Today may officially be May the 4th, the sci-fi themed celebration of all things Star Wars, but the Australian Football League has been engaged in festivities since Friday. Perhaps the most humorous aside to come out of it all is the story of fresh Bulldogs recruit “S. Trooper”, whose kicking action must be Force-enhanced, despite being a lowly foot solider in the Empire’s army.
Unfortunately, the AFL doesn’t seem to have mastered the arcane art of embedded video, so you’ll have to hit up the Bulldogs’ site directly to see it.
I’m sure having a storm trooper out on the field is good for morale (?), but taking Griffen out of the side? That’s a bit stiff.
The AFL, obviously not wanting to miss an merchandising opportunity, has also sorted out two Star Wars-flavoured guernseys for each club — one featuring a pill-holding storm trooper with the club’s name followed by the word “Empire” ($40); and a “youth” shirt with a bunch of celebrating storm troopers in the side’s colours ($35).
Examples of each from the Essendon Bombers and Geelong Cats, respectively:
I actually like the look of the first shirt, which goes particularly well with the Bombers’ red and black colours.