In my opinion, Soccer and other sports only reek over AFL worldwide because those sports were introduced long before AFL was even invented.
Sadly, because Australia is such a small country, it doesn't seem as if AFL is going to be broadcast worldwide in our lifetime although our top players deserve as much recognition as anyother sportsman in the entire world.
I don't think association football's popularity can be attributed solely to having been around for longer. In fact, as the sport was only codified in 1863, one could say it's a younger sport than Aussie Rules, which had its first rules drafted (if
wiki is to be believed) in 1859.
Association football's great strength is that it's a relatively simple game to play & understand. This means it's easy to pick up, something it shares with basketball, which is definitely a younger sport than Aussie Rules, having only been invented in 1891 & far more popular worldwide. AFL has some rather arcane laws that can seem baffling to the uninitiated. Its lack of an offside rule & massive playing area also mean that television (so vital in the popularity of the EPL) doesn't capture all of its action as easily as it does with football or either of the two rugby codes, where more of the action is concentrated on the football itself because on the playing lines offside rules mean.
It doesn't mean AFL is better or worse, just different. What it does mean tho is that unless one's exposed to it at any early age it's harder to pick up and appreciate properly.
Last time i checked there was only one goal in AFL... Don't know what you've been watching?
That is true, but points are also scored for behinds, which there's no equivalent of in soccer. Goals clearly aren't as important in AFL either, most games have in excess of 20 scored, so the act of scoring isn't as valued as it is in soccer. A goal in AFL is like a kiss on the lips; in soccer it's an orgasm.
Again tho, that doesn't make it better or worse. In fact, because of the high premium scoring has in soccer, one can make a case to say undeserving teams (who've been dominated in terms of chances and possession, say) are more likely to win in soccer than Aussie rules.
I like AFL a lot tho, despite being a pom. Really got into it thru posters on another cricket site going on about it, so started to follow it to see what all the fuss is about. The fitness of the players is really impressive and work the likes of Ablett or Corey get thru in a game is ridiculous. Didn't help the Cats in the GF tho, but.
