He is an amazing athlete and deserves all of the praise he gets.
 

King Pietersen

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So is 75,000 the best you can get?

No, The last FA Cup final between Portsmouth (mid-table EPL team) and Cardiff (mediocre Championship team- 1 division below EPL) attracted 89,874 which is pretty incredible considering they're both pretty small teams.

The Maracana in Brazil held the World Cup final in 1950 and had a paid attendance of 199,500, that's since been cut down of course, but in 1996 Pele scored his 1000th career goal in a Brazilian league game in front of 125'000, the capacity now sits at 95'000. Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou has an attendance of 98,772 and the big games often attract a full house. Real Madrid had an average attendance last season of 73,162, which is bloody impressive for an average attendance, especially for a stadium that seats just over 80'000.

So no, 75'000's not the best you can get.
 

slade

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T
David Beckham... and has been rewarded by becoming the most decorated player in the world.


Are you talking about his tatoos?

There are players who have won more medals than him.
e.g. Ryan Giggs
 

King Pietersen

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Yes, but Beckham's done far more for the game than Giggs. Giggs may be a good role model, but Beckham is the model professional. Still at the top of his game at 35. He's opened Soccer Schools for kids across the world, he's massively helped the popularity of the MLS and Football within the US. He's captained England, he's got 100 England caps. He's one of the greatest free-kick takers in Premier League history, he's one of the best passers of the ball in world football. He's famous across the globe. I'd consider Beckham far more decorated than Giggs.
 

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