The NFL in Australia- Growth of a fanbase
by James Dator on Jan 18, 2012 3:30 AM EST
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While I'm Down Under I thought I'd take advantage of this area and take a look at how the NFL is perceived overseas. As it stands I'm not sure how many looks I'll take, but I hope you enjoy.
"So, what's with Tim Tebow, is everyone obsessed with him? I don't know if he can really play"
The question took me aback when my best friend from high school asked me. It has been years since I saw him, yet his uncanny understanding of the Tebow situation shows just how far the reaches of the NFL are stretching globally. However, it goes further than a casual question about a Broncos QB over dinner. Despite being around the other side of the world I've seen posters on the walls of local pubs advertising the playoffs and Superbowl, have seen a spate of Wes Welker jerseys (who seems to resonate with the Aussie crowd), and the average sports fan over here seems to have at least a basic understanding of the sport.
This is wholly impressive given the lengths and strains one must go through to watch games in this country. First it requires cable TV, something which only 35% of Australians subscribe to, then you need to actually catch one or two of the live games that play here, and due to the time difference games play at very strange hours; the Superbowl, for example will show here at 11AM on a Monday morning. Despite all this viewership is strong, fans are knowledgeable and mannaquins in sporting goods stores are sporting Aaron Rodgers jerseys... It's bizarre to say the least. Just three days in I'm astonished to see how far the NFL is reaching, and it makes me believe it's about time the NFL sent some teams down here, at least to play a preseason game or two.
I'll be further exploring the NFL in Australia while down here. If you have any questions you'd like me to ask an Aussie NFL fan let me know in the comments and I'll flag down someone in a Welker jersey.
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with respect hey, the nfl in the uk is growing very quickly
The superbowl is shown on the bbc so everyone can watch it. The viewing figures are up every year despite it being on tv obscenely late. You see at lot more nfl jerseys of all teams around. The switch to regular season games has led to sell outs every time. I would say the nfl is the biggest imported sport in the uk now which is why you see the conversations about a london based franchise cropping up more and more. Its interesting to here that aussie’s are following the trend, it sounds like they are where we were a decade ago (though that’s true for most things eh james? :)).
Save us Pilares
by LimeyPanther on Jan 18, 2012 5:16 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
i wasnt saying that no one keeps up with it
i’m just saying that the people i know dont know much other than the tom bradys or peyton mannings. i havent gotten back there in a while but i remember the NBA having a bigger following than the NFL in england
sure there's still loads of people who dont know anything about any american sports
But I would say football is by far the most popular now.
Save us Pilares
by LimeyPanther on Jan 18, 2012 9:20 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Limey is right
The NFL is almost certainly bigger than the NBA in the UK now, certainly outside London. I am the only big NFL fan a lot of my friends/colleagues know, and increasingly I am being asked to explain the sport or why I support the Panthers etc. I expect Limey or Oldham would say similar. The superbowl is very well watched; while American football is still definitely niche, it’s growing fast.
Incidentally, when I was in Sydney/Melbourne in 2005, I noticed the NFL being pretty visible then; definitely more than in London at the time. Glad to hear it’s retaining a hold.
by rassling on Jan 19, 2012 4:28 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
*certainly outside INNER-CITY London
is what I meant; there, basketball probably is a little bigger, but if you take London or other cities as a whole, it would be the NFL.
by rassling on Jan 19, 2012 4:30 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
When you find the Welker jersey wearing folks...
do me a favor and hand them a lighter and tell them burning it will make any pats jersey look better. :-D then send lots of Aussie women my way.
This is Team Teal. Sharks and Phins.
Cut me open and I bleed Teal...
Just a reminder, fans, comin’ up is our "Die-hard Night" here at the stadium. Free admission to anyone who was actually alive the last time the Dolphins won a Super Bowl. -Mosul_DolFan, Phinsider.com
Marc Emery ... the Big Bad Bogeyman ... who offered natural seeds that could potentially become a non-toxic, non-addictive, highly beneficial 12,000-year-old plant. Where are the victims? Where are the bodies? "Justice Minister" Rob Nicholson and his ilk should be the criminals imprisoned.
by Sharkz_N_Phinz on Jan 18, 2012 4:57 AM EST via Android app reply actions
James...Please get your HS buddy to dial in on Cat Scratch Radio
I want to hear his accent. Is that crass maybe? I’ll ask him questions.
It's only crass if we laugh and make fun of his accent.
Which is probably what I’ll end up doing. :-)
The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you. ~David Foster Wallace
I may not always be right, but even a blind nut finds a squirrel every once in a while.
crass?
Its a national past time over here :)
Save us Pilares
by LimeyPanther on Jan 18, 2012 2:03 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
So for the radio show it would be 2PM on Wednesday? Right? 16 hours ahead?
Shouldn't be a problem James
The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you. ~David Foster Wallace
I may not always be right, but even a blind nut finds a squirrel every once in a while.
Hopefully you brought some Cam Newton jerseys to pass out to stop Tebowism spreading
WE MUST COMBAT IT LIKE MCARTHUR DID THE RED MENACE! DOWN WITH THE THE BLUE & ORANGE. ALL HAIL NEWTON! ALL HAIL NEWTON
Don't give up, don't ever give up ~ Jim Valvano
Had an aussie freind I played online with for a few years
the guy loved his criket and Austrain rules football for sure, but did not care for our padded brand lol.
I am a proud supporter of troll hunting.
oh man i love cricket.
Sadly pakistan is kicking our arse at the moment. Bad times
Save us Pilares
by LimeyPanther on Jan 18, 2012 5:15 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
My wife comes from Wagga Wagga, Australia. I love their accents too. Her stepdad for some reason or other likes the Cleveland Browns, but while he was up here for the wedding in October he saw the Panthers play the Saints and the Falcons. Since then, he follows them as well. He thinks Cam Newton was the right choice for Carolina and thinks he was the player they HAD to take. My wife is pretty awesome too. Along with her sexy Aussie accent she still has in spite of being in NC since 2010, she is very supportive and even watches the games with me. When I learn how to post pics on here, I’m gonna put up a few of the Carolina Corner she made for me. It has my Panthers caps, my Outland replica jersey, my 1995 edition starter jersey, and my Cam Newton jersey, along with a few Cam Newton rookie cards, the sign i made for the falcons game i went to, and both my Cam newton action figures, one in package the other out on display throwing to my Steve Smith action figure.
I think NFL’s influence is becoming a world wide thing but I will also say I did like watching Rugby. Hell, Rivera should travel to Australia to find a replacement for Olindo if Adalic doesn’t work out. They make hard kicks on a frequent basis down there.
by CarolinaPantherJLO on Jan 18, 2012 11:58 AM EST reply actions
If you want to post pictures...
Consult this tutorial.
It has instructions on how to post an image in a comment. The one rule: your images have to be hosted online. You can’t post them from your computer’s pictures folder.
The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you. ~David Foster Wallace
I may not always be right, but even a blind nut finds a squirrel every once in a while.
Wow
Never thought I would see Cowpens represented on here. Back in the day, I didn’t live far from it going to school in Chesnee.
Integrity first. Service before self. Excellence in all you do. -- USAF Core Values
by Disciple of Carolina on Jan 18, 2012 2:06 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
LOL
The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you. ~David Foster Wallace
I may not always be right, but even a blind nut finds a squirrel every once in a while.
Yes seriously. Very strange name and it sounds even funnier when Lis says it. You’d think it’d be “Wag-a Wag-a” like a dog “wags” its tail….but they say it “Wau-gah Wau-gah” which just sounds over the top….makes me laugh everytime one of them says it. That’s not even the strangest town though…. I got a shirt for christmas from my dad in law. I call him pops. This is what the shirt says.
Front : WAGGA WAGGA
AUSTRALIA
Back: WHERE THE
HELL
IS
WAGGA WAGGA?
HALFWAY BETWEEN
MANGOPLAH-COOKARDINIA
AND
GRONG GRONG
MATONG!!
by CarolinaPantherJLO on Jan 18, 2012 3:19 PM EST up reply actions
Wagga Wagga was my favourite
When I worked in a Sydney hospital a few years back we’d get patients from all over the state and it cracked me up when they told me they were from Wagga.
You do pick it up though and when I returned to the UK I found myself saying to a patient “So apart from all that are ya crook?” which got me some odd looks (translated – “is there anything else wrong with you?”)
by rassling on Jan 19, 2012 4:37 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
As an American living in Oz while I get my Masters...
…It does take a while to get used to naming around here…I still remember getting a weird look for getting on a bus and asking if it went to Indooroopilly (I pronounced it Indoor- oo – pilly)…only to find out it’s more like “In-Dro-Pilly”…and then there’s Toowong (Tuh-wong), and many many others. And that’s just here in Brisbane.
On topic, I’ve seen a few jerseys around here (saw a Manning, a Reggie Bush, a Welker and a Favre), and you can get NFL Football (a few games) on freeview TV (channel One HD), but like you said, it’s weird times…Monday mornings, Tuesday morning (sometimes), and for the playoffs, Sunday and Monday mornings…
most adults
who move to a new country after adolescence never lose their original accent, unless they go to a speech therapist. So you can count on that accent being around for a loonnng time.
Hell, I moved to the USA in elementary school and still have my accent (though it’s been blended with a touch of southern).
So how's the Arena Football market in Australia?
Cam Newton, when a reporter asks him who will win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday: "I'll tell you Sunday."
by Son of a Newton on Jan 18, 2012 1:50 PM EST reply actions
It's Football, but Inside. It's a lot more fun than outside football,
and all the celebrities love it.
Cam Newton, when a reporter asks him who will win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday: "I'll tell you Sunday."
by Son of a Newton on Jan 18, 2012 2:31 PM EST up reply actions
sports
When can the creator offer each sign paradox? Sports parades! The made liquid links the flower. An immortal terminology marks a hook next to a scenery.Beside the classic lusts the numeral coach. Will a paste prejudice sports? Should a stack field a futile translator? Sports leans.
by mlomka@umail.net on Feb 9, 2012 9:34 AM EST reply actions
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