If the rest of the world played AFL....

[carlton_88]

dont no if this has already been said but where is ireland in the list: they play heaps of sports that require go hand eye coordination and cover a huge range of different skills

 

[Jizza9]

I believe America would be 2nd best, if not the best, because they have the resources and the money. Also, could you imagine Michael Jordan at CHF, that would be a sight worth seeing.

Havn't you heard of Lance Franklin

 

[Hogan]

Ireland would be the only country to even look like challenging Australia.

The closest thing to Aussie rules is Gaelic footy. But they're too soft.

How do you work out the too soft thing? If you're comparing it on the basis of the compromise rules series you'd do well to remember that the Gaelic football players are all amateurs.

Look what full-time training has done to young Clarke, Kennelly, Stynes, O Halpin etc. and these guys were by no means the best / most skillful / strongest athletes in Gaelic football.

Aside from that, all thing being equal, if I took the pick of the athletes that play American football and had brought them up playing Aussie rules I'd almost gurantee you they beat anyone. In a game where strength, speed and skill are all important the NFL players are on average way better than most other sports.

 

[Hogan]

I'm no Yank dude, don't worry about that. There's nothing I like more than seeing America lose at anything.

But I watch a lot of different sports and I can recognise natural talent when I see it. Some of those black American athletes are built for a game like Aussie rules. Power, speed, athleticism - they've got it all.

There's a reason why the US completely dominates us Aussies in track and field events at the Olympics.



They could if they trained like AFL players.

100% agree. I've seen 17 stone line-backers who can break 11 seconds for the 100m (on grass)!! One guy for Philadelphia ran 11.5 for 100m and he was 6' 5" and 19 stone! Scary.

Even some of those 300+ pounders can break 6 seconds over 40 yards, which is unbelievable. The same boys can also turn on a sixpence.

Willie Gault won a silver medal in the 100m at the Olympics and he was 3rd fastest in the NFL the year before.

Remember the time when Jonah Lomu's agent was negotiating with the Dallas Cowboys and was asking for the same money as established players. He was laughed out of town. The Cowboys told him that every NFL team has 4 or 5 Jonah Lomu's who have been playing since they were kneee high.

 

[Winterstick]

france would have that big mofo as a centreman called Sebastian Chavelle scary dude that one

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Willie Gault won a silver medal in the 100m at the Olympics and he was 3rd fastest in the NFL the year before.

Who?? Francis Obikwelu of Portugal (ex Nigeria) won the silver medal in the 100m at the 2004 Olympics. Do you mean Justin Gatlin who won the 100m in Athens and has subsequently been busted for drugs and then tried out for Tampa Bay as a WR? Nobdy called Willie Gault has ever won a silver medal at the Olympics in the 100m.

I know of Renaldo Nehemiah who broke the world record in the 110m hurdles twice in 1979 and then again in 1981 (12.93 sec), but missed the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the USA boycott and then signed with the San Francisco 49ers but struggled to have an impact as a wide receiver and was second fiddle to Jerry Rice. He was quicker than Rice but was not as good a footballer as him.


The NFL has plenty of great athletes who are big and strong and very fast. But how many of them are pumped up with steriods, TGH, HGH and other drugs? Would their athletes pass an ASADA drug test? I know that plenty of stuff is undetectable, but I don't reckon the NFL drug testing is too strigent.

 

[Hogan]

Who?? Francis Obikwelu of Portugal (ex Nigeria) won the silver medal in the 100m at the 2004 Olympics. Do you mean Justin Gatlin who won the 100m in Athens and has subsequently been busted for drugs and then tried out for Tampa Bay as a WR? Nobdy called Willie Gault has ever won a silver medal at the Olympics in the 100m.

I know of Renaldo Nehemiah who broke the world record in the 110m hurdles twice in 1979 and then again in 1981 (12.93 sec), but missed the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the USA boycott and then signed with the San Francisco 49ers but struggled to have an impact as a wide receiver and was second fiddle to Jerry Rice. He was quicker than Rice but was not as good a footballer as him.


The NFL has plenty of great athletes who are big and strong and very fast. But how many of them are pumped up with steriods, TGH, HGH and other drugs? Would their athletes pass an ASADA drug test? I know that plenty of stuff is undetectable, but I don't reckon the NFL drug testing is too strigent.

Oops. Sorry I got my facts wrong there. Willie Gault was actually part of the 1983 US 4 x 100m team who broke the world record. Apparently he was the second fastest man in the 100m season during 1980, and would have gone to the summer olympics, had the Americans not boycotted it (admitted that's slightly different than actually getting a Silver medal! ). He was drafted in 1983 by the Raiders. That was the year where he was listed as 3rd fastest in the NFL.

I agree about the steriods thing. On saying that I wouldn't put it past any professional athlete to be at it these days (in any sport). The cheaters always seem to be one step ahead of the testers.

 

[Dagless]

What??? So you're certain of something that can never be proven? So are you saying they have superior genes to us? You sound like a yank yourself "dude".

I have watched NFL quite regularly in the past and really enjoyed the 12 minutes of actual game time. Have you seen the way AFL midfielders run for 100 minutes PER GAME? There's no way your average NFL player could compete with that.

Exactly what I was going to say - NFL is quick and aggressive in short bursts, but it doesn't come close to AFL's consistently hard running standards.... Funny that a lot of players still succumb to game fatigue in the NFL.

 

[gaelictiogar]

Ireland would be great. Lions and Pies already know that and with pro training the GAA could provide a team to compete in 2 years.

 

[RandB]

That's why teams like Sydney and Collingwood have gone over to the US to learn conditioning routines from the NFL teams. You seem to completely underestimate the fitness levels of the DBs, WR and RB positions. Sure you get the odd anomalies, like a Whitnall, that aren't super fit. Take a guy like Adrian Arrington at Michigan, his pre-season included running the steps of the Big House every single day, if you haven't ever seen that place, think the MCG only bigger. This is a guy who is bigger, faster and stronger than Judd and would be just as fit, you think he can't run for 100 minutes?

Some people really need to take their heads out of the ground when comparing things. The AFL is great, it is a great sport and its fun to watch, but to think that our players are as good athletically as those in the NFL is just plain ignorant. They may be on average, but that's because of the positional requirements of the NFL, not because the top athletes here are even close.

Whilst you have made some good points I think you under estimate the actual toll 22 weeks plus finals takes on an AFL footballer and how they have to taper their fitness for endurance as well as athletic ability. In NFL they only play I think 16 weeks plus play offs. They can prime their physique and fitness for that smaller window.

 

[Bretski]

Its all about population and facilities, see olympics

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Its all about population and facilities, see olympics

which means usa would be the best by a long way

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Oops. Sorry I got my facts wrong there. Willie Gault was actually part of the 1983 US 4 x 100m team who broke the world record. Apparently he was the second fastest man in the 100m season during 1980, and would have gone to the summer olympics, had the Americans not boycotted it (admitted that's slightly different than actually getting a Silver medal! ). He was drafted in 1983 by the Raiders. That was the year where he was listed as 3rd fastest in the NFL.

I agree about the steriods thing. On saying that I wouldn't put it past any professional athlete to be at it these days (in any sport). The cheaters always seem to be one step ahead of the testers.

Ok thanks for clearing that up. Still impressive that he was only the third fastest in the NFL. I'm not sure if Renaldo Nehemiah was on San Francisco's or Steelers' roster in 1983 and if he was rated faster than Gault, but Nehemiah was damn quick and I think he ran and won a gold medal in the 4 x 100m or 4 x 400m for the Yanks. May have been at a Goodwill games or a World Cup meeting in Europe.

US professional sports have always had a slack attitude towards drugs. Plenty of NFL players have died in their forties as a result of steriods, basketball have cleaned up their act somewhat because of NBA players playing in the Olympics and one of the reasons, not the main one, but an important reason why Baseball is being kicked out of the Olympics after 2012 is the poor drug testing regime.

 

[Drumroe]

If the sport became fully adopted by other countries, and became a top sport the US would be the biggest threats, just because of how dedicated they are sport. And id say Brazil and Argentina would bring their flair from soccer into football, and be able to do the impossible, probably too soft though

 

[Hogan]

Whilst you have made some good points I think you under estimate the actual toll 22 weeks plus finals takes on an AFL footballer and how they have to taper their fitness for endurance as well as athletic ability. In NFL they only play I think 16 weeks plus play offs. They can prime their physique and fitness for that smaller window.

You're right of course. We're really comparing apples with oranges here. Most of the NFL guys train for the short bursts. Still with the raw material they've got I dare say they could develop the stamina if they ever decided to play Aussie rules. I wouldn't hold my breath as the Americans rarely take to any foreign sports. Many cities over there have Gaelic football teams but you could count the number of Americans that play, on one hand.

 

[Hogan]

Ok thanks for clearing that up. Still impressive that he was only the third fastest in the NFL. I'm not sure if Renaldo Nehemiah was on San Francisco's or Steelers' roster in 1983 and if he was rated faster than Gault, but Nehemiah was damn quick and I think he ran and won a gold medal in the 4 x 100m or 4 x 400m for the Yanks. May have been at a Goodwill games or a World Cup meeting in Europe.

US professional sports have always had a slack attitude towards drugs. Plenty of NFL players have died in their forties as a result of steriods, basketball have cleaned up their act somewhat because of NBA players playing in the Olympics and one of the reasons, not the main one, but an important reason why Baseball is being kicked out of the Olympics after 2012 is the poor drug testing regime.

You're totally right.

Florence Grifth Joyner! Need I say more? Still the only woman to break 10.5 in the 100m but mostly likely riddled with drugs all that time. We'll never know now but its probably a safe assumption to make considering she keeled over from a heart attack at age 35 or something. The only one to get close to her in the few years after was Marion Jones. Also now a self-confessed druggie!

Baseball is brutal. How many sluggers who hold the various records, took drugs? Again we'll never know but I'd bet its quite a few.

 

[premier]

Lads there a lot of complete bollox being said here.

Just because the US dominates in a lot of Olympic sports does not mean anything when it comes to football of any code.

So a guy can run fast, so what ? Does running fast make him a footballer ?

You talk about NFL guys and them able to run 100m faster then Austrailian athletes who train for it, again so what ? Running short bursts is essential to American Football. It isn't for Aussie Rules, stamina is far more important and I doubt those NFL guys would last 20 minutes on an AFL or Rugby field without collapsing. Completely different types of fitness.

And let me make the most important point of all. Physical fitness does NOT = great or even good footballer.

You could be the fittest guy in the world and be completely useless on a football field of any code. Talent and skill are partly training yes but a lot of it is just natural to that person.

 

[Power King]

alright, in terms of actual medals, sure usa might be one of if not the best country in the world.

but let's take the example of a true world sport, as opposed to the olympics, consisting of many sports that are not major games in many countries.

Let's look at soccer. Granted the usa has baseball, nfl and basketball as its top sports. However, it does take soccer very seriously. It has it's own league which is BIG money, and set very well for a non-european/southamerican league. On the world stage, USA is not a heavyweight. It is competitive, but it is no italy/brazil/argentina etc. No doubt much of the usa's 300,000,000 would have athletes striving for MLB/NBA/NFL first and foremost, but take away those numbers, and i'm sure the potential number of athletes striving to make it big in soccer is greater than those in australia or one of soccer's heavyweights. The biggest numbers and best facilities doesn't necessarily equate to being the best. One thing that does seem to correlate strongly is that a nation with its own strong league for a sport, tends to do well at this sport on a world stage. Australia would have one of the best AFL leagues in the world if made a truly world-wide sport, and stemming from this, our youth development at club level would also be one of the best. I would say Australia would be a heavyweight at aussie rules of it was a world sport.

 

[hudson22]

Even the elite AFL players can't compete with it. There are guys in the NFL who run a faster 100m time than anyone in Australia. Not just one guy, there are probably 20-40 guys that do that. We dominate the swimming at the olympics but we get our asses handed to us every single time in the athletics which, of olympic events, is the closest thing to football. The USA continually dominate it.

Quite simply they have sports that demand more from you physically and they have the athleticism that translates to AFL. Their aerobic fitness would probably need work, but do you genuinely think there is a matchup in the entire AFL for a guy like Terrell Owens, Randy Moss or LeBron James? Randy Moss is like Goodes on steroids. James would kill the ruck, we are talking about a guy the same sort of size as Cox that moves like Judd and is built like Browny. Don't need to mention that the slowest WR and DBs in the NFL are on the same level as the absolute fastest guys in the AFL. Hell, some of those "big fat guys" are as fast as guys like Judd.

blow it out ur arse mate this is blasphemy, for 1 they wear padding when they play contact sports..., 2 they dont have anywhere near the cardio-vascular endurance required to play AFL, they simply run for 10 to 15 seconds at a time. 3 Being huge and running fast in a straight line is great.... but it means sharte all for the agility and balance required to be a good AFL player. 4. apart from aths at the olympics, and its really only the sprint events which are largely irrelevant when it comes to AFL, WHAT DO THEY BEAT US IN, this may be because we play largely different sports but what about soccer, i'd be willing to bet they have more people than us playing yet struggle big time. 5. They are a bunch of arrogant W_NKERS who may win 1 flag every 50 years then carry on like they'd won all 50....they are totally obsessed with their own country and own self importance

 

[hudson22]

You're right of course. We're really comparing apples with oranges here. Most of the NFL guys train for the short bursts. Still with the raw material they've got I dare say they could develop the stamina if they ever decided to play Aussie rules. I wouldn't hold my breath as the Americans rarely take to any foreign sports. Many cities over there have Gaelic football teams but you could count the number of Americans that play, on one hand.

you cant simply decide to become an endurance athlete, most of those super fast, super big guys ppl keep bringing up would have far too high % of fast twitch muscle fibres, theres no doubt they would be good, but to say they would eclipse us and every1 else easily is crazy,

 

[Quixote]

Sebastian Coe is an elite international athlethics coach, who was once the best runner in the world

He said Riewoldt

Kids a star

 

[holllywood]

if america played afl like we did in aus - in 50 years they would kill us.

they have millions of professional sport athletes in different sports, so why wouldnt they have them in afl?

imagine lebron playing footy - he would absolutely kill any opponent

 

[fishmonger]

If the sport became fully adopted by other countries, and became a top sport the US would be the biggest threats, just because of how dedicated they are sport. And id say Brazil and Argentina would bring their flair from soccer into football, and be able to do the impossible, probably too soft though

yet with over 60,000 players the USA still failed to win a game in the recent Rugby World Cup ...

 

[VikingSven]

Scandanavia-you don't hear about it but the Danes have pushed Aussie Rules into Sweden and Finland.

They did? Thats news to me...

 

[cos789]

yet with over 60,000 players the USA still failed to win a game in the recent Rugby World Cup ...

This is how you have to approach things , not look at NFL and soccer .
I don't know how competitive (uncompetitive) the USA are in rugby , but that's the sort of level you'd have to attain for starters .
60k players equates to the numbers in a football state like WA , SA , QLD or NSW .It's not striaght one for one ., because I'd imagine that 60k USA players would mostly be seniors . On the negative side they'd be spread out across the expanse of the US . This is why the Canadians are competitive with the USA in Aussie Rules because despite lower numbers Canadian players are concentrated in two leagues (one of which is very strong).
So you might need 100k players in the USA to be competitve against a SOO side , 60k in RSA or 30k in Ireland .

.