Heritage of the Game

** Editor's note: This is the first post I've written as a correspondent for World Footy News. I'm excited about where this can go and I look forward to contributing.

            I like that AFL sides do a good job of remembering their roots and telling their entire story, even if the memories aren’t as pleasant.

            St. Kilda matches don’t make it to the states, at least not through my cable TV package, so I’ve been watching a season 2016 tilt with Melbourne. On the back of the Saint unis is an “EST. 1873,” or established in 1873, which alludes to the first year of their existence. They’ve never relocated and granted, the majority of their footy hasn’t been of the winning type, but remembering your history and knowing where you’ve come from are both good things.

Front and back of the Sydney uniform top.
Note the SMFC above the number 8.

            The Sydney Swans do this on their guernseys by stitching in “SMFC” at the base of the neck. This of course stands for South Melbourne Football Club, which was this team’s identity from 1874 until 1982 when financial woes led to relocation that sent the team northeast. The initials were an addition in 2004.

            Moving a team like that is painful for supporters—it feels like something is being taken away, that their loyalty, their going to games and cheering with their families, ultimately meant nothing. So adding the old SMFC to the home and away kits is a very nice touch.

FFC is added in above the #22 on the
Western Bulldogs guernseys.

            Same thing in Footscray. The Footscray Football Club also had its share of money troubles and saw a path out by becoming the Western Bulldogs and potentially connecting with a larger fan base. You can see the “FFC” above the number on the back of the guernsey.

            I see teams here in the states move around and I don’t see the same thing. Can you imagine the Oklahoma City Thunder ever wearing anything that referred to the time the franchise spent as the Seattle SuperSonics? We don’t see the Baltimore Ravens talk about being the Cleveland Browns in a previous existence, nor do the Washington Nationals refer to ever being the Montreal Expos. But in Seattle, Cleveland, and Montreal, fans felt like they got stabbed in the back by owners who were seeking more money. Loyalty, history, and tradition meant nothing next to the almighty dollar.

            Nice that I don’t perceive these AFL sides disrespecting their fans like that. I get that a goal is to make money and not lose it, but very cool that a nod is given to a team’s heritage.

A Grand Final

I found a work around that allowed me to check out the match between the Swans and the Bulldogs. I knew how the match ended, and I paid attention to the first half of the match in real time via gametracker. I even checked out radio broadcasts (professional courtesy) there for a little while.

This was an entertaining game to watch. The 22-point margin for Western Bulldogs does not tell the story of how hard-fought the game was, how neither side scored for the first 7:30 of the opening term, or how this was a one-point lead for WB with eight minutes to go.

But I've watched the same victory celebrations on YouTube for the last two days, and I can't get past how deep this seems to run for Bulldog fans. This is their first premiership since 1954 when they beat Melbourne and they overcame the loss of captain Bob Murphy (more on him in a moment). They were also the seven seed and won three road games in the finals, beating West Coast soundly, getting a win over three-time reigning champs Hawthorn (technically a road game), and winning at GWS before beating Sydney.

I realize that when you win a league title (in any sport) there is much rejoicing and celebrating, but the sheer joyousness of the Bulldog players, coaches, and staff amazed me. I wondered if they would ever run out of hugs. This made me think of how a team plays for its people and citizenry and how it adopts the characteristics of the surrounding community. In this case the people of Footscray, where the Dogs call home and where the team was founded back in 1877. Kind of how the Pittsburgh Steelers are a blue collar-type squad in the NFL.

This was the first time I ever watched the trophy and medal presentation, and it was fascinating how the AFL handles their business. The defeated Swans, losing their second Grand Final in three years, sat on the field at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and watched the Bulldogs celebrate. Captain Kieren Jack stepped to the mic and gave a few words before he joined his mates. That never happens stateside, where we see a few congratulatory handshakes before the vanquished side retreats to their locker room. Not so in the AFL, where the losing team gets salt rubbed in the wound. Seems harsh and a tad unfair, but...

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge called Bob Murphy up on stage and gave him his Jock McHale medal (given to the winning coach), saying he (Murphy) deserved it more than anybody. Extremely classy move, and one that seems to have been very well received. This is another cultural difference, since to my knowledge, pro athletes in the states play very little part in team activities once they've been lost for the season due to injury. Murphy (lost to a knee injury in round 3) was right in there during the celebrations, and the hugs and cheers he got were as big and strong as any I saw.

So season 2016 folds its tents and steals off into the night. This blog? Nope. There's more to say and more to look at.

Don't go anywhere.

Brent Harvey and Matthew Pavlich

The two matches shown last week both involved milestone performances by two longtime champion footballers: North Melbourne/St. Kilda and Sydney at Fremantle.

We'll start with Kangaroos champion Brent Harvey who set the AFL record for career games played with 427. He is listed at 167 cm/77kg, or about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds and plays on the forward line. Being that size, speed and accuracy are important parts of his game. He debuted in 1996 and has played in two Grand Finals, winning in 1999. Hawthorn's Michael Tuck held the previous record of 426 games before his retirement in 1991.

Harvey, at age 38, seems to think he can still play and contribute-- he sees 450 games as a possibility. Watching him zip through the middle of the field makes me think sure, why not? However Harvey is aware of the needs of the club and is loyal to the club when he understands it's not about him.

North defeated the Saints 85-62. Harvey kicked his only goal near the end of the game. The Saints needed to win to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top 8.

Freo's Matthew Pavlich is 6'3" and 220 lbs (192 cm/99 kg) and is a center half-forward. He reached milestone game number 350 this past week. Matty Pavs was the Dockers' captain from 2007-15, and he's played in one Grand Final, falling to Hawthorn in 2013. His height is a major advantage when taking marks within range of goal. He's one of only 15 men in the history of the league (which dates back to 1897) to reach 350 games.

Pavlich's milestone was overshadowed by Harvey's. Didn't really matter much-- Freo stayed within shouting distance in the first half, but Sydney blew it wide open in the second, winning by 90 points. In listening to the commentators, it sounds like the retirement writing is on the wall for Matthew. It's weird, since at age 34 you'd think he's got a few more years left. Also a little sad that such a fine and versatile player has not hoisted a premiership trophy.

An individual player's milestone games seem to be more of a thing down under than they do here in the states. My thought is that we place a higher value on it when a coach does it, and more likely if it's a round (and big) number win. Maybe it has something to do with the number of games that are played. Here it's 82 (NBA), 162 (MLB), 16 (NFL), and 80 (NHL). These just don't seem to be numbers that lend themselves to milestone games, with the exception of the NFL, but that's slightly misleading, as the nature of the NFL leads to more injuries, missed games, and subsequent retirements.

So it's nice to see the AFL honor two of their all-time greats.

On the DVR this week: four weeks left in the 2016 home-and-away season. Collingwood/Richmond and North Melbourne is at the Western Bulldogs. The hot-and cold Magpies are in 12th position on the ladder, and Richmond laid an egg last week in a big loss to GWS.

North is in 8th position, three games clear of ninth place with four games to play. The Bulldogs are in 7th place with the same number of wins, but ahead of NMFC by virtue of a higher percentage. That ought to be a fun one.

This means the eight playoff sides are already in place, barring some unusual occurrences. First-place Hawthorn leads the field by two games. After that it's a mess. four teams are tied at 13 wins and three are knotted a game behind at 12 victories. So it'll be a wild ride, but it seems as though we know who the eight will be.

Dreamtime at the G

Round 10 of the AFL season is the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, where the league raises awareness of Aboriginal culture in Australia. The term 'indigenous' refers to the people already living in Australia in the late 1700s when the British started colonizing. The history between settlers and Aborigines has often been unpleasant, so this is a great chance to bring people together and bring about a deeper knowledge and understanding. Doug Nicholls was a prominent Aboriginal Australian who played for the old Fitzroy Football Club in the 1930s.

Flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. 

Additionally, each AFL team wears specially designed guernseys to commemorate the week.

The 'Dreamtime at the G' match is the highlight of the round, played at the end of Reconciliation Week by Essendon and Richmond each year since 2005. The two sides were chosen because their combined team colors constitute the colors of the Australian Aboriginal flag. Both sides wear black jumpers. Richmond adds a gold sash, Essendon a red one. There were two groups of Aborigines who performed ritual dances prior to the start of the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known as 'the G' by the locals.

Richmond seems to be getting things turned around a bit, picking up their third straight win with their victory over the Bombers.

My other match of the week was North Melbourne/Sydney. One old AFL memory I have is of John Longmire playing for the Kangaroos many years ago. He now wears the red and the white of Sydney as their head coach. The Swans ended North's undefeated run to start the season, but the Roos are still a game ahead of Sydney, and two games ahead of five other teams that are tied for third position on the ladder.

On tap for week 11-- another tough test for Richmond as they play North Melbourne. I'll also check out Port Adelaide at Collingwood. Interesting fact: Mason Cox played college basketball at Oklahoma State and is getting minutes with the Magpies. We'll talk about him more next week.

Round 9

I typically record two matches per week on Fox Sports 1 or 2 and watch them during the week, as mentioned. This week did not include the Richmond Tigers, a side that I've seen play several times this season.

The first game I watched was Sydney vs. Hawthorn, featuring two of the better sides in the AFL, and a rematch of the 2014 Grand Final, won by Hawthorn in a blowout. This game saw the Swans get a big lead early and keep their opponent at arm's length down the stretch. It was an entertaining affair. The Hawks have won the last three premierships so I knew they'd make a run and they did but fell short.

What I've noticed over time is the commentators' weird love affair with Lance "Buddy" Franklin, an outstanding Sydney player. Granted, he kicked a goal from 70 meters, but two weeks ago they showed footage and talked about one of the water boys smiling because he got to give the great Buddy a water bottle. Maybe the guy was just happy because Buddy just kicked a goal. I don't know. It just seems strange is all.

I also picked up West Coast at Port Adelaide. I like watching games at the Adelaide Oval because they show an old hand-operated cricket scoreboard in the background that has the match score. It seems to me that scoreboard (which is right next to a snazzy electric one) has been used for a long, long time and could tell a story or two.

West Coast, last year's premiership runner-up, has a hard time winning road games, and they had trouble putting away the Power after leading by 30+ in the second half. The Eagles did pick up the win and got the job done. Port will lose defender Tom Jonas to suspension for six matches after he struck Eagle Andrew Gaff with an elbow, knocking Gaff out for a few minutes.

So here is the ladder (standings) after nine rounds:

Top 8 teams make the postseason. The percentage column indicates the amount of points a team scores for every 100 points scored against it. Hawthorn, in 7th position, is winning but not by wide margins, as they're scoring 102.7 points for every 100 their opponent tallies. 

My DVR is already set to record North Melbourne at Sydney and Richmond/Essendon this week. I'm particularly looking forward to North/Sydney, which should be a good one.