Football television has been part of the fabric of the game for almost 70 years.
Shows have sprawled over every night of the week, ranging from prime-time panel slots, breaking news, analysis and comedy. All had their niche, and with that, the interest from the fans.
Trying to rank the greatest football programs of all time is no easy task. Some changed the way the game was discussed. Some entertained generations of supporters.
But who takes the cake as the best of the best?
These are the greatest footy shows ever produced.
1The Footy Show - Channel 9 - 1994 – 2019
At number one, it has to be The Footy Show, because no football program has ever mattered more to the culture of the game.
The song and catch-cry was “It's More Than a Game”, and across 25 years on air, it certainly lived up to that reputation.
It was unapologetic, chaotic, blokey, occasionally brilliant, often ridiculous and completely unlike anything else on television.. At its peak, Eddie, Sam, Trev, Dougie, Dunstall, Garry, Crawf, Billy, Fev, JB, Rebecca Madden and co didn't just host a TV show, they set the tone for the entire football week.
For all the madness, it also had serious footy clout. It broke stories, landed the biggest names and shaped the conversation, with Eddie revealing that Ted Whitten had passed away from his battle with cancer and that Garry Hocking had changed his name by deed poll to “Whiskas” still a stand out for mine.
Then there were the segments and gags that became part of the institution: Street Talk, Sam's Mail Bag, Trev behind the bar, Almost Football Legends, Billy's Wheel, House of Bulger, Player Revues, Grand Final spectaculars and the constant playing of Garry on the stretcher as a go when Brayshaw and Lyon took over as hosts in 2006.
It also had moments of genuine heart, especially Shane Crawford's run from Adelaide to Melbourne and later his ride from Melbourne to Perth for Breast Cancer Network Australia.
And yes, it had moments that deserve scrutiny too, from the David Schwarz and Sam Newman pie-in-the-face fallout, Crawf dacking Sam to Sam's infamous Nicky Winmar blackface moment, just to name a few.
Love it or loathe it, The Footy Show was shameless, flawed, generous, influential and era- defining television - and no show has ever been more loved, more quoted, done more for the community or been more impossible to replace.
