If you an avid footy fan there are only two seasons – ‘footy season’ and ‘waiting for footy to start’ season.
Well rejoice, as from last week, Australian rules football is under way for another year.
This year, there are 18 teams in the AFL for the first time, with the debut of the GWS Giants and the NAB Cup will also implement the trial of goal-line replay to assist goal umpires.
The other big change is the new broadcast rights which has pay TV giant Foxtel bringing every game of the 2012 season live and commercial free.
Last year, the 7 Network’s delayed telecast of the shortened pre-season matches was more of a replay than live, with the first game having been won in real time before the ball was bounced on TV! The new live deal for the next five years gives no option for free to air broadcasters than to also screen whatever they are covering live – no more delayed telecasts.
Not content with TV ratings, the AFL’s opening NAB Cup ‘troika’ matches – which feature three teams playing each other in two 20 minute halves – ensures three sets of supporters for the required bums-on-seats to fill the AFL coffers. If the AFL is serious about making mega bucks and intensifying competition, it should eliminate the salary cap and the draft. This will place greater emphasis on supporter contributions, combined with a midseason annual transfer window opportunity and player-on- loan deals, consolidating the playing strength of clubs with chequebook diplomacy.
It is not fair for AFL players who constantly put their bodies on the line to get paid a pittance compared to international soccer, gridiron, or rugby players. The reality is that Aussie rules is now a billion dollar TV ratings game and if getting rid of financial restrictions increases box-office prices, so be it – AFL players who risk their well-being more than any other football code in the world, deserve to be highly paid.
Have a good look at the English Premier League, together with lucrative TV rights, there are always thousands of supporters who are manage – at any price – to afford to go to a game, contributing millions to player payments and club revenue. A level playing field artificially restricted by the AFL to fill marketing holes or undermine alternative ball game codes is not on in my opinion!