Behind The Curtain: AFL

There’s an adage/belief that most fights are not decided in the ring, but in a fighter’s mind in the locker room. Behind these panels serving as each corner's home base, fighters are prepping and receiving last minute tweaks to their game plan. Sometimes an occasional familiar face would stick their head in to wish good luck amongst the shooing from officials in charge of keeping fighters and their coaches safe and isolated. It’s where those who won came back filled with adrenaline to a flood of high fives and congratulatory phone calls, and those on the receiving end of a loss would come to soften their spirits in a hidden place with their team. In a sport where both tradition and superstition almost rule past reason, a child’s imagination turns what feels like an oversized blanket fort into an impenetrable fortress.