There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding this year’s AFL Grand Final. Specifically, the announcement of the pre-match entertainment set for the big day has raised the ire of the public as well as those in the media and even politicians.

The AFL recently confirmed that three international acts will headline this year’s Toyota AFL Grand Final entertainment at the MCG on Saturday, 3rd October – Bryan Adams, Ellie Goulding, and Chris Isaak.

The decision to once again omit any Australian artists from the lineup in favour of international superstars who don’t need the exposure has earned criticism from grassroots activist group Rock The Granny and even Music Victoria.

Meanwhile, Meat Loaf, who infamously served as the pre-match entertainment for the 2011 AFL Grand Final, made headlines last week after he slammed the Australian Football League as the “cheapest people” he’s ever seen.

The veteran rocker’s harsh words prompted a sharp-tongued response form AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and criticism from footy fans. Meat Loaf later issued an apology to “the Australian Football League, their fans and the people of Australia”.

But is the Grand Final entertainment really all that important? After all, it’s not like the Super Bowl halftime show. It happens before the big match starts, when the crowd at the MCG just wants to see the game and television viewers are still sorting out snacks.

What is it actually like to play the AFL Grand Final? Mark Wilson can tell you. In 2007, Wilson played the Grand Final with his band, Jet, who at the time were one of the biggest acts in Australia, and he recently shared his experiences with Presentation Night and Noisey.

“When we played it you couldn’t hear anything. It was pretty hard. Just by virtue of what it is it’s not much fun to do,” Wilson tells Noisey. “We’re plonked in the middle of the oval, everyone else is 200-metres away and you know that nobody one can hear it.”

“For some reason, the organisers decided that due to logistical reasons we had to mime to an instrumental version of our songs with live vocals,” Wilson recounts in an op-ed for Presentation Night. “This is something we fought hard against, but ultimately they were unable to come to an agreement in time.”

“Finally it was time to play. It sounded like utter balls.”

“Things like this make you nervous as a musician. You play hundreds of live shows a year, yet you are unable to play live at the AFL Grand Final. There was nothing we could do, but surely nothing could go wrong… right?”

“Well it did. The track dropped out. Just for a split second, but drop out it did. Luckily this was a dress rehearsal and there was time to fix any issues. Right? Wrong.” Indeed, the band’s pre-match performance was marred by technical issues.

Before the match, Wilson writes, “I was having some real issues with anxiety, and it was all Geelong related. My mind was on the game and a million miles away from the task at hand (however dancing around miming with a bass around my neck is hardly a ‘task’).”

“Finally it was time to play. It sounded like utter balls,” he continues. “The drums and bass would bounce back off the stands creating the oddest sounding mess you could ever imagine – totally out of time and an absolute cacophony.”

“Also, that little issue of the track dropping out…you guessed it. It happened right there on the biggest TV event of the year in front of 90,000 people and do you know what? I didn’t even care.”

“I was so worked up about the game that a little glitch and any potential embarrassment it may have caused didn’t even register. I had better things on my mind.” So it turns out that playing as part of the Grand Final’s pre-match lineup isn’t any more enjoyable than watching it.

[include_post id=”458459″]

As for the AFL’s choice of entertainment, Wilson sympathises with the league’s efforts, but reckons they’re trying to make the Grand Final something it’s not. “I understand what they’re trying to do,” he tells Noisey.

“They want this big entertainment event like the Super Bowl. That’s their dream but there are a few factors that make it very different; one is that it’s in the afternoon, in the bright sunlight. Also the ground is enormous. An NFL field is quite a bit smaller.”

“Plus, it’s before the game so everyone who’s there to watch football is too nervous to care, and all the others are just talking to their friends at the bar.” And what about the need for Australia music during the big day?

“It’s a hard one because I think that there should be a local act as there has been in the past but after our experience I feel like the whole thing isn’t really worth it,” says Wilson. Fair call.