Where "Barrack For" Comes From
"Barrack" most likely comes from a Northern Irish dialect word meaning "to brag" or "to be boastful," though other theories point to the Aboriginal Wathaurong word "borak" (no, not) or to the military barracks in Melbourne. The first documented Australian use of "barrack for" — meaning to support loudly — is from the Maitland Mercury in 1889: "barrack for his boy."
In British English, "barrack" kept its original jeering sense: British barrackers shout in criticism or protest. Australian English performed a semantic inversion — loud, partisan noise became support rather than opposition, making "barrack for" the standard term for enthusiastic spectator support at sport from football to cricket to netball.
Source: The Conversation — "Barracking, sheilas and shouts: how the Irish influenced Australian English"
"Which team do you barrack for in the AFL?"
How Aussies Actually Use It
It's the standard Australian way to say which sporting team you support, especially in Australian Rules football, though it works for any code or team.
It's also occasionally stretched to mean supporting a person, party, or cause more generally, as in "who are you barracking for in the election?"
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