The AFL put their foot in it quite often.
For a “professional” sporting organisation, the level of ineptitude on display can be quite embarrassing. A quick look at their handling of the Willie Rioli debacle is immediate proof of that. They do, however, have in their possession a golden goose, and that is the game, itself.
It is their saving grace – despite wrapping their hands around its neck and squeezing tightly, the old girl still has life in her.
But they are doing their best to snuff her out. Keep trying, Andrew and Laura!
One of the league’s more innocuous forms of failure comes in the form of the way it fixtures its marquee games.
This Friday night, we have the Blues and Saints in a standalone encounter, and whilst I will be covering this, personally, it hardly captures the imagination of the wider footy world, does it. If you’re someone outside the two fan bases, how do you see this clash?
Sure, you have the stories within the story of the game – Ross Lyon and his ability to control the way a contest is played, the dual spearheads of Curnow and McKay, and the powerful Carlton midfield against the surprising St Kilda onball contingent. Mattaes Phillipou returning (hopefully), and the makeshift St Kilda forward line of Cooper Sharman, Jack Higgins, and Mitch Owens will have to contend with Jacob Weitering.
But does it have spice?
Does it have the ability to draw you in and get you invested?
Devout footy fans will watch Friday Night Footy because it is the marquee time slot on a weekly basis, but that doesn’t mean it will be played with a finals-like intensity. Not many games are in Round Nine.
One will, though, but it is relegated to a shared slot on Saturday night.
Again.
Irrespective of ladder position, the Showdown clash between the Crows and Power brings the heat every single year. It captures the imagination of a state, and with all due respect to other crosstown rivalries in the AFL, this one stands head and shoulders above the others.
But the AFL deems it not worthy of the Friday Night fixture.
Why?
Is there a belief that the Victorian public won’t be interested in a clash between two hated rivals, such as Adelaide and Port Adelaide? Like it or not, the league does draw the majority of its viewers from Victoria, so in taking the emotion out of the equation, I understand why they’d like to draw the biggest numbers possible. But, are they beholden to their media partners to provide the best possible matchup in the marquee time slot?
If so, then how the hell did they land on Carlton versus St Kilda?
Let me tell you this – I am a Victorian, born and bred, but I know good footy when I see it, and I know genuine feeling when I see it on the footy field. If you choose not to give Showdowns a look, it is absolutely your loss. In these games you experience it all – a wild, pulsating crowd, contests where players do not hold back, and emotion that you rarely see outside a cutthroat final.
If you’ve ever wondered whether the players on your team truly give a shit, the Showdown is the game you should measure it by.
But surely, this is just worth four points, just like any other game, right?
Wrong.
Dead wrong.
This is not just a regular game. The AFL has decided that it is, and they are so misguided, that they are missing an opportunity to showcase some of the best of what our game is about.
Think about how the AFL markets itself. High-flying, hard hitting, and big, loud crowds. That’s what they hang their hat on, and the Showdown has them all, year in and year out.
So, why would they neglect it, yet again?
The only time the Showdown has had a Friday night fixture, the AFL, in its infinite wisdom, scheduled two games at basically the same time, so as to give the Victorian goldfish an opportunity to watch something else should their interest wane. Yep, better keep an eye on Melbourne versus Essendon… not give these South Australians too much of the spotlight.
Idiocy… pure idiocy.
The term “Vicbias” is thrown around quite a bit in AFL fan circles. Hell, I am guessing it’ll be rolled out in response to this article more than a few times. Whilst I often dismiss it, especially in terms of free kick counts and specific umpiring decisions, there is a feeling that there is something more to this Showdown situation than just compiling a fixture.
It reeks of bias, actually.
It also reeks of short-sightedness
And it reeks of stupidity.
I’m someone who loves good, hard footy. That I live just outside Melbourne doesn’t factor into how much I enjoy any particular game of footy, be the teams 30 kilometres away from me, or 800. That said, as I sit down and watch the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power throw everything they have at each other, one thought will inevitably trickle through my mind.
This should be played on a Friday Night.
Every.
Single.
Year.
And it is an indictment on the league, and those running it, that it isn’t.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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