The footy fun police are coming – AFL Unpopular Opinions

The footy fun police are coming – AFL Unpopular Opinions

Dylan Leach

I’m worried.

Too many footballers appear to have a life outside of the game, digital teams from the various clubs producing funny, entertaining, and engaging content and even more daunting – players giving opinions on what they think – during games.

Now, I’m not against this at all.

I love everything about it.

I’d like to see more of it.

But I know what’s coming.

Right now as players show personality and tell us what they think and as clubs produce funny stuff on social media – a club media manager, senior football writer, or pundit at one of the daily rags and – or – coach is getting ready to put a stop to this once and for all.

On Saturday night, I loved everything about Swan Tom Papley’s half-time interview with Cameron Ling on the boundary line “They’re trying to get after us, it’s all off the ball. We’re just worried about the ball, we’ll keep being hard in the contest and get the job done.”

And then after the game Papley doubled down, “They really gave it to us, Essendon. (Coach) Brad Scott came out and said they wanted to have that Essendon edge … Obviously, Peter Wright took it a bit too far but that is footy and you move on from it,”

Music to the ears of everyone watching.

On Sunday after the Bulldog’s convincing 48-point win over the Suns, the Bulldogs took inspiration from the GWS school of social media – posting a funny video of the now Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick’s infamous “I hate coming here” press conference about Marvel when at the Tigers but at Ballarat. Good fun.

(Doesn’t quite make up for giving my mate Danny the boot from the Banners, but it’s a start.)

The Giants are producing great footy week in, and week out this year and so is their social team.

And to top it off, over the weekend we saw Collingwood players going to a Grand Prix event with their partners the night before a game (not drinking) – ironic, given Jack Ginnivan sitting by himself in a vacant corporate box to watch one race at Moonee Valley on Grand Final eve was frowned upon – but to think it impacts performance is extreme.

What about injured Dog Bailey Smith at Albert Park on Sunday rather than watching his team beat the Suns up in Ballarat? – Good for him.

But we all know it’s coming.

This fun cannot last.

The Fun Police is rife in the modern game.

Right now, as we record this podcast, a media manager, footy commentator and or coach is planning to ruin this golden age of engagement and players being themselves.

I wouldn’t rule out someone at the Swans speaking to Tom Papley for daring to say something interesting, a GWS middle manager coach blaming social media for being a distraction once they lose a game and certain footy shows putting the blowtorch on a player for having a life outside of the game.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

 

Dylan Leach is Neds resident AFL nuffie and host of Neds AFL Unpopular Opinions. He’s also had a few visits from the Footy Fun Police in his time.