Letter to the Editor in Canada's 'National Post'

Andrew Coyne's column on sports (Why hockey rules, June 21st) and the letters replying to him all overlook a sport definitely more spectacular than either hockey or soccer -- Australian Rules football.

Using Mr. Coyne's own methodology Aussie Rules wins hands down.  The sport has all the best features of other games combined in one -- it's fast paced, action packed, non-stop and high scoring.  A game lasts 80 minutes compared to 60 in hockey and the action never stops unless the ball goes dead or points are scored.  Teams dress only a handful of subs, so while the average hockey player spends 2/3 of the game on the bench, the average Aussie Rules player spends 4/5 of the game out on the field.  From the first bounce to the final siren the game delivers superb value to its' many fans.

Where endurance is concerned, no other sport compares to Australian Rules.  Unlike soccer it's a rugged contact sport with tackling, and players can also bump opponents within 5 metres of the ball.  The regular season down under is 5 months long, with another month of playoffs before the premier team is determined.  With a season like that players have to be fit, and Aussie football players are the fittest athletes in the world.

Infractions are costly in this game too.  Unlike soccer, a free kick invariably puts the offending team under pressure and one up in the forward line almost always results in points on the board.  A defender interfering or protesting too much after a call is punished with a 50 metre penalty, meaning the kick is moved 50 metres downfield.

On a per capita basis it's one of the biggest sports in the world, maybe the biggest of all.  In a country with 2/3 of Canada's population there are over 1,500 senior clubs at all levels from amateur to the fully professional Australian Football League.  It's hugely popular too: the AFL has the third biggest crowds of any sports league in the world, only the NFL and the Bundesliga draw bigger crowds.  Millions more watch on TV, enough for the AFL to have landed a new five-year broadcast deal worth $780 million.

By any standard Australian Rules football is the world's most spectacular sport.

Bill Frampton
Vice-President
AFL Canada
http://www.aflcanda.com/

- Bill Frampton
(696)