Subject:
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Re: New newsgroup lugnet.sports for Football/Soccer
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.sports, lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Thu, 3 Aug 2000 10:33:42 GMT
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Viewed:
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3219 times
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In lugnet.football, Deidre Rushton Brumby writes:
> > 2. Australians call the sport "Soccer" and use the word "Football" for
> > something else, possibly Rugby.
>
> Yup, it's soccer. Football possibly refers to Rugby in some parts of Aus,
> but generally football refers to AFL which is a different game altogether.
Expanding on this point:
In Australia "round ball football" is called Soccer universally. It is very
popular with schoolkids and there is a national competition (see
http://www.socceraustralia.com.au/ ). There are three other codes of football
that have a major following in Australia:
[lengthy digression follows]
* Australian Rules (AFL)
Aussie Rules is played on a Cricket oval and has 22 players per side (18 per
side on the field at once). The uniquely Australian game is most like Gaelic
football, and the most important skill is accurate kicking, either to team-
mates (catching a ball on the full, a "mark", gives the team unchallenged
possession) or for goals. Goals are worth six points and are scored when an
attacking player kicks the ball through the posts. Near misses count as
"behinds" and are worth one point. Most supporters live in Victoria, South
Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and southern New South Wales, and this
is reflected in the Australian Football League, the major competition. In the
AFL (originally the Victorian Football League) 10 teams are from Victoria, 2
are from SA, 2 are from WA and there is one team for NSW and one for
Queensland. Support is growing in Sydney, traditionally a League heartland
(see below), and with a bit of luck the Swannies will make it into this year's
finals.
Links: http://www.realfooty.com.au/ ; http://www.afl.com.au/
* Rugby League (NRL)
A variant of Rugby Union as played almost everywhere else in the world, Rugby
League is basically characterised by a lot of tackling and occasional displays
of brilliant footwork or sprinting. The major objective is gaining territory.
There isn't much kicking, except for territory after the fifth tackle and
goals. Most points are scored as tries, which are like touchdowns in grid-
iron, except the ball has to actually touch the ground. The game is based in
NSW and Queensland, and the National Rugby League (derived from the NSW Rugby
League) has 9 teams from NSW, 2 Queensland teams, and one team each from
Canberra, Melbourne and Auckland (New Zealand). In recent years the game has
been decimated by rival competitions, court cases and club mergings and
closures.
Links: http://www.smh.com.au/league/ ; http://www.nrl.com.au/
* Rugby Union
Geographical base is similar to League, generally thought to have wealthier
supporters. Played at school-boy, local club, inter-state and international
levels.
Link: http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/
Other .au people will hopefully agree with these potted descriptions, and add
to them where needed.
[Digression ends, summary follows]
In Australia:
* Rugby means Rugby Union
* Where Australian Rules is predominant, Football or "Footie" means Aussie
Rules, and people don't know what Rugby League is. Deidre is from Tasmania,
thus her description of AFL as Football.
* Where Rugby League is predominant, Football, Footie or League means Rugby
League, and Aussie Rules is called aerial ping-pong, sometimes seriously.
"Me too" on the quality of the sets, and the concept. My sister thinks my Lego
habit is slightly insane, but she really enjoyed beating me at Soccer.
--DaveL.
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