Football gods (United States, United Kingdom) or Footy gods (Australia) is a common refrain used by sport broadcasters and commentators to refer to moments of great luck or misfortune experienced footballers, teams and their fans. It is used across different codes of football.
In Australia a segment of the NRL Footy Show had a feature focusing on the notion of the Footy gods pondering "why a League ball bounces this way instead of that...why so called big money players are actually hopeless...or why the ref thought why this was a forward pass!...its enough to make any fan scream to the gods, the footy gods!" [1]
The Cobargo Chronicle from New South Wales in Australia noted in 1900 "That Jupiter Pluvius this winter seems to dispense all his favours on Saturday–the footballers' god should be supplicated on the matter" [2]
There are common themes used to describe the inclinations of the Football gods:
The National Rugby League is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.
Stadium Australia is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stadium, Homebush Stadium or simply the Olympic Stadium, was completed in March 1999 at a cost of A$690 million to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Stadium was leased by a private company, the Stadium Australia Group, until the Stadium was sold back to the NSW Government on 1 June 2016 after NSW Premier Michael Baird announced the Stadium was to be redeveloped as a world-class rectangular stadium. The Stadium is owned by Venues NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
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Ryan Girdler is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia international representative goal-kicking centre, he played his club football for the Illawarra Steelers and the Penrith Panthers, winning the 2003 NRL Premiership with the Panthers.
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals series. Synonymous with a championship game in North American sports, grand finals have become a significant part of Australian culture. The earliest leagues to feature a grand final were in Australian rules football, followed soon after by rugby league. Currently the largest grand finals are in the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL). Their popularity influenced other competitions such as soccer's A-League Men and A-League Women, the National Basketball League, Suncorp Super Netball and European rugby league's Super League to adopt grand finals as well. Most grand finals involve a prestigious award for the player voted best on field.
Jason Anthony Stevens is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also a writer, screenwriter and actor. An Australia national and New South Wales State of Origin representative prop, he played his club football in Sydney for the St. George Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Stevens retired from competitive rugby league in 2005 and has since worked as a rugby league writer.
Thomas Walter Raudonikis was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played 40 International games and World Cup games as Australia representative halfback and captained his country in two matches of the 1973 Kangaroo tour.
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as well as Fox Sports News, Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Footy, Watch AFL and Watch NRL. Fox Sports channels such as Fox Netball are available via Foxtel or Kayo. The group's main competitors are beIN Sports, ESPN, Optus Sport and Stan Sport. Unlike Fox Sports the group is not owned directly by the Fox Corporation. However News Corp which holds a 65% stake in Foxtel is Fox Corporation's sister company.
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Cobargo is a village in the south-east area of the state of New South Wales in Australia in Bega Valley Shire. At the 2016 census, Cobargo had a population of 776 people. It is 386 km south of Sydney on the Princes Highway between Narooma and Bega. The town suffered heavy losses during the 2019 bushfires.
The Barassi Line is an imaginary line in Australia which approximately divides areas where Australian rules football or rugby league is the most popular football code. The term was first used by historian Ian Turner in his 1978 Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture. Crowd figures, media coverage, and participation rates are heavily skewed in favour of the dominant code on both sides.
Beau Ryan is an Australian television presenter, actor and singer and former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. Ryan is also well known for his comedic work on The Footy Show. On 5 June 2014, Ryan announced his immediate retirement whilst on The Footy Show, due to a neck injury. Beau Ryan released a single, "Where You From?" featuring Justice Crew on 19 September 2014.
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The Matty Johns Show was an Australian variety television show largely focused on the National Rugby League (NRL) competition, starring former professional rugby league footballer Matthew "Matty" Johns. It first aired in 2010 on Thursdays at 7.30 pm in New South Wales and Queensland, on the Seven Network. The show usually ran for 1 hour. It was produced by Matty Johns and John Singleton.
Cameron King is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker in the 2010s.
Erin Molan is an Australian television sports presenter.
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The Cobargo Chronicle was and English language newspaper published in Cobargo, New South Wales, Australia.
Morgan Boyle is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and second-row forward for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).