Manly Sports:  Australian Rules

[May 24, 2021]  Famous American football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said that it’s “not the will to win that matters, everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”  This quote is why I love manly sports; it takes enormous preparation to win.  Australian Rules football is one of those sports I enjoy watching.  This game is, indeed, one of only a few manly sports.

Australian rules football, or just “Aussie rules” or “footy,” is a high contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field.  That’s enough to get the heads spinning for American sports fans.  Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the middle goalposts or between a goal and behind post.

You are missing something in life if you’ve never seen one of these games.  During play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball.  And there is no protective equipment (except a mouthpiece and cup, but just for wussies).  There are rules despite the sport not appearing to have any.  Don’t the few rules get in your way of enjoying the game.1

However, there are rules on how the ball can be handled.  For example, players can kick, handball, or run with the ball.  And they must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground.  Throwing the ball is not allowed, and players must not get caught holding the ball.  The game features frequent physical contests (yes, go figure), spectacular marking, fast movement of both the players and the ball, and high scoring.

Interestingly, the official game clock is available only to the timekeepers and is not displayed to the players, umpires, or spectators.  The only public knowledge of game time is when the timekeeper sounds a siren at the start and end of each quarter.2  Don’t you just love these Aussies.

The sport originated in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1858, inspired by English public school football games.  As expected, Australian football has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia.

I was introduced to Aussie Rules football while stationed in Iraq.  Our Engineer Staff section had an Australian Army Engineer Colonel and an avid footballer.  At least once a month we would play football, with Australian rules.  We also would play rugby with their rules as well.  You know that you are an international competitor when you know the differences in English, American, and Australian rules.

Leaders can learn much from manly sports and Aussie Rules is just one of many.

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  1. https://www.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/28937109/an-aussie-rules-football-guide-dummies
  2. https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/countries/australia.htm
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

19 thoughts on “Manly Sports:  Australian Rules

  1. Jeff Blackwater

    I watch ‘manly’ sports only. If it is not a rough and tumble sport, I’m not watching. So that means no tennis or racquetball types of sports.

    Reply
  2. Jonathan B.

    Gen. Satterfield, it is much appreciated that you are writing about sports. There is a connection, I’m not sure how but I can see it, between sports (and winning) and the classical hero. These stories are fascinating. I have no idea why these meta stories are not taught for their obvious value. SHows the failure of our education system, once again.

    Reply
  3. Emma Archambeau

    Good leaders can learn from manly sports. Yep, I agree. While players of Aussie Rules Football have to have incredible stamina to run back and forth, there is no specific “type” of AFL player. They can range in height anywhere from 5’8″ to 7’0″. The most important thing is their endurance and strength. Players also need excellent hand and foot coordination. So I’ve read.

    Reply
    1. Janna Faulkner

      Don’t you just love those big, strong players!

      Reply
  4. H. M. Longstreet

    Cool, I just gotta watch one of these games.

    Reply
  5. Drew Dill

    Founded as the Victorian Football League, the name was changed to “Australian Football League” in 1990. Teams are spread out across five of Australia’s six states. The sport is uniquely Australian, and combines American football, rugby, and soccer into a weird and beautiful game.

    Reply
  6. Eduardo Sanchez

    The US has lots of great sports. I like them ALL. Some are better than others. I will look up these Aussies and see if I can find one on the Internet. Thanks, Gen. Satterfield for highlighting Aussie Rules for us.

    Reply
  7. Bill Sanders, Jr.

    Let’s all be up front here. There is nothing better than attending a football game – much superior to basketball which is more and more like play tea with your 5 year old daughter. I hate basketball. Wussie sport deluxe. Now, football, that is a real man’s game.

    Reply
  8. E.T.

    America is about family, God, and SPORTS. Way to go USA.

    Reply
  9. Joe the Aussie

    There are some quirky American connections to this Australian game, the most obvious in the form of Collingwood forward Mason Cox. Cox was a walk-on basketball player at Oklahoma State University, and he attended an AFL talent combine in Los Angeles in 2014. Cheers!!!

    Reply
      1. Greg Heyman

        Yeah, welcome back Joe the Aussie. I guess that this is one game that you would really like.

        Reply
        1. Joe the Aussie

          Thanks gentlemen … These games that you can watch — particularly in the opening rounds, when hope is high — would usually be played in front of packed stadiums. Matches in Adelaide and Perth regularly sell out their 50,000- and 60,000-seat stadiums, and the mecca of football, the Melbourne Cricket Ground holds the Super Bowl of the AFL each year, the Grand Final, which draws 100,000.

          Reply
  10. Fred Weber

    Must be fun to watch these games. Some of the most popular in the World. 👍

    Reply
  11. Colleen Ramirez

    Let’s get real. Sports are for those who like competition. America is about competition. Capitalism and a republican form of government is about competition. Communism is not about competition because they want the weak to be suckers and it works! Woke Marxism will fail and tragically and spectacularly so.

    Reply
  12. docwatson44

    Football, Rugby, Aussie Rules, are all just fabulous examples of strength, courage, and resilience. But girls soccer, come on man!, no way. Maybe Joe Biden could be the one to join a girls’ soccer team and declare them more able than the emasculated US Army that he is helped create.

    Reply
  13. Randy Goodman

    I just love manly sports. Does anyone ever take note that only the most “manly” sports are the most popular … and by far? If not, you are not paying attention to life.

    Reply

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