Play in the Australian Football League is not what it was. At the game’s founding, Australian football was exactly what the AFL’s Latin motto tells us it is today – ‘the game of the people, for the people’. In its formative years it was played and watched by Australians who loved the game because they understood the way it was played. It was made by them, in the image of their community. However, in the age of commercialisation and professionalism, play in the AFL has changed. The AFL is now a big business. Play is less spontaneous and more structured. It is now more organised and measured. Footy Grounds to Grandstands examines the important link between play in the AFL and its communities, and explores how play and community have changed as the AFL has transformed into a multi-billion-dollar business. To do this, Footy Grounds to Grandstands draws on the ideas of theorists and scholars as well as the insights and reactions of the people who matter most – the fans.
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Sam Duncan grew up following his dad to the footy around Yarrawonga, where he met all sorts of characters and learnt many life lessons. Most of all, he learnt what community was all about. While his footy career was neither long nor distinguished, he has always loved being part of the game and its communities – from the grassroots level of country and suburban footy, to the buzzing grandstands of the MCG. He is a lecturer at Holmesglen in the Bachelor of Sports Media, a boundary rider for AFL Live, a country and suburban footy commentator, and a former PR professional. He’s been watching the game transform at the elite level since he first started watching it and has spent countless enjoyable hours talking to fans – the inspiration of this book – about their thoughts, views and reactions to the AFL as it has become big business.