Love It Or Hate It, Footy's Back | Thebigtip

The atmosphere, the smell of hot food, proud colour-baring supporters, the blaring siren - it can't be mistaken, footy is finally back. It has been a long five months but the NAB Cup Pool 1 clash that saw the Demons come out victorious marks the familiar beginning of footy in 2011.

However, this year has something unique - a new debate.

The newly designed NAB Cup, featuring three teams battling it out in two games of twenty minute halves each, has received mixed emotions on the back of Melbourne's convincing advancement into the second round of the NAB Cup against Adelaide and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Friday night.

Game 1
Adelaide: 0.3.6.24
Melbourne: 0.5.4.34

Game 2
Melbourne: 0.5.6.36
Port Adelaide: 1.2.6.27

Game 3
Adelaide: 0.6.4.40
Port Adelaide: 0.1.2.8

As a supporter, the prospect of going to a game of football and getting a whole lot more than you were prepared for - three times as more to be exact - is nothing short of exciting, even for a "scratch match". The AFL deserves praise for coming up with an innovative spin on an otherwise stock standard series of practice matches. Watching three teams not only play to win once, but twice, adds to the excitement of being a football fan. It gives the supporter a unique experience along with the players, cheering on their young guns amongst not one lot of opposition supporters, but two.

Although the new competition has brought excitement back into the scratch match, it is what it is - a nothing game. The same prize awaits the winner of the competition - tired legs, the glorified tin can being NAB Cup trophy and the title of the "who gives a stuff?" champions. The only interesting component of the reworked competition for those who are just waiting for the footy to get to the real deal is getting to see their team compare their youth with twice as many teams.

The real winners in this competition are the teams themselves due to the reason stated above - they get to compare themselves against double the amount of competition. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the more chance you get to scope out your competition, the better chance you have of exploiting their weaknesses. This could lead to some interesting clashes throughout the 2011 season.

Love it or hate it, the new NAB Cup has made a splash and left an imprint on the AFL supporter base. Whether you find the competition to be a spectacle or a waste of time, one thing's for sure - footy is back, and the 2011 season is right around the corner!