What's happening in your world?

[maulkin]

Since I live next door to a pub, I am quite glad that Wales did not qualify for the football World Cup! Looking forward to a nice, quiet summer with only the usual amount of drunken shenanigans.

[Nuytsia]

Wow next door to a pub! That's not a good place to live here in Aus but hopefully your locals have a bit more decorum (World Cup qualifying years excepted).
Then again, living next door to a house can be just as bad, as our last neighbours demonstrated so aptly. I'm so glad I live far from the nearest house here!
I have to admit I haven't heard much of Wales' team in world 'football' news .... (weird calling it football here)...

[maulkin]

I have to admit I haven't heard much of Wales' team in world 'football' news

No, the traditional team sport here is rugby. People play football and watch it but no-one really seems to take it very seriously.

.... (weird calling it football here)...

Why? What do you usually call it?

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Am I the only one in the world who doesn't care at all for the football world cup?

[Nuytsia]

Yes.

Hah, no way - look around a bit and you'll find all sorts of people saying 'what's all the damn fuss?'
Then again, I'd have thought with your national team you might have more reason than most to be interested. Then AGAIN maybe that's why you feel like the only one who doesn't care (in real life, not forum life!)
I'd wager you're not the only one on this forum who doesn't care about it!

I'm definitely out of the norm in Australia by not being into watching sport in general. This is the only sport I ever watch, and it's really only World Cup that I watch.

Maulkin , hey yes I have heard rugby is big in Wales!
And what do we call football - well we call it soccer! Otherwise we'd get it mixed up with Australian rules football, which we call 'football'. (or 'footy' usually)

Happening in my world : Watching World Cup. (lovin' NZ and N Korea, but the less said about Aussies the better) Two nights of frost in a row. No more rain though.

[maulkin]

And what do we call football - well we call it soccer! Otherwise we'd get it mixed up with Australian rules football, which we call 'football'. (or 'footy' usually)

Forgive me for playing to a national stereotype, but I am guessing that "Australian rules" means fewer rules (or perhaps no rules at all). Am I right?

[Mervi]

Am I the only one in the world who doesn't care at all for the football world cup?

Nope. I avoid anything to do with it as best as I can - but that goes for most big sports events anyway.

[Nuytsia]

Forgive me for playing to a national stereotype, but I am guessing that "Australian rules" means fewer rules (or perhaps no rules at all). Am I right?

Whoa you don't know what Australian rules is? (aka AFL) For some bizarre reason I thought the rest of the world knew. Not that I'd advise anyone to take an interest in it...! But it is the biggest sport here (in the states that matter anyway, hi Farseer! hehehehehe nah)

Anyhoo, despite what the wikipedia entry i just looked at seems to imply, it's really nothing like soccer. It's more like rugby - well the ball looks similar anyway. And you use your hands to pass it, nothing like soccer at all.

Well gees I'm the last person in the world who should explain it as I've taken very little interest in it! (NOT because our team is shocking )

As far as national stereotypes, you're probably right on. AFL allows more physical tackling than soccer - so you don't get people feigning major injuries and throwing their hands in the air hoping to get free kicks. (well there ARE free kicks, so maybe you do, but it's not exactly known for it)
Also AFL players are not generally famous for their intellectual prowess.... so maybe the game involves less tactics overall.

[Nuytsia]

Happening in my world:
Thinking of changing nationalities to New Zealand for the duration of the World Cup

As if their first match wasn't good enough, how is a goal at the 7 minute mark against Italy? YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!



Still no proper rain.!!!!

[Farseer]

But it is the biggest sport here (in the states that matter anyway, hi Farseer! hehehehehe nah)

Of all the cheek...I'll get you back when you least expect it, Nuytsia !

Actually, while rugby league is "the greatest game of all", I don't mind Aussie Rules. It was one of the reasons we thought Tassie would be a good place to live...we could see the Hawks/Lions play in a ground that was close to everything!

Australian Rules has definitely increased in intensity over the years, up here in Queensland, particularly with the success of the merger club, the Brisbane Lions (made up of the old Fitzroy Lions and the not-particularly-thrilling old Brisbane Bears clubs).

Funnily enough, up here in Queensland, 'footy' is the name most often given to the game of rugby league; 'union' is rugby union, though some people further south tend to also call it 'rugby', along with the rest of the world eg Wales; 'soccer', as Nuytisa has already mentioned, is what we call the game with the round ball, that the rest of the world calls football and Australian Rules is 'Australian Rules', 'Aussie Rules' or just 'AFL' (for Australian Football League).

As for the rules themselves, I think they are a hodge-podge of a lot of sports, even cricket, and the game itself makes me think of basketball more than any other sport. The contesting of the ball is a lot scrappier than what happens in rugby league and probably more like union in that regard. Lots of people I know call it 'aerial ping-pong' , though this tends to mostly be used as a derogatory term by non-fans.

I would agree with Nuytsia in that there is a lot more room for legal physical 'harassing' in AFL than any other sport outside of ice hockey eg an elbow in the eye in Aussie Rules is able to be overlooked (depending on the circumstance though!) but a similar incident would immediately draw a penalty in league, union or basketball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football has the details/rules of the game, and some info on the origins of the game as well, for anyone interested.

As far as I know, the name 'Australian Rules' came about simply to identify it as an 'Australian-originated' game (its our game, our rules), and also to identify it as being a different code of football from league and union. League split from union, and changed rules from there, however Australian Rules was 'its own game'. For myself, I find it a lot harder to follow AFL than league but then it is a game I have had to 'learn', not 'grown up with', so that could be the telling factor!