Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Summer in Suburbia can be a lonesome time: Young Men in Australia

“It is a cliche to say this, but one of Australia's greatest problems is that young men drink too much, take too many drugs, drive recklessly, break the law, disrespect women, act violently and harbour depressive tendencies.” Caroline Wilson, Nov 24, 2012 
The definition of Cliché: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox. 

Stories about football in a summer newspaper most likely drift through to the keeper with minimum interest from the batsman. Tired fans, instinctually drawn to a football headline, might find themselves at first interested but then disheartened, particularly in November and December. Perhaps this lethargy comes from the heat and the slow silence of suburbia; or the gentle hum of cricket commentary in the background. Or more likely it comes from the sad fact that round one is so far away, distant enough to be almost unreal. And so it seems that attempts to keep AFL in the public consciousness throughout the warmer months are doomed to fail. 

 Is there is a clear strategy from AFL headquarters to maintain media coverage of football during summer? There seems to be considerably more articles appearing during cricket season than usual. This relentless self-promotion and needless attack on ‘rival codes’ might even backfire, as many AFL fans, like James Pattinson, need an enforced rest from the game, whether they admit it or not. Journalists, just like the players, need a break, and a chance to realise the true triviality of a sport and industry that dominates their life and is their livelihood.


Caroline Wilson is one journalist who needs to be rested through December and January. Without respite, she has covered all manner of issues during and after the 2012 season. Her opinions walk a fine line between genuine passion for the game and outright contempt for the men who play it and administrators who run it. She may do well to sit on the couch and listen to the ABC cricket commentary. Largely intelligent, with a balance of knowledge, description, analysis and humour, the ABC commentators are superior to the majority of AFL ‘analysts’ and callers that fill the airwaves in footy season. Perhaps it’s the length of the season, but most football players and many commentators talk so much about football that they often fall back on clichés and vapid generalisations to describe games and feelings. 

Cliches and generalisations are the output of a beer-drinking hack (me) or an exhausted journalist (not me). Wilson’s appraisal of young Australian men (see above) seems particularly unfair and unfounded. Her insistence on associating the actions of footballers with other non-football playing men is naïve and undermines her standing as a top journalist. She is lucky that the article was published in November. In winter it would be challenged by many annoyed readers, male and female alike. In summer it will be used for wiping old oil from a barbecue. 

Regardless of when it was written or where it was published, no research or evidence was provided, just simple opinion. If the article is intended to ‘help men in trouble’, or push the AFL to do the same, then it is not particularly helpful. Watch a November training session of an AFL team and you will realise the physical and mental aptitude required to survive in AFL football. When every tiny, alleged social mistake of an AFL footballer is relentlessly dissected in the media, it is absolutely no surprise that clubs err towards reliable, honest young players, and avoid any risky personalities. Journalists who constantly judge young men whenever they do something wrong cannot also decry the fact that AFL recruiters want to avoid these young men in the first place. 

Great swathes of young Australian men don’t read football articles, in summer or winter, so they will not have the chance to take offence. They drive well, don’t drink too much, respect women and don’t take drugs. In fact in the next few years they will become remarkably reliable and respectable fathers and family men. They are all around me. 

NOTE: Imagine Pattinson at CHF. Talk about code-jumping. Siddle too. At CHB tho. Both Victorians.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Go Tom.