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Part 3 - Seven Network

Peter Landy of the Seven Network was our first liaison of Aussie Rules on ESPN in the early 1980s.

Although it was ESPN that brought us the Australian Football telecasts here in the United States, credit for building the interest of the sport for us Americans was, undoubtedly, the Seven Network and their ability to hold our hands as they taught us the game as it was being played.  In the early years of ESPN footy telecasts, when the show had a ninety minute duration, the format basically started with a formal introduction by Seven's host - which was Peter Landy.  He would announce the game to be played and provided some insight behind the game which keyed us into a number of different things such as players to watch.  An atmosphere was effectively created and then we were sent to Seven's Big League's "Match of the Day."  It usually consisted of watching the first few minutes of the game followed by the entire third and fourth quarters.  At the end of the match, Peter would provide some post-game commentary to sometimes include a few player or coaching interviews.  The show usually ended with a recap of the other scores of the round, showing of the league ladder, and Peter providing us Seven's address where we could write to the station to either voice our opinions or request footy literature to help us understand the game even further.  This effective format lasted through the 1985 season.

 

Sandy Roberts of Seven took over hosting duties from mid 1985 through season 1986.

In 1986, things began to change in terms of the show's format.  Sandy Roberts, for one, was now the host of the show.  The second, and more important, was the fact that the show was reduced from ninety to sixty minutes.  In essence, the show consisted of the first three quarters shown as highlights and, if we were lucky, we would get to see the entire fourth quarter.  One of the highlights of that year was when they showed the State of Origin game at Subiaco between Western Australia and Victoria - a dramatic, high-scoring contest that W.A. won by three points if I remember correctly.  It was a rare glimpse for us Americans to see state footy at its absolute best.  When the season ended with Hawthorn defeating Carlton for the premiership, little did us Americans know that the rug would be pulled out from under Seven's feet when they lost coverage of the sport for all of 1987 when ABC took over.  From that point on, the show was never the same.  Soon afterward, even ESPN dropped the Australian Rules Football show.  Though it resurfaced on then Prime Sports Network (now Fox Sports Net) and the Seven Network provided the footage, it was obvious that the original format of the show we've come know and love here in the United States was gone forever.

 

"Heart of the Game" - the official story on the Seven Network's 45 year marriage with Australian Rules Football.

At the completion of the 2001 AFL season, the Seven Network announced that it would not put in a bid for the new contract to cover footy.  Forty-five years, less the controversial 1987 season, of Australian Football coverage came to a bittersweet end for Channel Seven.  The game transformed from a Victorian suburban game to the most popular sport in all of Australia - the Seven Network was there.  As Seven said goodbye to football coverage, a fitting tribute to Seven's football coverage was released in the forms of a book and a video - both entitled "Heart of the Game."  From that first game in 1957 between Collingwood and Essendon to the 2001 AFL Grand Final, both the book and the video tell the story of how Seven's coverage influenced footy and helped the sport become what it is today.

As much of an asset the Seven Network was to Americans, in the 1980s, for learning about Aussie Rules, they were convicted by many Australians for destroying the quality of telecasts - particularly in the 1990s leading up to the end in 2001.  The Football Invenctive website, in 2006, went to great extents to describe the many "crimes" the Seven Network committed to ruin the experience of watching televised footy in Australia.  Of interest is the citing of the late 70s to early 80s as the preferred standard (note the kudos given to Peter Landy's halcyon days) which coincides with what I had mentioned above.  Likewise, as I mentioned how the programming quality changed from 1987 onward, so too does the column acknowledge this and provide an even deeper explanation than what I'm capable of - given my lack of insight to the entire situation.  Indeed, they went even so far as to compare football anthems over the last three decades and pulled the early 80s anthem "It's All in the Game" from this site (see section 4 of "My Footy Story" for more on this) to make their point!

In spite of happenings in later years, I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Seven Network and how they helped convert Americans into footy fans by their fine programs that were televised on ESPN in the 1980s.  After all, that's how I became a fan and a footy fan I will be forever!  Never will I forget the weekly show that was broadcasted on ESPN, nor will I ever forget the live coverage of the VFL Grand Finals - my rare chance to see a full match from the opening bounce to the final siren.

Part 4: Live Grand Finals!