Can't find the American sports thread

Aussie not American sport, but in any case, I went to my first AFL match last week. Interesting enough, especially now the season's climaxing, but something doesn't quite seem satisfying about this sport. I dunno if it's cuz the regulation pitches are massive so I'd frequently have to look at the big screen instead, or because you can't immediately tackle the "mark", or even something silly to do with not having a crossbar. Anyhoo it seems I've been indoctrinated as a Western Bulldogs fan now and can get sneaked into the members area if I wish.

In other news, it was worth staying up the other night to watch Bullwell's own Emily Campbell break the Commonwealth record in that there weightlifting. Went to see her win gold last time in Birmingham 2022 and she battered the opposition again this time.

Haven't watched a moment of the Commonwealth games. Will there be another one?

I did see the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba last year.

I think it’s because athleticism is exponentially more important for success than any kind of ball skills or game shape.. resulting in a sport where having a ball and teams is very much ancillary to all the running into people and jumping up quite high.

Don’t mind Gaelic (much better than AFL) but my people are Hurling people and I believe the addition of murder sticks makes it by far the superior sport.

Yeah, I think that's definitely part of it. Unlike rugby that's designed to accommodate a few different shapes and sizes, here it appears you just need lean lanky bastards (and aerodynamic mullets for full effect, seemingly). One case in particular I clocked this weekend was a bloke called Mason Cox. No wonder Freemantle are top of the league. Also, I forgot to mention that I was expecting more fighting on the pitch.

The only lasting memory* I have of AFL (when it used to be on C4).
“Eh, he’s done well.”

*I saw it when I lived there as a kid in 1979 but I don’t remember much other than it seeming pretty mental