The Story of an American's
Struggles to follow Aussie Rules in the USA To
live in the United States and follow Australian Rules Football is, without
question, one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences for the footy
fan residing in this country. Specifically, I am referring to following the
Australian Football League (AFL) on television here in the United States. A
generation has passed since my initial exposure to Aussie Rules in the early
1980s. I was among the many faithful who would wake up at the oddest hours
to watch it on ESPN. From its run on ESPN through 1988, to its leap to
Prime Sports Network in the early 1990s, I remained the dedicated fan.
Though I lost track of the sport during my military service in the mid 1990s, I
was able to rediscover it in the late 1990s on ESPN2 and, eventually, Fox Sports World. The game has changed dramatically in that span of over two decades, but the passion I hold for the sport remains the same even today despite the continually inconsistent coverage of Aussie Rules here in the United States. Attempts by organizations such as AFANA (Australian Football Association of North America), who have worked with the television networks from both Australia and the United States to bring us more footy on TV, have generated only lukewarm success. Recent years have seen the former Fox Sports World (now Fox Soccer Channel) televise the sport but now the only vehicle for watching footy in this country is to purchase Setanta Sports channel through DirecTV (which I have done). I suppose paying for the right to watch footy is better than no footy at all. Though following Aussie Rules on television has been a frustrating endeavor, the one medium that has more than compensated for it is the internet. Having been connected to the World Wide Web since 1997, I have been able to follow footy the way I have always wanted to thanks to the Official AFL Website. In addition, with the development of footy clubs in many of the key cities here in the United States, as well as the establishment of a governing American footy body - the USAFL (United States Australian Football League), it now appears that the seeds laid out some twenty years ago are finally starting to take root. We've sure come a long way! Here, then, is my footy story. From the moment I discovered it on ESPN to the realization of playing it here in the United States, this is a story of dedication, perseverance and ultimate reward. Follow along as I share with you some of my fondest memories along what has been a tough, exciting and rewarding journey. Select
the arrow below to begin.
Part 1: The Early
Years 
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