June 26, 2006 by Bill Frampton
Here's how my letter appeared in Saturday's National Post as the Letter of the Day. They even put a box around it and included a footy picture they found somewhere.
'Aussie Rules' over soccer & hockey
Re: Why Hockey Rules (And Other Sports Suck), Andrew Coyne, June 21; letters to the editor, June 22 and 23.
Mr. Coyne's column and the letters replying to him all overlook a sport definitely more spectacular than either hockey or soccer: Australian Rules football. By 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, 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.
Where endurance is concerned, no other sport compares. Unlike soccer, Australian Rules Football allows 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 winning team is determined. No wonder Aussie football players are the fittest athletes in the world.
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.
By any standard, Australian Rules football is the world's most spectacular sport.
Bill Frampton
Vice-President
AFL Canada
London, Ontario