American rapper Snoop Dogg says he has fallen “in love” with Australian Rules football as he prepares to headline the entertainment at Saturday’s AFL grand final in Melbourne.
The 53-year-old will perform before a crowd of up to 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Geelong will face Brisbane for the championship title.
“I’ve been coming to this country for years and I understand what this game is and what it means,” Snoop Dogg told Australian media at a closed-door event. “It’s not just a sport, it’s a way of life. I just fell in love with the sport.”
He admitted he once struggled to grasp the rules but now sees similarities with American football and rugby. “Now that I understand it, I like it and want to know more before the grand finale,” he said.
The AFL, Australia’s most popular spectator sport, traces its roots back to 1858 and bears resemblance to Ireland’s Gaelic football.
Snoop Dogg’s selection as the grand final performer has divided opinion, with critics citing misogynistic and offensive lyrics in some of his past work. The league faced accusations of hypocrisy for hiring him while simultaneously suspending Adelaide star Izak Rankine for four matches over a homophobic slur.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon defended the decision. “I’ve been really confident with the choice of Snoop,” he said. “He’s performed at the Olympics, he’s performed at a Super Bowl, and he’ll suit our stage.”
