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The First VFL Grand Final

It's AFL grand final day in Melbourne, a sporting tradition that stretches back more than 120 years.

Before the AFL launched in 1990, taking the compeition national, it was the VFL, based entirely in Victoria. The first VFL grand final took place in 1898, between Essendon and Fitzroy.

I wrote about this on my other blog - check it out here if you're interested - and one thing I learned about old footy matches, is that there are not many photos available. Which makes sense, photography itself was still a relatively new medium.

So this seemed like a great opportunity for A.I. to fill the gap: could they realistically depict what this first Grand Final looked like?

My prompt was:

The first VFL grand final in Victoria was played in 1898, between Essendon and Fitzroy. Can you create a realistic image from this match.

ChatGPT

Photo of the first VFL grand final 1898
A good effort from ChatGPT: black and white, old timey vibe, crowd in the distance at what appears to be a suburban ground, i.e. no grandstands or infrastructure.

It has even had a go at showing the teams, with an 'F' for Fitzroy. And the uniforms are similar to what the players in this era would have worn.

One thing to note: the players appear to be clones. Although one friend of mine who saw this commented, well guys probably did look alike back then.

Gemini

Photo of the first VFL grand final 1898
Gemini has come up with something similar, down to the kind of ball-up moment in play (I wonder: what do these tools think Aussie Rules football is?). A particularly nice touch is the old fashioned, handwritten label at the bottom of the image.

This one definitely has a kind of soccer vibe though, with a round ball and EPL style strips. But a reasonable, if unremarkable, creation.

Grok


Switching codes, Grok appears to have opted for Rugby as its basis, which does make sense: Elon is orignally from South Africa, where rugby is king.

Outside of this, Grok's effort is disappointingly short of details: no action, no crowd, and no 'F' on the jumpers.

Love the caps though. Bring back the cap!

Co-Pilot



Once again, Co-Pilot has excelled itself. It has imagined not the game itself, but (I think) the aftermath, which appears to be part riot, part Sovereign Citizen reclaim Australia rally.

While the second image does at least appear celebratory, the top one is undoubtedly sinister. The bald man in the centre has cult leader energy, and his glare says: he's coming for you next.

My favourite though, is this one, which reimagines the 1898 VFL grand final as the opening credits for Season 1 of 'The Leftovers':


I'm glad everyone is worshipping an eagle now though, I much prefer this to the Rasputin figure of image 1. All hail: The Eagle!!

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