Australian rules football in popular Australian culture
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Australian rules football in popular Australian culture has captured the imagination of Australian film, music, television and literature.
In literature, probably the first mention of the sport was in the popular play And The Big Men Fly, written by Alan Hopgood in 1963.[1]. Another play, The Club was written in 1977. A novel named Deadly, Unna?, probably the first specifically about the sport was written in 1999. There have been a wide range of non-fiction books written about the sport, along with biographies and autobiographies written by players. In 2002, former AFL great Gary Lyon released the first of many children's books in the popular Specky Magee series.
Many songs inspired by the game have become anthems of the game, none more so than the 1979 hit Up There Cazaly, by Mike Brady. Brady followed the hit up with One Day in September in 1987. That's the Thing about Football was a song by Greg Champion around 1995 which was used by television stations as part of their game coverages. When Footy Ruled the World appeared in the popular sporting videos. References to the sport can be found extensively in the lyrics of the cult band TISM. Nothing Beats Footy at the MCG was written by Jim Cadman. South Australian hip hop band, the Hilltop Hoods make reference to the sport in their song The Nosebleed Section.
Probably the first reference to the sport in film was The Great Macarthy in 1975. A film of the play The Club was released in 1980. In 1997, a behind the scenes documentary about the struggling Western Bulldogs titled Year of the Dogs was featured in Australian cinemas. A short film Kick to Kick by Tony McNamara was released in 2000. Deadly Unna? inspired the 2002 arthouse film Australian Rules.
Australian rules has a long history with television which dates back to the first broadcasts of the 1960s. Several popular Australian television shows have celebrated the sport, some of the more popular current ones include The Footy Show and Before The Game. The 2002 television show The Club, featuring amateur club the "Hammerheads" was one of the first reality television shows in the world in the sports genre. The game has made the occasional appearance on the Australian soap opera Neighbours, which is popular around the world. The show features several characters having favourite AFL clubs, watching and playing 'footy'.
Australian Rules is also featured in many interactive video games. Famous golfer Greg Norman named his custom built yacht Aussie Rules after the sport.[2]
There are also many cross references in sport. The game was played as an exhibition sport at the 1956 Summer Olympics. In the 2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, in a statement about Melbourne sporting culture, AFL captains and legend Ron Barassi carried the baton toward the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Several charity exhibition events, including the Community Cup and AFL Legends Match also celebrate the sport's role in popular culture.
