I’m not from Australia originally, but since arriving I’ve come to embrace this continent’s unique sport of Aussie Rules Football. I enjoyed a Friday night game at a friend’s house recently, and watched Channel 7’s post-game Friday Front Bar for the first time. Filmed in front of a live audience at a Richmond Hotel, it is a lighthearted weekly round-up, brought to you by Carlton Draught, with a three-man commentator panel sipping pints of Carlton amongst sports paraphernalia.

One of the presenters never touched his beer whilst the other two consumed theirs on air. My friends had a few laughs at the expense of the commentator who wasn’t drinking – not as ‘brewery fresh’ as promised, perhaps – and I laughed at the irony of representing a product you don’t seem to care for. Something bothered me about watching the show that night, however, and on my Uber ride home I thought about what exactly it was.

I’m from the Great White North of Canada and no stranger to beer-sponsored sport. It wasn’t just the in-your-face Carlton Draught advertising featured on the show, or that next-step of making your ambassadors drink your product on camera, or the shameless plug for the brand when the cameras start rolling that was troubling me. I realized it was my friend’s 10 year old daughter.

She lives, breathes, and also plays Aussie rules. Watching a game with a child is an amazing reminder of why you first start watching sport, when it’s the most exciting part of your week and is just about the players and the game.

 

Source: When It Comes To Alcohol, Athletes Aren’t The Only Role Models In Sport

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