How good was the footy show

[Gasometer]

1993/94 were awesome

And then it went downhill as they became self aware

 

[The_Eagles]

I liked, if not loved it up until about 2008/9
Sam was the cornerstone and he started losing his edge then. And then became borderline irrelevant old complaining guy

 

[Johnny Karate]

It had its time and place but never looked to really shake up the format enough to move with the times. Also the fact that players became sterile robots over time didn’t help so it was basically Brownless, Crawford and Newman performing the same tired routines for the last decade of the show.

 

[workhorse]

It had its time and place but never looked to really shake up the format enough to move with the times. Also the fact that players became sterile robots over time didn’t help so it was basically Brownless, Crawford and Newman performing the same tired routines for the last decade of the show.

Agreed.

It was one of only a few footy shows at the time, and pre-social media it actually served a great footy purpose for the announcement of teams, news-breaking etc. It's that element, coupled with the comedy/edginess that made it successful. People say it was successful because Sam was controversial which is just plain wrong - it was a well-rounded footy show that pushed the boundaries a little bit with the comedy stuff, not to mention the players that appeared as guests weren't media-trained robots and actually enjoyed taking part in all the guff.

It certainly lost a bit of an edge when Eddie left, but I think JB and Gaz did a decent job up until around 2008/09. Trev leaving hurt the show, as it made Sam the absolute focal point, and instead of him just being himself, which in itself is naturally divisive, he tried too hard to be controversial (or was encouraged to be)

By 2010/11 with the advent of Twitter and Facebook, the fact that news was readily available, the fact that they had lost two key-pillars and the third was getting stale, it was doomed. As you say, it failed to move with the times.

I've got the first decade 'Best Of' DVD and it's absolutely great. It was a different time but even so, not a lot seemed too sinister or overtly offensive. There were skits that probably wouldn't pass the sniff test of today's standards (whether you like it or not) but every show from that era would be the same.

The Sunday Footy Show is a great example of how to approach the 'blokey' 'larikinism' type show in 2021. They don't broach any topic outside of the footy, unless it's a way to take the piss out of one of the boys. They pump up the clashes between each other and generally just have fun at no ones expense but their own. And, to be honest, the few minutes of actually footy review/chat is often decent, too.

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

Loved it in the late 90s and early 2000s. Use to tape it and watch it later, couldn’t wait to see the teams, mailbag was great, the intrigue when Sam wasn’t at the desk at the start of the show, almost footy legends always good. It served its purpose while Ed, Trev and Sam were in charge. Trev getting shafted was the start of the decline. Garry and Jim were pretty good but times were a changing.
It was a but of fun and a must watch for plenty of people in the early days.

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

This was pretty damn funny (cue injury troll lah lah lah). Had a good run and gave plenty of people with a sense of humour a good laugh.

 

[Dogs Rule]

It was big time, there was a still lot of money washing around commercial TV around then. Eddie was a fantastic news-breaker. The shows that are on now are either too footy-focussed or so unremittingly safe and low key (Front Bar)...Molloy is a fake, all that "I was riding in the back of Divvy vans when I was 17..." - no you weren't

Agree with you about Front Bar, Maher and Molloy spoil it.

Molloy went to an exclusive private school on the Mornington Peninsula so as far away from a divvy van as you can get, so it's all an act.

 

[peternorth]

He hung around frankston a lot as a teen.

 

[killtaker1993]

I met Mick Molloy in 1993 when he was with Sophie Lee

 

[Burzum]

He hung around frankston a lot as a teen.

Frankston South, probably.

 

[The King!]

when it started and was at its peak imo as a teenager at the time , it was something different, was footy content and things like the team changes or breaking news were actually a big deal. there wasn't social media or a forum or club media putting news out.


you also didn't see the players outside of playing that much so seeing them on a panel was a big deal, even street talk was a newish well revamp thing at the time , because normal everyday people weren't on youtube etc or reality tv

then that all needed to be replaced more by the sketches and forced humour stuff, that's ok but not as good imo

 

[BruceTempany14]

Yeah agree. Used to love Molloy on The Late Show and Martin Molloy, but the whole ‘I only wear a suit to court’ schtick is ridiculous. He went to Peninsula Grammar FFS.

Sorry , but Peninsular Grammar is about as exclusive as Sunbury High .



Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[patmatcat]

Even in hindsight it was mostly garbage. Not particular funny, and just full of memes eg Garry on the stretcher or the little grabs of Tony Lockett.

Street Talk was always the highlight, and even that pretty much writes itself. Travel to Moe, spend an hour interviewing some of the towns finest, get the odd nuffie and you're rolling.

Before The Game was always my favourite weekly footy entertainment show.

Billy’s Wheel was hilarious at times.

 

[patmatcat]

Must watch show at its peak.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Eddie breaking stories was the main reason I watched it. Once he departed so did I.

World of Sport was still the best footy / sports show of all time, it had a bit of everything but it's core was the footy.

The woodchop dominated by the O'Toole clan with the patriarch counting them off, the tug of war with the big men at knot and anchor positions, bike roller racing on stationary positions with the big needle going around the board, the handball comp, Staminade and Big M Little League segments, horse racing, trots, dishlickers, Villiers doing the soccer, Gus Mecurio with the boxing, they had it all covered.

 

[Randall Stevens]

As others have said, in the early years the show was great viewing.
Some of the players who were regulars on the panel could be genuinely funny, or had great rapport with Sam.
Billy, Hawkins, Lyon, Dunstall, Glenn Manton, Crawford and others in their playing days showed genuine personality in the days before players became boring media trained robots.

I watched the show basically until the end, even though in later years it was a shadow of what it had been.
For reasons I never understood, in the later years it seemed like many people saw declaring their hatred of the show as some sort of proud achievement.
It was amazing how many people 'just happened to be watching for the first time in 10 years' every time there was a moment of controversy.

 

[ApplecrossWC]

My favourite part was the segment where they interviewed random mentally ill people in poor areas and everyone laughed along. Those were the days

 

[10Dulkar]

Anyone else watching the 30 years documentary on 9?

Not my type of show but interesting to watch this from a media perspective.

As an aside, are there other footballers who were as good as Sam Newman who are so coy about their playing careers?

 

[The Sultan]

Gee the ox has trained off a bit

 

[Registered User]

Gee the ox has trained off a bit

I came here to say: FAAAAAARK!! He's as fat as 3 houses!

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Only watched it for Sammy Newman, he was the heart and soul of it. I knew people who didn't even like AFL who watched it just for Sam's antics. I only stopped watching around 2008/09 when I gave up watching terrestrial TV. Can only imagine it getting more censored, over the years.

 

[SS3840]

I watched live when they had said EJ Whitten had died, not gonna lie and I still tear up at Dougie's reaction to the news..

On the plus side... I saw the town I now live in during snippets. Bogans are there, and bah gawd, if you didn't want bogans, literally go on the otherside of the tracks.. But it's fitting that Morwell was on TV when our bowls club burnt down.

 

[Bedi]

Anyone else watching the 30 years documentary on 9?

Not my type of show but interesting to watch this from a media perspective.

As an aside, are there other footballers who were as good as Sam Newman who are so coy about their playing careers?

Absolutely loved the Footy Show and watching this was a reminder why. I assumed it was just going to be the usual 'best of' clips but thought it was very well put together and offered plenty of fresh insights. Also uncanny how much Xander looks like his old man at the same age!

 

[Stottzy]

Anyone got any update on what is going on with Trev? Is he still bitter about being sacked from it? Surprised that he wasn't part of the special.

 

[Cleavy]

Anyone got any update on what is going on with Trev? Is he still bitter about being sacked from it? Surprised that he wasn't part of the special.

the gist of it I had from reading online was that he declined to appear and has moved on with his life.