Why don’t the goal umpires wear suits and hats anymore? Read more

Yep, every time a guy leapt onto another’s shoulders I would patiently wait for some sort of penalty (or fight), but no — they were allowed to keep going! And the shooty fingers by the refs always had me howling. Good times. Read more

When I was a kid (we’re talking 1970s here), we had a game called Smear the Queer (obviously, you wouldn’t be able to all it that today). The object was to tackle the hell out of anybody who had the ball, and, if you didn’t want to get tackled, you got rid of the ball. Aussie Rules is really nothing more than… Read more

More evidence, alas, that Australians always seem to be having more fun than Americans. Read more

My son and I caught a footy match on TV last weekend when we were bored and had nothing better to do. We ended up watching the whole game, even though we had never watched a minute of the sport before and had no idea what was going on. It was utterly absorbing. We laughed all the way through the game at the non-stop… Read more

True, sadly. Bright green polos with bright green hats. Sometimes orange. Read more

Agreed. Though the sincerity of the Aboriginal Round that they do every year is very good. Read more

This is pure awesomeness. Where’s the best place to go for a breakdown of the teams and players so I know who to root for, and who to hate? Read more

They all wore fedoras because they wore them in cricket. Read more

There are a lot of Aussie Rules teams competing across the States. Check out USAFL.COM to find a team near you. Read more

I feel like there needs to be some mention of the importance of the Aboriginal people in AFL. It’s a huge part of AFL culture and Aboriginal culture too and has been for the last 100 years. It’s like the Maori/Pacific islanders and rugby, they just have a disproportionate influence over the game given their tiny… Read more

There’s an amateur league in the US too, which has a yearly national tournament. Read more

I started watching Aussie rules football last year when it was on. I really wish it were on tv more along with hurling. Those two sports are more entertaining than NFL for me now. Both are pretty easy to get the basics for, too. Read more

Counterpoint: Gaelic Football
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In its early days, ESPN used to show Australian rules football at like two in the morning. Great to watch after a night of drinking when nothing else was on. We hadn’t a clue what was happening on the field, but the best part was the referees, who wore these awesome suits and hats and had the best gestures to signal a… Read more

I discovered the AFL about a year ago, and immediately fell in love. Now I have an AFL pass so I can watch every game from the States. It’s super easy to learn and follow, and best of all, when people get injured they don’t stop the game, they simply play around them. Who needs pads to be tough? Cannot recommend this… Read more

how are there not 18 concussions per game? Knees and heads flying all over the place? Read more

At the Las Vegas Rugby 7's tournament Mrs. ThrowMeToTheWolves and I had some drunk Australians (as if they come in any other flavor) explain footy to us. I didn’t learn a damn thing but it was the worth the 30 hilarious minutes. Read more

Australian Rules Football is one of those sports I understand less whenever I read an article like this Read more

Honestly surprised this hasn’t caught on as FOOTBAW culture in the South. Seems perfect to start drinking at 5am. Read more