NFL Fan Reacts to What is AFL? Aussie Rules Explained!

Thank you so much for watching!

Where should we go next? 🌏❓

[athlonen]

I'm an American who lived in Australia. Trust me, this is the best sport you have never heard of. I say that, and I grew up in the middle of the USA, where the state religion is College American Football. After seeing my first AFL match in 1994, I've never looked at the NFL or anything gridiron again, and don't intend to.

You asked when this happens.. Well unfortunately, you just missed the footy season there. Keep in mind that seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere, so our summer = their winter. And as the video said, they play 22 regular season games, plus the finals. The Finals take 4 weeks, plus the Grand Final, so you're looking at 26 weeks they are playing... HALF THE YEAR. Compare that to the NFL's 16 or 17 weeks, then taking at least 2-3 weeks off before the Super Bowl. The NFL is so stop/start boring compared to the AFL.

Since they play 26 weeks, they start their football season in late March, with the Grand Final being the last Saturday in September. If you want to see a match or even highlights of a match, the AFL's Youtube channel has mini matches and match highlights. But I'd actually look more at the top 50 AFL Marks of All Time.

As you learned here, a Mark is a catch, where 1: The ball has been kicked and traveled more than 15 meters (15 meters = 16 yards),
2. caught and held onto it for a reasonable amount of time (to be determined by the umpire. The player does not have to have possession all the way to the ground like in the NFL), and
3: no one else has touched the ball before it was caught.

Those marks will make any catch you've seen in the NFL look weak. Go find it, and react to it. Thank us later.

[lauraplumb]

I might be biased, but i think AFL is one of the best football style games out there! Reacting to AFL videos will attract Aussie subs...we are passionate about our game.

[davidburzminski]

So, Canadian here and have never played the game. However, last time I'm Melbourne, a great friend of mine invited me to an Aussie Rules match. Like fans tend to sit in the same area and by the end of the game, I was cheering with everyone else and actually understood why.😂. Things that amazed me were:

They can run up to 10+ miles (16+ km) in a game
Players tend to soak in a tub of ice after the game to deal with their battered bodies.
Can only be described as vicious.
When a player is defending their goal, an opposing player will stand next to him and pinch him to distract him (sat at the end zone...was funny!)
Speaking of end zone, when the opposition is going for a free kick-sort of like field goal setup (sorry, not sure of the proper term) the defending side pulls out huge Pom poms (really huge) to distract the kicker. Was initially so confusing!
Also, the clothes are skin tight so that the opposition cannot get a good hold on your clothes or you.
I know practically nothing about the game, but there is nothing like it in the world. If you get a chance, nothing like seeing a live match. I owe my friend Toni so much for a great night!

[bfudvtb]

Aussie Rules was created in the 1850s as a means of keeping cricketers fit during winter, which is why it's played on cricket grounds. While it looks like a mix of sports, it is technically the oldest >>codified<< football game in the world. The Grand Final can attract 100k plus.

[peterbruinewoud]

The great thing about Aussie Rules is that the spectators are generally only excited supporters with no aggression. You can support a team and have supporters of an other team next to you - no animosity just enjoying the sport.

[juzzie]

As an Aussie, I love watching videos of non-australians reacting to AFL, keep it up because you got yourself another sub

[StrayDogVideos]

American here. Fell in love with Aussie Rules about 7 years ago and it’s pretty much the only sport I watch anymore. Took a trip over to see my Western Bulldogs play in person back in 2019 and you would not believe the access you have as a fan. The Grand Final is usually played the last Saturday in September, though it may be a week earlier or even first weekend of October. There is an amateur league in the states called the United States Australian Football League or USAFL with about 50 teams across the country. Feel free to ask any questions.

[maxwinchester]

At 4:46 he didn't expand upon how the final scoring is interpreted. In his example: Collingwood 20-10-130, is made up of 20 goals @ 6 points each (120), plus 10 behinds @ 1 point each (10) for the total of 130. Similarly then, Carlton scored 18 goals worth 108 points plus 12 behinds for a total of 120 points.

The Grand final is traditionally played on the last Saturday of September. The Friday preceding is a public holiday in the state of Victoria to enable fans to "prepare"!

[Sisterfifi]

AFL was codified in 1858 earlier than rugby, NFL and Soccer. The highest grand final was 120, 000 in 1970. There is a clip by Ninh that goes into more of the rules.

[IsabellaL]

A lot of us in Australia refer to European football as soccer as well. I loved seeing your reaction to AFL. I'd loved to see more. Oh, and the AFL Grand Final is in September.

[Preview]

I always wait for that moment people see speccies for the first time. Seeing a guy leap way up onto another guy's back or shoulders sure gets their attention *every* time.

[joelkelly]

I usually don't like reaction videos, but as an Aussie this made me smile - the ultimate experience is to see it live at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground)

[m_h_]

I'm British and this is the only sport I've ever been interested in. I spent 10 months in Australia back in 16/17 so really enjoying your Aussie reactions :)

[peterlyall]

The highest number of people in attendance at a AFL grand final was the 1970 Grand Final between Carlton V Collingwood . The gates were closed at 1:30 PM because there were already 121, 694 people seated and standing in the MCG. Plus there were over 50, 000+ more very pissed off people waiting to get in as the gates closed. Carlton got up and won that grand final by 10 points in the last quarter after been down by 44 points to Collingwood at the end of the 3rd.

[paulchambers]

The Grand Final usually attracts 100, 000. The only reason it doesn't attract more is because 100, 000 is the most people you can allow into the MCG on health and safety issues.
Even normal roster matches can attract crowds up to 90, 000 and that's impressive when you consider there's 9 AFL matches every weekend over 23 weeks (22 roster matches, there are byes) plus finals over 4 weeks.
Even some

[dereksenseney]

Mate … Im an American and have lived in Oz for the last 11 years. This game is insanely amazing. Would love to give you some insight into some of the things your videos have got wrong, even if just a little bit. A bit more context, perhaps. I learned this game from an Aussie who loved NFL and he explained it to me that way, would love to reverse the favour. Also, see cricket for the same. 🤣

Love your work bringing our national sport to the masses.

[markdrennan]

Love your channel. Did you know that their are 51 men's and 27 womens AFL team in the USA.
They started playing in the 90's

[craigwilliams]

Great work Joel, stand by for lots of new subscribers if you continue with these types of posts
It is coming up to summer time in Australia now which means it is cricket season for sports, I would love to see some cricket reaction videos from you 😀

[johnkinsela]

Just finished watching the last video for this channel and was confused by you saying Aussies are built different, then this came on!!🤣😂 You weren't wrong!

[phunkmonkeycookiegarage]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for NOT simply assuming it was Rugby before even watching the video lol. You have no idea just how respectful that is to an AFL fan :)