EDITORIAL

Escapism of footy hides the code’s COVID pain

THERE is an important distinction between what locals are experiencing now and our last lockdown back in April.

While the restrictions and the four reasons for leaving your home remain the same — with the addition of wearing face masks whenever we go outdoors — this time around we have been blessed by nightly entertainment in the form of the AFL.

When our lives were first turned upside down in March, there was much conjecture over whether the AFL would be able to stage any meaningful kind of season in 2020. Now that it is August and the second wave has flooded Victoria, it is hard to imagine how we would fill our nights without the escapism the AFL has provided.

The current compression of games that has delivered matches every single day — sometimes two games in a night — has left footy lovers even more spoiled for choice.

But, in what seems to be a constant in this tumultuous year 2020, there is a clear dichotomy between the important role of the current fixture to the general population and the financial pressures currently being endured by AFL clubs.

The pleasure and escape football is providing for those of us confined to our homes is coming at great sacrifice to players and their families and at massive cost to the competition and the clubs themselves.

That conflict was on show this week when on the field the Cats – coming off a four-day break and the difficult journey from Perth to Brisbane – produced a solid win over North Melbourne, while off field key staff in Geelong’s football and membership departments were learning that their jobs were no longer viable.

They were cuts that had been flagged earlier in the year by CEO Brian Cook, and president Colin Carter who on Wednesday warned that the financial state of the game could even worsen next year.

The extent of that damage became more apparent on Thursday when it was revealed that 15 key staff had been made redundant. And those lost staff were given faces in the forms of head of women’s football Simone Bellears and AFLW assistant coach Natalie Wood. In many ways these losses represent what was largely considered to be the future development of the club. It is a giant step backwards for a club that has always prided itself on its growth and vision.

So while we delight in the escapism of watching our teams this weekend, we should take a moment to consider the cost. Not even footy is immune to this virulent 2020.