Nobody supports their sport like the AFL fans

bdixlivetvAugust 20, 2024

It was no fun watching Izak Rankine get flattened by Dan Houston in a cowardly move at the Showdown on Saturday night.

One of the game’s best first-half attacks was comprehensively executed, and reports of Crows coach Matthew Nicks describing the impact as a “dog’s act” are hardly offensive.

Houston will be sidelined for an extended period of time and may have played his last game for Port Adelaide.

At the time of writing, the case was still pending in court, and after the intense media coverage that rightly denounced this cheapest of cheap tricks, Houston was hopefully punished for his crime with at least five weeks in prison.

(Editor’s note: Houston was later found guilty and received a five-week ban)

While the punch was horrible to watch and Houston would have been sent off for his behavior in a more even contest, the aftermath took things to a whole new level.

Some Port Adelaide fans felt it necessary to escort Rankine off the field amid loud boos.

The farewell was so brutal that the actual blow faded into the background and, for what felt like the hundredth time, a small but not insignificant part of the AFL fans showed a performance that is rarely seen from other teams across the country.

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No one supports their sport like AFL fans, and that is a major contributor to making it the most compelling, financially successful and influential sport in the country.

But the ability of this minority to dishonour the code and the continued reluctance of the governing body to actually take a stand and remove the Neanderthal element is embarrassing to the AFL leadership.

Honestly, for a fan of over 40 years, I find it disgusting.

Fans of the game pay membership fees, browse the gates, buy fan merchandise and come into direct contact with the club, players and coaching staff.

The purpose of the investment is to make them feel like they are part of the club; like a piece of the overall puzzle that, when they win the championship, shows them that they actually contributed to the success.

Izak Rankine is knocked down by a late strike from Dan Houston. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

It’s about ownership, belonging and involvement, so if the fans continue to act like they did in Adelaide after Houston so clearly trounced Rankine, the whole organisation should be punished.

Instead, Houston stayed on the ground, the Crows played a man down and although the club deserved a comprehensive punishment that would force it to deal with the culprits, ban them from the game or take steps to ensure it never happens again, everyone will go free.

Except Houston, of course.

It’s an AFL-wide problem. Fights in the stands, bananas thrown onto the field to taunt Indigenous players, reckless and unjustified booing that stems only from hatred and a fan naivety that smacks of a lack of intelligence are unfortunately still part of the modern AFL dynamic.

The show was shown again on Saturday night and I’m sure I wasn’t the only lifelong fan of the game who was embarrassed by what we saw on television.

We all love the passion in the stands, but time and time again small groups let the game down. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

The concept of playing hard, shaking hands and celebrating the competition seems to resonate with the players. Yet it is the fans of the sport who can’t stand to see athletes smile after the final whistle and who crave deep hatred that fuel these problems like the one we saw at the Showdown.

Why is it that a small percentage of AFL fans are unable to support their teams without resorting to insane conspiracy theories about referees, watch games without hating their opponents, or enjoy a competition without verbally abusing individual players or opposing fan groups?

The Showdown brings out the worst in the game most years, as does the odd Battle of the Bridge or the traditional clashes between Melbourne clubs that have hated each other for over a hundred years.

Some days are beautiful, and ANZAC Days are usually respected and celebrated in good spirits.

But rivalries that degenerate into pettiness and cruelty, like we saw on Saturday night, add nothing to the game other than generating some unpleasant headlines.

As much as we all love a fierce battle, the honor of the game – and yes, such a thing still exists in professional sport – is thoroughly undermined when the morons in the stands behave the way they did, and when very little is done to prevent it in the future.

The AFL needs to do more, celebrate those of us who support the game in the right way and make a serious attempt to educate the percentage who struggle to understand how stupid they are being.

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