Americans Watching The Footy

Fun with names goes across cultures and codes. Round 14's crop of byes leaves three buzz-worthy Victorian clubs and the ladder leaders out of the action. We set the table for their coming clashes and highlight the good, the bad, and the awkward for each. Also, go Maroons.

Is it a bit? Who even knows at this point with that guy? Either way, Port and Sydney have had some fun clashes in recent years, and we can add another to that list. That helped us forget about some of the disappointment of Thursday's hyped-up clash, as well as Waterman pissing away another game in front of goal for the Eagles. Plus, we touch on the World Cup and what Australians should look fo...

Ribbit. Ribbit. One Lion was prepared for Carlton terries in what we soon found out was Voss' last as coach. Good riddance. Also in this episode: a return to form for Geelong, a near-miss for Draw FC, and a couple Bay Area high school tangents that may or may not relate to the footy.

We've got our NPR voices ready for one of our absolute favorite bits… but that's just a snippet of a marathon episode about a round that started off as well as any in recent memory, included a lot of personal disappointment for both hosts, and ended… better than lukewarm.

Around the league we go again in a week that saw utter disappointment from our two teams, mind-boggling decisions from officials in more ways than one, and a few sterling performances that deserve 3 or 10 votes depending on what award you're thinking of.

Alternate Title: "Kindly Deeds Done for Free." Both come from Ethan. We continue our discussion of Round 6 with the final two games of Behind Saturday. Sunday was like a sandwich with high-quality meat on bread that was not up to the task. Heck, maybe even the bread was a little off, because it was an xScore pisser. Enjoy!

Round 6 was so full that we decided to split up our recap, instead of having a marathon episode of even greater length than our earlier ones this season. The Blues are the Blues and of course Collingwood got involved in another after-siren finish, but that isn’t even the main story from Thursday. Friday’s rivalries took on very different tones in Geelong and Sydney, while Single-Digit Saturday beg...

Gather Round 4.0 is in the books, and we hope it (mostly) sticks in SA. The result of the Saturday night "main event" wasn't surprising, but it leaves us with lots of questions about how dire the Bulldogs' situation really is. Plus, Alex Pearce did it again, the Blues can't get out of their own way, and the Kassel Cup had another predictable outcome.

This is much more than your regular recap: we're truly going international this time! Ethan has launched a brilliant initiative, and Benjamin is completely on board. Plus, our commiserations on both our teams losing in very different embarrassing ways, and all sorts of fun with derpy moments and coaches that look absolutely lost.

I mean, most of footy doesn't have to do with that. Neither does someone wiping blood on an opponent, though, and that happened this week. Tristan Xerri will make us remember this round for a while, but so will West Coast's Jobe Shanahan, and so too will the Blues and their legendary collapse.

Spring has arrived in America, and the first Eagles win has arrived in Perth — both worthy causes for celebration. Fourth quarters turned every which way in Round 2 and occupy much of our focus, particularly in the round bookends and the Showground tilt. …Oh, and Essendon got blasted on the oval athletically, and now off the oval verbally.

So much for noises of affirmation or dissent… what about when you need to express something but don't know what to use? Thankfully, we've got plenty to express after a full round of footy. The Thursday opener reminded all doubters how a season should truly start, while the Cats shook off a rough first 5 quarters of the season to finish strong down the highway. And who'd have thought th...

We're back at long last, ready for another season! Benjamin has gotten into teaching, and he and Ethan are knee-deep into state basketball playoffs, but the footy consumes all. Find out our initial thoughts on new rules, takeaways from the first five games, and our picks for round awards.

The Lions reigned supreme, much to Ethan's chagrin and somewhat to Benjamin's surprise. We discuss our different Grand Final viewing experiences and tie up some season-long narratives.

Not sorry, says Ethan! The largest prelim crowd in 54 years saw Victoria's best rivalry (no, we're not biased, why?) go the Cats' way, with a healthy helping of Dangerfield. The next night, an all-feline Grand Final was confirmed. Keep listening for our postmortems of the prelim losers, as well as a healthy dose of Americana.

And then there were four. Drama decided to take a pass on the semi-finals, but we've still got plenty to break down. Plus, we look at other codes, marveling at the oddities in multiple forms of football.

Well, that was… fun? If you were a completely neutral party, I'd definitely say Saturday's eliminators were. However, given our respective interests, we hold reservations. Ethan also turned against a (former) favorite of his — learn who it was and more here!

With the home-and-away season done and dusted, it's time to look back at those clubs sitting on the sidelines in September. We begin to give the losers their due in this annual two-part event!

With the home-and-away season done and dusted, it's time to look back at those clubs sitting on the sidelines in September. We begin to give the losers their due in this annual two-part event!

Yeah, a couple clubs did some obvious things to actively avoid victory here in the final round. Benjamin anticipated the Bulldogs' failures, while Ethan certainly didn't. We also go into some Australian connections in college football as that season gets going too!

With just one round to go, 10 teams are mathematically out of it… yet their headlines on and off the oval remain as entertaining as those of the finals contenders. We celebrate expected and unsung heroes alike across the league, and Benjamin crams as many references to one band as possible into one game breakdown.

We're back! …No, not just with a new episode. We're both back home! Ethan's returned from his pilgrimage, and Benjamin's started his new job. It's been a very dramatic week for both of us, and the footy definitely added to those feelings… even if Ethan didn't see much of the excitement in person.

Ethan did the thing. His first visit to Kardinia Park was the centerpiece of his whole footy pilgrimage, because of the interactions he had post-match. Round 21 spaced out its drama pretty well, though our older host only saw one of the big results in person. Listen for more of his takes on the live footy experience and various other Aussie experiences!

Ethan's footy pilgrimage is underway! He's already taken in 3 games in as many states, so listen in to hear all about his inaugural Australian experience. From back in California, Benjamin inquires and reflects on his own unique setting for watching the most insane ending of the year. Sections 0:00:00 Intro / Ethan’s There! 0:08:15 HAW v CAR 0:13:45 ESS v WB 0:20:05 GWS v SYD 0:27:37 GC v...

As much as Benjamin's Eagles want redemption and escape, it's nowhere in sight. Thankfully, the other WA team can lift our collective mood. We also got some key results involving "Australia's Florida" to discuss in this extremely unique episode!