Losing interest ?

[Tazzytiger]

I've been a keen football supporter for fifty plus years. I have watched a lot of different leagues and levels. I have watched my sons and their friends go through the development stuff. I have played myself and Umpired as well. I remember when Saturday at the football was a day out. But sadly I feel that a lot of people have lost interest. Sadly I have a bit. It's not a game I remember playing. Are we losing the game ?

 

[Tigers of Old]

Was talking to a few of PRE's royalty about this last weekend.
There's no doubt the 'State of the Game' is on the nose more now than when Gil hired SHocking to come in & fix it.

I think the number of rule changes are a real indicator of how broken our game is.
Watched the soccer this morning & couldn't help but wonder what a simple game it is that's barely changed in generations..
Australian Rules Football by point of comparison is these days complicated mess where players, coaches, supporters & umpires are all confused as to the rules of the game. It's also moved away from what made most of it's core audience love the game. A hard, physical, gladiatorial contest.
The uncontested snoozefests we're seeing now aren't what we fell in love with.

Breaking up is hard to do but it's happening..

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

1. Money
2. Lawyers
3. TV
4. Rules

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

 

[JimJessTorp]

I'm with you @Tazzytiger. I remember 20 years ago I would watch as many games as I could each weekend. But with Demetriou and McLachlan the game has transformed into a vehicle for corporate money making while depriving the fans of access (pay to view) and competition (compromised rules, draft, etc.). These days I watch every Tigers game on free to air as I refuse to pay money to Uncle Rupert, and I spend time on these forums and have the odd squizz at the site that shall not be named mainly to then jump to the Tigers site.

The game itself has turned into a clusterfuck of complex, poorly thought out, rule interpretations designed to manufacture a spectacle that is unattainable. Many teams have become robot-like in how they approach the game making them unwatchable.

I also reckon the "Americanisation" of "footy" means we'll never see another player as good as DM (statue now please) because soccer, basketball and cricket offer more money and greater choice internationally which will suck gifted sportsmen away from the pathways into AFL.

Adding to this is the massive growth of on-line competitive/cooperative play through the medium of computer games, and there are very few parents in Aus who will tell little Salim, or Jenny to go join up at the local footy club and run about in the mud and rain because that just creates work for Dad and Mum to wash kit and do the Saturday taxi runs.

$0.02

 

[The_General]

I think, nay I know I've said this before, but after ~2013 and the contrived manner in which Melbourne and GWS were being spoon-fed, I stopped watching neutral matches save for finals.
This year, with all the enthusiasm of being outdoors, I went to several live games. Since then, I lost interest. I watch Tigers games, but other than that. No footy shows, no other games. I don't read the paper about other teams.

 

[acatman1]

Yes it is about $$$$ ( most sports are)

The thing is the game itself by definition is flawed. No "set" positions means basically the more numbers you have around the ball the more likely you are to get the ball. Its like watching u/12 play. Thats why they tried with the 6/6/6 thing, but it only works at centre bounces. Just a whole mob of blokes going where the ball is. Not sure how this can be fixed but to me thats the most obvious problem in our game

 

[eZyT]

I used to watch 3-4 games a round.

now I usually watch 2, and often I go to bed at half-time in the neutral one.

my interest in Richmond hasn't waned one milligram,

but my interest in AFL certainly has.

I watched a few live QAFL games on Saturday and really enjoyed them.

im just going to direct my love of footy back toward grass roots more,

until Gil and Shocking *smile* off, and we get some decent custodians who understand what we love, and why we love it.

 

[Tony Braxton-Hicks]

Empires crumble when they become complacent. After 37 years of struggle, when just a chance at finals was all we used to need to stay hungry, we supporters have become complacent in a year that's not living up to expectations.

We expect our players to toughen up. We need to stay the journey too. Our empire will strike back.

 

[Scoop]

It’s crossroads time. The diehards are wavering and I don’t think many newbies are coming.

The game has been pushed into no mans land.

And it’s not about us, I’ll devour everything Richmond till I pass on, the rest, not so much now.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Yes it is about $$$$ ( most sports are)

The thing is the game itself by definition is flawed. No "set" positions means basically the more numbers you have around the ball the more likely you are to get the ball. Its like watching u/12 play. Thats why they tried with the 6/6/6 thing, but it only works at centre bounces. Just a whole mob of blokes going where the ball is. Not sure how this can be fixed but to me thats the most obvious problem in our game

Because it used to be an amateur sport where only 3 players in a team were fit enough to run all day.
I'm getting closer to thinking it might be time to get rid of the wings & go to 16 a side on field.
More fatigue. less congestion. Less collision injuries.
Strip the game right back to the basics to go with it.

 

[bigwow]

It’s crossroads time. The diehards are wavering and I don’t think many newbies are coming.

The game has been pushed into no mans land.

And it’s not about us, I’ll devour everything Richmond till I pass on, the rest, not so much now.

Ditto.

 

[acatman1]

Because it used to be an amateur sport where only 3 players in a team were fit enough to run all day.
I'm getting closer to thinking it might be time to get rid of the wings & go to 16 a side on field.
More fatigue. less congestion. Less collision injuries.
Strip the game right back to the basics to go with it.

True TOO, BUT its more than blokes being able to run all day. Most mainline sports have improved fitness levels, and doesnt/hasnt seen to effect the game that much. its the numbers with 30 to 40 metres of the ball that is the problem. 36 blokes in or around the 50 arc must cause congestion.

 

[ARCHYBOY]

Who watches other games just because of “Fantasy Football”???
An interesting experiment would be to cancel SuperCoach & Dream team for a year and see what that does to TV ratings.
I know I wouldn’t watch any other games outside Richmond if they did that.

 

[dimmauchump]

Because it used to be an amateur sport where only 3 players in a team were fit enough to run all day.
I'm getting closer to thinking it might be time to get rid of the wings & go to 16 a side on field.
More fatigue. less congestion. Less collision injuries.
Strip the game right back to the basics to go with it.

This is half the problem. We are continually trying to come up with ways of changing the game. You can tinker a rule here or a rule there but this game has had several years of major rule changes in which we are now left with a game that resembles basketball, NRL scrums and NFL plays. Cannot watch any games outside of the Tigers. The AFL peaked between the mid 80s to mid 90s. Was at its purest. Could easily watch 4-5 games a week. Had characters. Id tune in just to watch Hawks vs Essendon for the biff. Carey vs Jackovich dual. Ablett Srs freak show.
Now its a game filled with spoilt private school kids who's Daddy has a hand in them being drafted. So many natural talented kids never get a look in anymore as 90% of recruits come from the private schools. We have blokes coming from USA and getting on the list of a club like Collingwood. Imagine that happening 20 years ago. No chance.

A couple more years of this and the game will take a massive dive with no way of getting back.

 

[taraba]

Yep. Used to watch everything and when I could would go to two matches every week. Inside footy and all the papers were staples around my house. Couldn’t get enough.

Personally I feel the game was at its best in the 90’s. High flying forwards, tough contests and some larger than life personalities and real men playing the game.

Now it’s just a shadow of what it used to be. The big physical clashes are gone and have been replaced with a short passing zig zagging abomination. Whistle stand, whistle stand, whistle stand. Zzzzzzz it’s annoying and boring.

And the commentators are god awful now. Can’t listen to them. Compared to overseas sports it’s completely amateurish.

 

[IanG]

Are we losing the game ?

Yes, for probably a couple of years now I've been gradually losing interest in everything AFL bar the Tigers. And its due to the poor mgt of the competition and the media.

 

[St Kevin]

I'll watch Richmond play regardless of what league they're in. I think that says it all about the competition more broadly.

 

[artball]

Funny day when you say to a mate on the phone, "don't know about this game anymore"

then you see a thread on the great PRE that says " losing interest ? "

I cannot stand the mess that the AFL has created.

I love the RFC and the camaraderie of its fans and will never stop watching them.

 

[DjJazzyPete]

Will always follow and watch the mighty Tigers !!! 37 years I did it for .. but this will be the end of an era and a start of another... were much better manged team now ..
So haven't lost interest....but will be a lot more interested in the Trade and Draft periods this year than the past few ..

 

[gold1]

I paid 2k for a membership this year and have not been to a game?