If you live in Melbourne and are in any way a fan of sports, eventually you have to put with being assaulted by the opinions of Eddie McGuire.
There’s no getting around it. No avoiding it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. On a long enough time line, he’s going to have a dumbass idea and he’s going to spout off about it in public.
And as far as his long, sordid history of crackpot ideas goes, this one… Well… Actually this one’s pretty darn good.
McGuire, who not only is the president of the Collingwood Football Club, but is a director for the Victorian Major Events Company, today went on the record in stating what Melbourne‘s next sporting target should be: the NBA and the NFL.
Following on from Melbourne’s anointing as
the best sporting city of the past decade, McGuire asserted that the city was now well positioned to attract even more globally-renowned sporting attractions, particularly ones from the US.
Citing a surge in the number of Australians playing in the NBA, including Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, and likely high draft picks Ben Simmons and Thon Maker, McGuire stated that the opportunity was ripe to host an NBA game in the city – potentially even ourdoors at the mammoth MCG.
“In America they play some games in the big stadiums. There is no reason we couldn’t do it at Etihad or Rod Laver Arena or even the MCG.”
“We need to keep challenging ourselves because there is no such thing as a bad idea and we need to keep delivering.”
“The NBA, the NFL, when they take a look around and say, ‘What are the emerging markets?’ … they go somewhere that delivers.
“Success breeds success and we’re right in the frame for the next decade.”
The NFL currently plays a pair of games abroad annually in London, so the concept isn’t out of the question. And with the return of college football to Australia scheduled for August (with the Cal Bears set to take on the University of Hawaii at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium), a bigger push for more American sports in Australia seems like a smart idea.
Melbourne has already played host to a raft of high-profile European football sides, including visits from Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool FC. The award would give Melbourne greater weight to drag in bigger events, according to Eddie.
“I think what you will see now is the people and sports that want to go to the biggest and best places will come knocking. The big American sports like basketball and gridiron, the big European sports, that award will help.”
Hey, if it helps get world-class pro-basketball or American football played in Melbourne, then we’re all for it. Lock it in, Eddie.
Photo: Adam Trafford, AFL Media/Getty.
