OpinionCultures collide as Aussie Rules comes to China – and meat pies are off the menu, mate
As Port Adelaide and Gold Coast play a match in Shanghai, the tone of much of the coverage Down Under has been comically awful
Australian Rules football, or footy as it is known in Straya, is a pastime perhaps not famed for the broad erudition and man-of-the-world nature of its adherents.
Though a terrific game to watch and play, Rules aficionados have not always covered themselves in glory.
Do a quick Google to remind yourself of the top recent scandals and the number one result is about a dwarf being set on fire at St Kilda’s end-of-season celebrations in 2013. AFL’s chief executive burst out laughing when informed about the incident, although he insisted he thought it was a joke.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast’s trip to Shanghai to play a match this Sunday has been making for some amusing coverage Down Under.
The game – a proper league match rather than just an exhibition – is the latest attempt from sports teams and leagues to get a foothold in China, convinced that if they can persuade just a fraction of those 1.3 billion folk to fall in love with their game they’ll have it made.
