Anti-Football League

Anti-Football League

Infobox Non-profit
Non-profit_name =Anti-Football League
Non-profit_logo =
Non-profit_type =
founded_date =April 16, 1967
founder = Keith Dunstan
location = Melbourne
origins =
key_people =
area_served =
product =
focus =
method =
revenue =
endowment =
num_volunteers = "a small number"
num_employees = none
num_members = thousands (membership entails purchasing and wearing a lapel badge)
subsid =
owner =
Non-profit_slogan =
homepage =http://www.antifootballleague.org| dissolved =
footnotes =

The Anti-Football League is an Australian organisation that pokes fun at the obsession with Australian Rules Football. It was founded by Melbourne journalist Keith Dunstan in 1967. The chief qualification for membership is not an active dislike but a disinterest in football, a desire to spend one’s time and conversation on other things.

Origins

The "AFL" [The "other" AFL (viz., the Australian Football League) was not created until 1990 (42 years later), when the then Victorian Football League decided to changed its name to the Australian Football League.] was created in response to a remark made by journalist, Douglas Wilkie in the offices of The Sun News-Pictorial, on Sunday 16th April 1967.

On that day, the building was filled with sports writers and ex-footballers – along with their ghost writers – preparing the Monday edition of the football round-up for the weekend. Amongst the relentless discussions pertaining to football, Wilkie, the Sun’s foreign correspondent made a remark to Dunstan that he had had enough. “There must be a better life than this. Couldn’t we start an anti football organisation?” [Keith Dunstan, "No Brains At All: An Autobiography", 1990, page 193] Dunstan’s reply was found the next day in his column, “A Place in the Sun”. In two days Dunstan had received 104 letters from members of the public eager to join.

Dunstan suggested that a badge should be devised, so that League members could recognise each other and intelligent non-football discussion could take place. The badge was to be in the shape of a red cube, symbolic of an object that would not bounce. The firm of K.G. Luke and Company volunteered to make the badges, [The significance of this fact is that the chairman of "K.G. Luke Group Industries Ltd" was Sir Kenneth George Luke (1896 - 1971), who was not only a former President of the Carlton Football Club, but actually was, in 1967, the President of the Victorian Football League (now known as the Australian Football League). [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150165b.htm] ] and by July 1967, 5,600 of them had been sold. ["The Sun News-Pictorial", 13th July, 1967, page 9] Proceeds of the sales were donated to the Berry Street Babies Home (now [http://www.berrystreet.org.au/ Berry Street Victoria] ), and afterwards the [http://www.msaustralia.org.au/ MS Society] . Through sales of the badges, and later bumper stickers, earrings, sweaters and cufflinks. One of their mottos was "Kick the Footy Habit" The AFL had raised over $200,000 by the 1980s.

Wilkie Award

The Douglas Wilkie Medal is the League's answer to the Australian Rules' Brownlow Medal. Similar to the Brownlow, it is named after a person not many people know much about. Each year the Wilkie Medal honours the person who has done the least for football in the best and fairest manner. Past winners have included former Prime Minister Harold Holt, satirist Barry Humphries (once as himself and once in his Les Patterson comic persona), and Olympic champion Raelene Boyle. The award is presented on Anti-Football day, and the recipient is expected to destroy a football in a unique and creative manner to show their allegiance to the cause. Barry Humphries would later go on to perform in his stage persona Dame Edna Everage during a AFL Grand Final pre match, drawing criticism from the organisation for hypocrisy.

Re-formation

The organisation's website was launched in 2006, giving new impetus to the organisation. [AFL website, " [http://antifootballleague.org/afl-conception AFL Conception] ", Accessed September 22, 2008] In an article in the Australian newspaper, "the Herald-Sun", published on May 12, 2007. Dunstan is quoted as declaring "the AFL is back" after a hiatus of 10 years. He cited recent "behaviour" of the players as a reason to start the League again. Along with the league re-forming, the Douglas Wilkie Medal was awarded for the first time since 1994.

In 2008 the organisation announced the Newman Award to be "presented to a footballer who displays the worst off-field performance, in the preceding 12 months." Sam Newman is among those nominated for the inaugural award. [AFL website " [http://antifootballleague.org/2008-newman-award 2008 Newman Award] ", Accessed September 22, 2008] . The organisation also holds an Anti Grand Final Day Lunch to celebrate the end of the football season and the return to more civilised pursuits. No mention of football is allowed with the penalty being eviction from the lunch. [ Carolyn Webb, " [http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/pigskin-fatigue-read-on/2008/09/21/1221935451946.html Pigskin fatigue? Read on] ", The Age Page 2, September 22, 2008, Accessed September 22, 2008]

Official Website

[http://www.antifootballleague.org The Anti-Football League]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anti-football — is a term used to describe a particularly defensive or robust style of play of association football.History and usageThe phrase has been in use in English since at least 2001, where Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti used the phrase to… …   Wikipedia

  • American Football League — This article is about the 1960–69 league which preceded the current AFC. For other uses of American Football League, see American Football League (disambiguation). For other uses of AFL, see AFL (disambiguation). American Football League Sport… …   Wikipedia

  • World Football League — Infobox sports league pixels = 125px caption = WFL Official Logo sport = American football founded = 1973 inaugural = 1974 folded = 1975 country = USA champion = Birmingham Americans teams = 13The World Football League was an American football… …   Wikipedia

  • British Football League — A British Football League is a proposed association football league in the United Kingdom that would involve the merger of clubs from the present Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish football league systems into the larger English football league… …   Wikipedia

  • National Football League — Temporada 2011 de la NFL Deporte Fútbol americano Fundación 17 de septiembre de 1920 en Canton, Ohio Director ejecut …   Wikipedia Español

  • United States Football League — Deporte Fútbol americano Fundación 1982 Número de equipos 23 en total País …   Wikipedia Español

  • United States Football League — For the proposed New USFL, see United States Football League (2010). Infobox sports league pixels = 150px sport = American football founded = 1982 teams = 23 (all) folded = 1987 country = USA champion = Baltimore Stars The United States Football… …   Wikipedia

  • History of National Football League Championship — Throughout its history, the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion, including a period of interleague match ups determining a true world champion. The NFL first determined …   Wikipedia

  • National Football League Players Association — NFLPA Full name National Football League Players Association Founded 1956 Country United States Affiliation …   Wikipedia

  • National Football League Draft — The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League (NFL) teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”