Aussie Rules legend dies at 45

    By: Max Householder
    Although they are not soccer, both Aussie Rules and Rugby are two of the most well known international sports of our time. That is why when a legend from either of these two sports dies, there is no doubt that it will be front page news. And that is exactly what happened on Tuesday when one of Aussie Rules greatest players Jim Stynes passed away. Jim Stynes was a brave soul who had been battling cancer for a number of years and endured months of agonizing treatment and surgeries to remove tumors in his brain. Stynes was an Irish born fellow, Dublin to be exact, who according to the chinapost.com was recruited by the Australian Football League (AFL) of Melbourne Australia in the mid 1980's. He was without a doubt a living legend in the sport who while playing for the Melbourne Demons was able to win the sport's highest honor; that being the Brownlow medal in 1991. Also according to the chinapost.com he still holds the AFL record for consecutive games played (244) over an 11 year span; that making him the Brett Favre of Aussie Rules.

    I thought it was surprising to read on the many worldwide news websites that covered his death just how much of a spokesman he was for Aussie Rules even in Ireland his country of birth. In fact in 2008 when he took over as the Melbourne Chairman he helped one of the oldest AFL clubs in the Melbourne Demons(his former team) from going bankrupt and helped them regain financial stability. This just goes to show how truly loyal he was to the team and sport that made him ever so popular. It also makes me think that although we have iconic sports figures here in America, none do as much to help the game as players like Jim Stynes do for international sports. I feel that maybe if we were more open to making popular American Sports like football bigger internationally than it would allow us to not only enhance the game but to help us gain a better reputation worldwide.

Aussie Rules legend Jim Stynes passed away Tuesday from  his long fight with cancer.
Photo taken from an article on the AFL's website

     

Stereotypes in Soccer?

When people think about international soccer or soccer in general, the primary ethnicity that they assess with the sport is hispanic. Whether we like it or not their is still racial profiling or stacking  that occurs, a lot of the times in sport. We see it in many popular American sports where African Americans are the dominant ethnicity. This, however does not influence the idea that minorities such as African Americans and latinos deserve any more respect it is a way to sell tickets. I recently read an article on fox news that said how Major League Soccer(MLS) had a desire to have hispanics be the cornerstones of the league. In fact of the 19 teams in the league, their are 78 players total who come from some type of hispanic ethnicity. One quote I thought was interesting in the article was by Alfonso Mondelo who is director of player development for the MLS who said that the reason behind this move to more Latin based players is the fact that those players are the most skillful. I think in a way he is being stereotypical in that he feels that all Latino players are more skill focused than being physical and that everyone else is just the opposite. Its the same argument that is made in pro football about how black players are only good athletes but when it comes to playing positions that require a large amount of thinking they fail. Again these are not my opinions but they are those of people involved in such sports like the director of player development for the MLS and I feel it hinders the game. Yes while it is a good PR move and it is obvious that the fans of soccer are more likely to watch a game in which the players with the best skill are playing--Who wouldn't? My point is that like American football having racial stereotypes on players will only lead to negative press in the future. And that instead of moving in one way to sell tickets, league executives should do its best to protect the integrity of the game.

~Max Householder