Being from Melbourne – the self proclaimed sports capital of the world – I may be a little biased in saying that I think Aussie Rules Football is the best game in the world. It has a combination of toughness, speed, excitement, skill and athletic prowess that cannot be matched.
Although it is relatively unknown beyond my sunny shores, it is the most popular sport in Australia by some distance. Melbourne alone supports 10 of the 17 teams in the national competition, with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 supporters packing out stadiums across the city.
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the game is the ‘Speccy’, which is short for spectacular mark. Here’s a taste of the some of the best of all time.
I spent a month in Melbourne and was lucky enough to go to a Hawthorne game at the MLG. The game is really interesting and fun to watch but it’s sort of funny (in a sad way) that all the highlights are of the same thing – guys jumping/climbing on each other to catch (mark) the ball. I totally respect the athleticism but you have to admit it doesn’t have the same pizazz as a 360 layup by Kobe, a hole in one in golf, an insane sprint by Cavendish, etc.
I respect all of those sports you mentioned – I’m a big Lakers fan and a golf addict – but I’m still not convinced they out-do Aussie Rules. The results of too many big NBA games are reliant on inconsistent refereeing, and with Basketball (and many other sports) there are too many players who are one-dimensional and/or struggle with the fundamentals. You have to be a multi-faceted athlete to excel in Aussie Rules.
With the clip, i wanted to show one part of the game that is clearly unique to Aussie Rules.
MOOOOODRRAAAAA!
Wow, that looks … impressive. I can’t wait to start playing Rugby when I move to Sweden. I played American Football when I was a kid, but Rugby is … well … a bit more grown up sports!