Kevin Sheedy (Australian Footballer) - Public Persona

Public Persona

Sheedy is also noted for his quirky antics, outspoken nature and wry sense of humour. For example, before a game against West Coast Eagles at Essendon's former home ground, Windy Hill in 1991, he tied the windsock down on the School End outer terrace so the opposition would not know which way the wind was blowing. He is also fond of talking about how Martians cost his side the game in post-match press conferences, an oblique reference to the umpires, as AFL rules forbid coaches from criticising umpiring decisions. Such stories perpetuate the eccentric Sheedy myth and enigma to trial anything for success.

Another of his most memorable stunts came in 1993. In his excitement at winning a close match, with ruckman and forward Paul Salmon kicking a goal 30 seconds before the final siren against the West Coast Eagles, he waved his jacket in the air as he came rushing from the coaches box. To this day, the supporters of the winning club wave their jackets in the air after the game when the two teams play. The moment is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport, with Sheedy shown waving a red, black and yellow jacket rather than a red and black jacket, to reflect Sheedy's support of indigenous footballers.

Another example of his ability to build up and promote matches was in 1998 when he labelled North Melbourne executives Greg Miller and Mark Dawson "marshmallows", referring to how soft they were. This caused a tension between the two camps and came back to bite Sheedy, with North Melbourne defeating the Essendon Football Club in a finals match that season. After the match, Kangaroos supporters were provided with marshmallows, which they threw at Sheedy. Unfazed by this, Sheedy then promoted the rematch in 1999 as the "marshmallow" game.

Sheedy has long been an ambassador for the game throughout Australia, taking it upon himself to promote both the game in general and the Essendon club in particular. He has also done a great deal of work with Aboriginal communities in the northern parts of Australia, encouraging young Aboriginal people to take up the game, and being a vocal supporter of anti-racial vilification laws in the game. He has also encouraged foreign players to train with his side such as a former American footballer, a skillfully athletic Ethiopian immigrant and more recently two gallant Japanese try-outs.

In the build up to the 2005 International Rules Series, as coach of the Australian side, Sheedy promoted the game by light-heartedly mentioning that supporters could attend the International rules game and be in for a high-scoring clash, or watch the Melbourne Victory game which was on at the same time, and see a scoreline of "0–0, or 1–0, or 1–1".

Sheedy has racked up numerous appearances on television and radio, including appearing on FOX FM's Friday morning football tipping with Tracy Bartram and Matt Tilley in 2003 and 2004. He is also currently the spokesman for Aquamax Australian water heating systems.

Sheedy visited the United States and Canada in 2007 on a tour of North America as AFL ambassador, attending the USAFL National Championships and was well received from stateside fans. In 2008, He started running and writing articles on Supercoach in the Herald Sun, He also worked with Richmond, working with membership and is a part-time AFL ambassador.