What would it take for you to walk away from footy?
Sounds like a crap love song, doesn’t it? It’s a genuine question – what would have to happen to make you walk away from footy?
For the record, I have no intention of doing so, but at some point, I would not be surprised if I changed my mind. I’ve had friends over the journey (believe it or not) who have been so into footy, and so consumed by just about every facet of the game, and now they barely look at it.
“It’s not footy, anymore,” says one. “It’s AFL.”
He has a point.
Others were supporters of Fitzroy before the merger with Brisbane. Their love of the game died with their team in 1996.
Others, still, have railed against the ‘professionalism’ of the sport now, taking away from the grassroots feel. The loss of suburban grounds, the loss of identity and connection to a club, and the more-business-than-sport model have been things that people have raised in regard to why they walked away.
I don’t dismiss any of their concerns. We have competing demands in our lives – family, work, other hobbies, putting food on the table and paying the damn bills… they take precedence over watching blokes kicking the footy around. And it is understandable that people have other things in life that command their attention.
And then we have the “soft launch” of the 2025 season to factor in, which has upset plenty of supporters, particulrly those from non-competing clubs, who sat on the outer after months of build up, waiting an extra week for their team to play a meaningful game.
But what is it that could possibly drive you away?
What could make you pull up stumps and say “enough of this”?
This’ll be the last sad-sack column for a while. There is a full round of footy starting tomorrow night, and following this, I’m concentrating on the more positives aspects of the game. But for now… what would make you walk away?
For me, it’d take something pretty drastic – the game would have to change beyond recognition for me to turn my back, but that’s not to say it cannot happen.
Any wrestling fans here?
Back in the day, heading into what I think was Wrestlemania 12, Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart gave an interview where he stated “when the memory becomes greater than the dream, it’s time to walk away.”
It’s not the worst way to look at it. I have amazing memories when it comes to footy. Having been a child of the eighties, I got to see footy at its suburban peak, then the shift from the VFL into the AFL with the relocation of South Melbourne to Sydney (a massive success, no matter which way you view it), the introduction of the West Coast Eagles, and the then-Brisbane Bears. I watched as footy got quicker, slicker, and coaches started to become ever more strategic. Dour defensive slogs became the norm. The AFL tried to combat it, failed, and tried again. It’s been a joy, and yet, I still think there is more greatness to come.
There could be, right? To me, the dream is still greater than the memory, so I remain engaged.
However, that could change.
In the 2010s, I stopped watching footy for a good couple of years. After months and months of the Essendon Supplements Saga, the saturation coverage was killing me. I hated every second of it and got to the point I simply didn’t want to hear about it, anymore. I stopped watching TV shows about footy, stopped reading the newspapers or websites covering footy, and just gave up. As much as I loved the game, I walked away.
Hell, my team was in the midst of winning flags, and I just didn’t care. That shit ruined what should have been a wonderful time in my footballing life.
That entire “saga” and the constant haranguing of the parties by a soulless, heartless media was the point I wanted out.
And so I did get out.
I sat and watched the NBA, as after 30 years of pain, the Golden State Warriors started winning. I’d been a fan since my old teacher, Al Westover, introduced me to the Warriors at school in the late eighties. I loved seeing Curry, Thompson, and for a brief while, Durant, shoot the lights out, but I missed footy. Basketball was fun – like a mistress… errr, I’m guessing (nice save, HB), but I wanted to be home with my love.
So, after an extended break, I dipped a toe back into the AFL waters. Then a foot, before finally jumping back in, and it was around this point I started to screw my face up at the way the press was covering the game. Whilst I didn’t think I could do better, I did think I could do something different. Thus, at the end of the 2017 season, The Mongrel Punt was born.
Yep, this is the eighth season I have been covering footy on this page. It’s been great, but there is a spectre hanging over the league right now that is starting to impact my enjoyment, and whilst I hope it is a speed bump I, and others, will roll right over, there is the chance it is a roadblock. And if not this one, then perhaps something else.
So, given that, here are a few of the things that would make me walk away.
THE WAR ON CONTACT
This one is front of mind, at the moment, mainly because of the number of players being suspended for what I think are legitimate football acts, or accidents.
It’s very frustrating for long-term supporters, as we have seen tackling become more prevalent in the game over the last 30 years, however, recent decisions and directions indicate the AFL are heading toward a game with less contact and less potential for injuries.
I take you back to the statements above – changing the game beyond recognition, and the dream-memory scenario. This is the type of thing that feed directly into those categories.
Many who suggest that the AFL will one day look to outlaw knees up in marking contests, or running with the flight of the ball are scoffed at, and yet, a memo was sent to clubs during the week informng them that players can now be suspended for pushing in marking contests (but they removed the hands in the back rule which stopped players from pushing like that… brilliant, huh?). I am sure anyone who suggested that good, hard tackles would warrant three or four weeks on the sidelines 20 years ago would have received a similar response. This is not an attack on tackling. It is an attack on anything that could result in a head injury, and make no mistake – it will only take one big injury for people to start calling for other aspects of the game to be banned, too.
I’ll put it out there now – running with the flight will be an aspect of the game that comes under heavy criticism within the next five seasons.
These things sneak up on you. Don’t be surprised.
ANOTHER ‘SAGA’
Oh geez… we almost had it, with the ‘Hawthorn Racism’ stuff, huh?
What a clusterfuck that was.
I am glad Chris Fagan brought this all to a head with his letter to the AFL after their investigation trundled along for far too long. Unfortunately, by that stage, Alastair Clarkson had already stepped away from the game, and the damage had been done.
Accusations are one thing. Proving them is another.
But these off-field things, whilst tremendous clickbait for journalists, are periphery to the game, for me. They are not the story – they are a side note, and when the side note become the overriding story, I start to switch off.
Same with the way the story immediately leaps from what is going on in the game you’re currently watching, to whether or not a player is going to be suspended for a tackle or something. Guys… there is a game happening right in front of you – you don’t need to spend 80% of the halftime break assessing whether a player is guilty of tackling an opponent too hard. Don’t forget about the golden goose you have – the game, itself. Stop strangling it!
TOO MUCH ACTIVISM
This one is not for me, but I am including it, as I hear and read comments about it quite often. I usually skip any pregame stuff every week, as I switch on the TV to watch footy, and that’s about it. Time is precious.
As an organisation, the AFL does its best to pay respect to plenty of causes, with an elongated Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Dreamtime at the ‘G, Pride Games, and the Anzac Day game the ones that leap immediately leap to mind. This year, they’readding nine “multicultural” games to the calendar.
For many, however, footy is escapism – an isle of sanity in a sea of madness. Plenty like to keep it that way.
On a personal level, my life is full of dealing with a raft of other issues, including racism, drugs, alcohol addiction, gambling issues, mental health, and prejudice. It’s my line of work. When those issues become the over-arcing story for the game I use to escape it, it is a turn-off for me.
That said, I understand everyone is different, and I understand the purpose behind the coverage of those matters and the stories behind them. I just choose to consume my information about these things from sources outside of a footy broadcast. They’re not exactly experts…
PAYING TO WATCH
Done much digging into the new TV rights deal?
You may wish to do so very quickly, because if you haven’t got Foxtel or Kayo… you might not be watching as much footy as you’d like.
Did you know that the Saturday games through the first third of the 2025 season will only be live on Foxtel/Kayo?
Oh, you didn’t?
Time to get a little upset, then.
How does that impact you?
I have Foxtel, mainly because I am an idiot, but if I were to have a hard time, financially, it would be gone. Either I would not be watching footy on a Saturday for a couple of months, thereby diminishing my investment in the game, or I would find something else to do.
It seems the AFL are gambling on this not impacting their supporter base, but it might. There is a cost-of-living crisis people are dealing with.
NOBODY SEEMS TO LISTEN
And the most recent one.
The majority of footy fans did not enjoy the opening round concept, as it meant that after months of build up, ten teams were seated, watching the games unfold in New South Wales and Queensland. Unfortunately, those eight teams playing games were whittled down to four, when a cyclone impact the Brisbane and Gold Coast venues.
If anything, this should have been a clear indication that the AFL needed to do better than this, perhaps having at least one game scheduled for South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia, overthe opening weekend to provide enoigh of a fill for the rabid footy fan.
Instead, we got two games with a day in-between, and a public holiday in Victoria the league failed to capitalise on.
Now, you can argue that the growth of the game in the Northern states is vital, and only an idiot would oppose that, but by foregoing the heartland states of the game, the AFL basically REDUCED interest in the opening round of its bread-and-butter – the game! There is no chance you can spin that as a successful venture. I don’t care how good an orator you think you are – it is a screw up.
Anyway, what’s done is done, and you learn, right?
Apparently not, with Laura Kane coming out yesterday, and stating they’re sticking with the concept for the forseeable future.
Ugh…. no words.
This, after the administration decided to keep the sub rule that nobody – not players, coaches, or supporters – likes, indicates that those running the competition do not give a rat’s ass about what people actually want, and when you’re not heard… well, disengagement is the next step.
I am sure you all have your own reasons that would see you walk away. The AFL are incredibly lucky that we are born and bred on this game, as the love for it is instilled in us from a very young age, but like a dog that has been kicked a few times to many, eventually, you stop coming when you’re called.
North fans, the talk of you relocating to Tassie must have shit you to tears over the last ten years. Crows fans, the bloody camp and all the crap that came from it… *sigh*. And Gold Coast supporters, all the “shut them down” cries from opposition fans when the team was going poorly must have been infuriating. Were they close enough to make you walk away?
If they weren’t, what would make you consider it?
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. It is a labour of love for me, and having you guys as members of the site basically keeps me going. So sincerely… thank you – HB
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