Article by Cameron Spink

 

This is my favourite time of year as footy is about to start and yet my boys haven't lost yet. So it is like having the anticipation while the disappointment is still around the corner (hopefully we can wait until April to get too crushed).

 

Anyway, the footy off-season can't have finished too soon as another off-field scandal is "dogging" the Western Bulldogs into their pre-season. This is certainly not the first scandal to have made headlines over the off-season with St Kilda's captain Nick Riewoldt coming in the fire line after photos of him exposed was published on the internet.

 

 

Such events make me glad that footy is about to start again so the players can stop misbehaving and actually do what they do best. Unfortunately, these men that clash on the field have proved time and time again that they are bad role-models. Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey and Ben Cousins are absolute stars of the game (in different eras) who typified the poor way that footballers act with both on-field and off-field choices.

 

Now I love my footy, I have my annual AFL membership and I am psyched for this season. However, with my jubilation is the knowledge of what goes on in a footy club. I was involved in a local club for more than five years. I loved playing footy with my mates but the culture at the club (even at the underage level) was shocking.

 

Clubs inadvertently promote drinking and a disrespectful mindset. The peer pressure is conducive to all sort of immorality. I don't blame the club. Such a culture was around long before my teammates were there. However, if that is what my local club is like I can only imagine that AFL clubs would have similar traits running through them.

 

Because of this I can't say I'm surprised that some of the Western Bulldogs leaders were caught misbehaving in Hong Kong. Some will shrug it off as being on a club trip and not news worthy. Perhaps they are right to a point. But, then again, maybe they don't understand the full ramifications of their roles in society. For better or worse they have many supporters who are conducive and liable to act in the way that their hero acts. It's a vicious circle of the football hero and the football wannabe.

 

The best solution would be to weigh every decision you make with maturity. However, this seems beyond the average footballer. For some reason, at least in this off-season, players seem insistent on getting their naughtiness caught on camera. Once these images and videos are up on the internet any teen can access them and see the way that their hero acts. Perhaps then it comes down to the parent to ensure that their children realise that these men are not people to aspire to. After all, they clearly don't want to be role-models.