How Gather Round could adopt the WrestleMania approach
As an avid WWE fan as a kid, I used to rush home from school to watch Monday Night Raw, I loved my toy wrestler figurines and I still listen, to this day, to mid-nineties grunge rock anthems. Now scattered across two days (previously held on one day), WrestleMania is a stadium sell-out event which holds the biggest title matches involving the best WWE wrestlers – old and new. My fascination lies with how the event tours around the United States each year; a rolling circus of charismatic, egotistical, top-rope jumping personalities. My first memory of this was WrestleMania 21 and its “Big Time” theme at Los Angeles’s Staples Center in 2005. It was fittingly a glamoured-up Hollywood event with the likes of John Cena, Kurt Angle, Trish Stratus and The Undertaker walking down the red carpet before they entered the ring. I now cannot imagine WrestleMania being held in one state or city only – all 40 times. Why not share around arguably the AFL’s greatest concept, Gather Round, even if South Australia are undeniably currently the best at it?
For context, since its inception in 2023, the AFL’s novel concept and annual themed weekend of football, known as Gather Round was partly inspired by the NRL’s Magic Round and has been hosted in South Australia each year. It has been a resounding success in its equitability, social reach, and AFL and event tourism popularity. The AFL’s most important stakeholders – the fans, flock to the City of Churches in droves and surrounding regions such as, the Barossa Valley and Mount Barker to watch any or many of the nine games on offer from Thursday until Sunday night. We have enough cities and regions in Australia to be proud of from a cultural, activities and aesthetic point of view. And yes, we also have LIV Golf, Test Matches and an upcoming 2032 Olympics to showcase our cities, but we may never know the true potential of footy life in some of our states if the AFL does not put Gather Round on wheels.
The 2028 Gather Round could be hosted by Tasmania. If everything comes to pass for the unveiling of the AFL’s nineteenth team, the Tasmanian Devils, Gather Round in Tassie could be the perfect way to showcase Tasmanian football in the AFL. And the new (hopefully opened by then) Mac Point Stadium could get its reveal with the whole footy world watching, as fans enjoy the art and culture Tasmania has to offer.
There is also evidence to suggest that the crowds at major stadiums can be just as big as the Gather Round crowds at Adelaide Oval. In 2020, the Richmond and Essendon match at Optus Stadium in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic recorded 55,656 fans. Despite this being another example of an AFL-centric state, if the competition places the Swans, Giants, Lions or Suns to play against a big Victorian club, such as Carlton or Collingwood, the crowds from those supporter bases will fill the void of the home team’s empty seats.
WrestleMania 41 will be aptly held in Vegas later this month (probably the most fitting location for such an event). The fun that the WWE would have at attempting to market the biggest wrestling event in one of the United States’ most famous cities will be endless. And no, Australia is not America, AFL is not WWE and we do not have a Vegas, a New York or a San Francisco. But, we have our version of cities with distinct personalities.
Obviously, state governments will need the appetite to hold such an event and therefore, will need to inject millions of dollars into the weekend itself and the AFL needs its payment from the hosts too. South Australia reportedly spent $80 million over three years but with a $91 million generated in revenue for the state. It has resulted in a boost in for the local S.A. economy. The last big push to grow the game in New South Wales and Queensland in particular could be a Surf-coast or harbor-themed Gather Round. We won’t know the true potential of those states if we don’t try.
Take the NFL’s Superbowl for example; American cities bid for the opportunity to hold such event and in return – if the bid is successful – generate millions in revenue in what is one of the more powerful brand exercises for an area or region when leveraging off sport.
What jumped out at me this year was the impression New Orleans had on me in the lead-up to this year’s Superbowl LIX (59), which resulted in the Kansas Chiefs going down to the Philadelphia Eagles at Ceasars Superdome. And no, the Superbowl is not a series of football matches and is mainly a city-centric event. But even amid the tragic New Orleans Bourbon Street terror attack, – which occurred weeks out from the major event and reached a death toll of 14 people – the city of New Orleans was still able to celebrate its colour, music, food and people. The imagery of jazz and reggae bands marching along Frenchman and Bourbon Street under twilight sky remained, as New Orleans endeared itself through social media and news programs to many viewers internationally.
I understand that most things are not worth fixing if they ‘ain’t broke’, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the AFL explored the possibility of Gather Round in another great Australian state. If you like me, believe in our great game of AFL football and it agree that there is plenty to celebrate in each of Australia’s states and territories, then surely its worth some consideration. Sometimes, the sequel could be as good as the original if we allow it to be.
Obviously, it would be great to see Gather Round return to South Australia – the birthplace and the Round’s original custodians. But those who care to let their mind wonder, take a holistic approach and for a moment, try to imagine how many of our states and territories could adopt the concept, place its own flare on the weekend and one day, return it back to South Australia, where it all began.
Read more from A.L. Illowa
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