What a crowd!

The Australian Football game has returned in front of a great crowd of appreciative fans, well actually a number of life size cardboard cut outs featuring fanatical fans at a cost of twenty dollars for them and placed around the ground.

Their voices are supplied by a series of sound clips from previous games and as the first game using these fake voices ended in a draw the end of the match was met by silence. They were also better behaved than the people they represented as they didn’t boo the umpires or cast doubt on their parentage. They were desperate to add some atmosphere to the game although it’s doubtful that it worked.

The idea of using fake bodies to fill spaces seems a bit silly although it may already be common, especially in political houses and a quick look at a collection of senators will confirm this. The use of fake people is not that uncommon when you watch any recent TV series with a battle scene. There are other times when they could have been used including at President Trump’s Inauguration ceremony. Students could use them to sit in class for them and unless they catch on fire the teachers won’t mind, as a quiet student is a good student. The other supporting argument for the cardboard people is that they make more sense than most politicians and they can’t tweet.

Dennis Fitzgerald — Melbourne, Australia