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