This weekend, followers of the One True Religion around Australia will gather for the AFL Grand Final (with apologies to Rugby League Protestants who will celebrate their special day next weekend).
The Feast of the Grand Final has a great deal in common with celebrations in our other religious traditions. Events such as Christmas and Easter, or perhaps saints' feast days, are celebrations of the stories that help fashion the identity of Christians. Telling these stories each year helps us create our own new stories about the values or beliefs we follow. The Grand Final has its own stories that tell us about ourselves, as well as rituals that personalise those stories for each of us.
It starts with the game itself. The Grand Final isn't like other football games. Small moments in a Grand Final have the power to resonate through the years. Think of the 'Jesaulenko you beauty' mark in 1970, Kevin Bartlett's roving goals in 1980, the groggy Dermott Brereton being escorted from the field in 1989, Gary Ablett's moments of brilliance in defeat in that same game, Michael Long's running bounces in 1993, Leo Barry's mark to seal the game in 2005, and many other great moments.
These stories capture something of the deeper meaning the game has to people. They celebrate the physical skill required to reach the top, and the fact that skill alone is not enough, that winning requires a combination of luck, timing and environment. These are messages that speak to people's experiences beyond the game itself.
Of course, the stories on the field aren't always fully representative of our society. For one thing, it's a decidedly masculine story that's being told. The AFL's MCG temple, like some other religious spaces, almost completely excludes women from participating. Generating stories that can inspire and inform across genders is an issue for all sports, but for codes such as the AFL and Rugby League — which don't even have elite professional women's competitions — it's particularly problematic.
We do need to bring more female stories to the AFL religion. For starters, our broadcasters could at least include more women in their coverage of the games. Although we have some great female journalists such as Caroline Wilson, chief football writer for The Age, we could be told more stories of women’s involvement in the game.
But as the familiar Footy Show theme tells us, 'it's more than a game'. The Feast of