When they say football, they mean football

When meeting people from Europe, South America, or basically anywhere else in the world besides the States, talking about football normally means talking about what we call soccer. Sure many people are aware of this vocabulary conundrum, but when traveling to Australia, another rift in the definition of football comes about. While some Australians are soccer fans, as well as American football fans (which they refer to as gridiron), football for them means Australian Rules Football, (aka AFL or footy). This, arguably, is the most celebrated sport on the east coast of Australia.

First things first: Australian Rules Football is not rugby. While both sports are hard-hitting, pad-less extravaganzas, they actually are quite different games. The Aussies are a good bunch at rugby, but AFL is something completely different. Having found its start in 1859 in Melbourne, footy is a game that combines the likes of American football, rugby, soccer, basketball and field hockey. It is fast-paced, played on an oval-like field and is mostly comprised of teams from Victoria. The main stage for AFL is found at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, known as the MCG.

A typical game of Aussie Rules is actually based on a soccer or field hockey like strategy. Each team has 18 players on the field and for reserve players on the bench. Though there are no specific positions mandated by the rules (like in gridiron) most teams will have six defense men, six midfielders and six forwards. Like any sport, the point of AFL is to score more points than the other team. While gridiron works on downs, AFL is more similar to rugby or soccer because the game is in constant movement. The match starts with a jump ball, and from there it is full-on mayhem.

To move the ball up field, players can either run it themselves, hand punt (exactly how it sounds) the ball to teammates, or actually punt it to another teammate down field. If you choose to run, players have to dribble or touch the ball to the ground every 15 meters. When punting or kicking, the ball can go in any direction, and if a player catches a kick from another teammate that has traveled more than 15 meters, it is called a mark. A mark gives the player an option to keep running, or to actually stop the play and take a free kick. This is used commonly when players are in scoring positions. Players are allowed to tackle, hit and be physical with one another, but there are strict rules around hitting players in the air who are trying to catch kicks. A tackle results in the loss of ball control.

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Scoring in Aussie rules is based on the four goal posts at either end of the field. The four posts are lined up next to one another, with the two middle posts being taller than the two outside posts. If a player punts the ball through the middle posts, he is awarded a goal worth six points. If the ball hits a goal posts, goes through either of the outside posts, or is hand punted in, it is called a "behind" and worth one point.  The game is divided into four quarters of 20 minutes, but time is stopped for various reasons throughout the game. Only the officials known how much time is left, so they are the ones who let players and fans known when quarters and games are up, adding another aspect to the match.

The AFL is made up of 18 teams located throughout Australia. The teams are mostly located in different suburbs around the Victorian capital of Melbourne, but also include the Sydney Swans, Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns, West Coast Eagles and the Western Bulldogs. Tasmania has had an ongoing bid to have their own team, but have yet to be accepted into the AFL. The regular season goes from March until August, with playoffs and finals heading into October. The championship of AFL is known as the premiership, and the Grand Final is a single game championship held at the MCG. Last season, the Sydney Swans were the victors.

If you are rugby or gridiron fan, AFL may be right up your alley. With its fast pace and hard-hitting games, AFL is a great watch for any sports fan looking to branch out to something new.

AFL players photo courtesy of RMIT

Melbourne Cricket Ground photo courtesy of Cricruns