Way, Way, Way Of Topic ...

[BillyMac]

Even for me, this is way off topic. I know that there have occasionally been posts about Australian Rules Football on the Basketball Forum.

At dinner tonight I was talking to my daughter's boyfriend, who's from Australia, and who is a big Australian Rules Football, football (soccer), rugby, and cricket fan. I told him that I remember back in the very early days of ESPN, when they were broadcasting anything with a ball (bowling, slow pitch softball, etc.) from a trailer in Bristol, Connecticut. I remember seeing Australian Rules football officials wearing white trench coats. He didn't believe me, so I did some research and came up with some video of some really cool signals.

Enjoy.

Australian Rules Football Goal Umpire - One at each end of the field. The goal umpires are the official score keepers who signal goals and behinds and work in tandem with the boundary umpires when the ball goes out of play near the goal posts. Goal umpires signal scores by raising their arms in front of them at waist height, using one for a behind and two for a goal. After a score, the goal umpires at both ends wave flags to confirm the score. Goal umpires traditionally wore a white suit and coat, which resulted in spectators using the phrase "white maggot" as a part of typical umpire abuse (e.g. "Open your eyes, you white maggot!")

Vintage. Check out the white trench coat and white hat:

YouTube - AFL Umpire Fakes It

Modern. No white trench coat, but still has white hat. Check out the robot-like signals.

YouTube - Anthony Rocca's Shocking kick

Modern. Check out the waving of the flags to confirm the goal:

YouTube - Aussie Football - Ref Signaling Score

[bainsey]

Admit it. Who else saw "maggot" and thought of Sgt. Slaughter?

Anyway, that second clip was interesting. It was the equivalent of a running back making an easy run to the end zone, then at the one-yard line, laterals the ball back to the 15. When a kick goes at least 20 yards and is caught cleanly, it's called a mark, and the catcher gets a free kick from the spot of the catch. If you get a mark within ten yards of the goal, it's almost always an automatic goal (six points). Instead, this player didn't consider the mark; he just passed it back.

[eg-italy]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Even for me, this is way off topic. I know that there have occasionally been posts about Australian Rules Football on the Basketball Forum.

At dinner tonight I was talking to my daughter's boyfriend, who's from Australia, and who is a big Australian Rules Football, football (soccer), rugby, and cricket fan. I told him that I remember back in the very early days of ESPN, when they were broadcasting anything with a ball (bowling, slow pitch softball, etc.) from a trailer in Bristol, Connecticut. I remember seeing Australian Rules football officials wearing white trench coats. He didn't believe me, so I did some research and came up with some video of some really cool signals.

Also in Gaelic football they have the same white trench coats.

YouTube - Best gaa football goals ever

Ciao

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by eg-italy

Also in Gaelic football they have the same white trench coats.

What's with the white trench coats? I would hate to see these guys sitting all by themselves in the back of some XXX theater.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

What's with the white trench coats? I would hate to see these guys sitting all by themselves in the back of some XXX theater.

Hey, Peewee Herman would have given 5 years of his career for one of those white trench coats. Buttoned.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Hey, Peewee Herman would have given 5 years of his career for one of those white trench coats. Buttoned.

But he would have settled for getting Al Gore to speed up that whole internet thing. He was a man ahead of his time, that Peewee Herman.