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Why Eddie Betts is a true AFL hero

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At its essence, sport is entertainment, there to provide people with an experience that's hard for them to find in their everyday lives. The players, who are all acting in some way - some to cover up physical deficiencies, others to cover up ailments and some to just cover up doubts and insecurities - play the roles of heroes and villains.

Generally, the players who shine the brightest in the fans' eyes are the ones whose "acting" is minimal and can play with traits that are authentic to who they really are. And in today's game there is no hero shining brighter than Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts.

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But there's a couple of other reasons outside his authenticity that have made Eddie a crowd favourite.

The first is obvious, it's his ability to do brilliant acts both consistently and with ease and his ability to improvise in seemingly impossible situations. The second, less obvious reason, is that Eddie's journey closely resembles the 'Hero's Journey', a term coined by American scholar Joseph Campbell. It's the formula for almost every main character in movies since they were first created. This formula has been broken down into 15 essential plot points in Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat, a book that's considered a must-read for any budding screenwriter.

Without listing all 15 points, essentially the journey consists of; setting up who the main character is and his/her struggles, a catalyst followed by internal debate, a decision to change and begin the Hero's Journey, a setback where all appears lost, followed by one last shot at the original dream and atonement.

The AFL was first introduced to Eddie Betts after Carlton drafted him in the 2004 pre-season draft with pick No.3. While his struggles then weren't known by many - he couldn't read, drank too much and didn't have the professionalism to be a consistent AFL player - they have since been spoken about publicly by Eddie.

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What was known by all who met him in 2004, was that Carlton had picked up an incredibly kind young man, who was fiercely loyal and honest to a fault, even if that honesty sometimes exposed some lifestyle improvements required if he was going to make it at the top level.

The next stage in the Hero's Journey is where the main character goes through the internal debate as to whether the changes required are possible and if all the effort will be worth it, before the transformational journey begins. It was here where Eddie decided he'd commit to the necessary sacrifices to grow as a footballer, but he also courageously embarked on a journey of personal growth as he learnt to read and write. During this stage, Shane O'Sullivan from Carlton among others would play the role of supporting actor, before a few years later being replaced by the main support in Eddie's life, his now wife Anna.

The Hero's Journey then continues to gain traction as the decision to commit to change is validated by improvement, before adversity is encountered where all appears lost. Eddie's transformation to becoming the player he is today looked on track in 2011-12 when he was named in the 40-man All Australian squad for impressive back-to-back seasons. However, in 2013 he broke his jaw, had indifferent form and eventually decided to leave Carlton for Adelaide.

Knowing how loyal a person Eddie is and how much he loved so many at Carlton, from teammates, coaches, to staff and fans, it's easy to see why this decision weighed so heavily on his shoulders and would neatly fit into the "darkest hour" scene.

Just as in the movies, the main protagonist then has one last shot at achieving the original goal. This is the period of Eddie's career that we all feel lucky to be witnessing. A period that if the low point of moving clubs wasn't reached, we may never have gotten to see.

What differentiates sport from the movies of course is that it rarely follows the neat narrative that most movies do. Even last year's fairy tale of the Bulldogs Premiership was marred by their main character Bob Murphy playing a significant role, but not the role he, nor all football fans would have liked. Here's hoping Eddie Betts' finale fits more neatly in with Snyder's fifteen act formula.