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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Pathetic Crowd
- Thread starter realtiger
- Start date
Ok I'll bite, missed attending only my fourth Melbourne game in 31 years last night...busy at work Tuesday missed logging on at Ticketmaster at 3, remembered at 6, site just spun around then finally only offered $33 tix, why would I pay for a home game at an abhorrent venue which was never going to be full and I ready pay $700 a year..using the word pathetic should never be used towards paying members of our great club, we all have varying circumstances for not attending at times
Have spoke to a few alleged learned posters over a beer on the reason. Have a few thoughts (none RFC related) why crowds are down across the board:
1) Habit - Covid broke it. As some mentioned, winters nights with a red on the couch has become appealing. 6 pack + good red for 1/4 price of a night out. People are creatures of habit. This is no 1 ILO.
2) Tickets - Having to book a ticket and organising mates do same is a pain. Scanning your membership and rolling in where/when want FTW!
3) General Admin - It is bloody expensive for non club members to attend. Was going to bring a mate and his young kids to Hawks game = $120 WTF!!
4) Own seat - Dovetailing into above re Ticket point is familiarity of same reserved eat. A lot of member love the comfort of knowing who is around them every match.
5) Cost at games - Beer/Food bloody expensive. Especially now everyone has got a taste how cheap at home
6) Night games. Love to take my 8 y.o daughter. Died in wool Tiger. But every game at night is too late. The media beating today about no-one wanting Sat arvo game. Who the *smile* is actually driving that. It aint the fans. Just out of touch media.
7) Covid - Some are still wary of trains/crowds
8) Pre/Post game experience - The Swan St/Richmond buzz is down on every other year Leysy has been in Vic (16 years). It's only the PRE degenerates that we talk *smile* with that elevate our experience. Outside us, the atmosphere is noticeably quieter. This is the fallout from all the above.
I dont think the style of footy has an impact TBH. It's little different or arguably better than 2 to 3 years ago.
The AFL have a shitload of work to do to win this back. Which won't be easy with how out of touch they are.
Because of the above plus AFL not relating to the supporter expect this lower level of crowds to be the new norm.
Leysy's 2c.
1) Habit - Covid broke it. As some mentioned, winters nights with a red on the couch has become appealing. 6 pack + good red for 1/4 price of a night out. People are creatures of habit. This is no 1 ILO.
2) Tickets - Having to book a ticket and organising mates do same is a pain. Scanning your membership and rolling in where/when want FTW!
3) General Admin - It is bloody expensive for non club members to attend. Was going to bring a mate and his young kids to Hawks game = $120 WTF!!
4) Own seat - Dovetailing into above re Ticket point is familiarity of same reserved eat. A lot of member love the comfort of knowing who is around them every match.
5) Cost at games - Beer/Food bloody expensive. Especially now everyone has got a taste how cheap at home
6) Night games. Love to take my 8 y.o daughter. Died in wool Tiger. But every game at night is too late. The media beating today about no-one wanting Sat arvo game. Who the *smile* is actually driving that. It aint the fans. Just out of touch media.
7) Covid - Some are still wary of trains/crowds
8) Pre/Post game experience - The Swan St/Richmond buzz is down on every other year Leysy has been in Vic (16 years). It's only the PRE degenerates that we talk *smile* with that elevate our experience. Outside us, the atmosphere is noticeably quieter. This is the fallout from all the above.
I dont think the style of footy has an impact TBH. It's little different or arguably better than 2 to 3 years ago.
The AFL have a shitload of work to do to win this back. Which won't be easy with how out of touch they are.
Because of the above plus AFL not relating to the supporter expect this lower level of crowds to be the new norm.
Leysy's 2c.
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Thanks Bryan. My 1c worth. Agree and support all your points. Packed and ready to go yesterday afternoon and my 9 year old pulls the pin (#6) because of his footy this am, leads to (#1 & #5) and no complaints from me. If it was 5 hours earlier we would have been there.
As an interstater, I'd have to agree. It has been a while since I have been to Marvel, it was called Etihad back then. I saw Fevola's first game for the Lions against the Blues at Etihad. Was in town for a footy weekend, and also saw the Tigers knock off the Swans after being 5 goals down (the Andrew Collins game!).
But the thing I loved most about the ground was the ability to walk out of the ground and get something to eat at halftime. Plenty of places to get a beer too. Brilliant.
Makes me wonder why the AFL doesn't lift the standard at the MCG.
Yeah, I think this is a huge factor. People realised watching the match on high def, with the drinks and food outlets a lot closer and cheaper, without dealing with weather or transport, is actually quite enjoyable. The commentators are irritating but you soon learn to block them out.
$5 Kayo for live streaming AFL adds to that.
I also think a factor (for me definitely) has been the fact that the fixture is being released in blocks and we dont know it well in advance. So far this season I have made it to only 3 games due to games clashing with family plans (in the past the season fixture would be released and the days our games were scheduled for would be our plans).
Much harder to say you cannot attend a lunch or birthday when you dont know the fixture in advance.
Much harder to say you cannot attend a lunch or birthday when you dont know the fixture in advance.
Yep - Blocks was the one Leysy missed! 100%. Interstaters arent travelling.
I also wonder about the lack of interesting games. I think too many are foregone conclusions before they even start.
Would you be going these days if you followed Carlton, North or even Essendon?
What hope do you think they have?
I think they need to make the evening out measures more severe to ensure the success is more shared around.
If 2017 taught me nothing else, it's that every fan needs to experience that as often as possible.
That used to be once every 12 years, now it's once every 18 years and getting tougher to make sure it happens.
I'd be doubling up on the first round of the draft for starters.
Would you be going these days if you followed Carlton, North or even Essendon?
What hope do you think they have?
I think they need to make the evening out measures more severe to ensure the success is more shared around.
If 2017 taught me nothing else, it's that every fan needs to experience that as often as possible.
That used to be once every 12 years, now it's once every 18 years and getting tougher to make sure it happens.
I'd be doubling up on the first round of the draft for starters.
I think there is less blind hope entering a new season than there used to be. Most things are known quantities and fans understand their team's level of development pretty well, and that it takes a long time to build into a contender from a low base. Bookies' odds reinforce it every week - you're the outsider in a two-horse race; you shouldn't go to the game expecting to win. There are still surprises and even shocks, and they're pleasant when they happen.
The AFL combats this by doing its level best to facilitate 18 evenly-matched teams, pulling back the high achievers while giving the stragglers a boost.
Can't agree with this at all. The 37 years made it much sweeter.
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It would be interesting to see if the interstate crowds have had the same dramatic drop. SA, Qld, WA and NSW all had home matches where people could go watch live matches, it was only Vic where the population had to adjust to a season of TV viewing.
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The AFL are dodgy and dishonest when it comes to ticketing. Leading into the 2019 finals series, the AFL came out and boasted there was a price freeze on finals tickets. But the area I sat during the 2017 and 2018 finals series had been reclassified. It was originally category 4 but changed to the higher category 3 in 2019.
On SEN this morning, there was a caller claiming that his kids wanted to go to the Melbourne v Carlton game, but there was no GA ($27) available, and the next cheapest ticket price was $60. There was only 38,000 at the MCG yesterday. It makes you wonder how many GA tickets were put aside for this game.
On SEN this morning, there was a caller claiming that his kids wanted to go to the Melbourne v Carlton game, but there was no GA ($27) available, and the next cheapest ticket price was $60. There was only 38,000 at the MCG yesterday. It makes you wonder how many GA tickets were put aside for this game.
it’s outta control, I have a mate who’s up in Sydney for a while, thought he’d go to the Swans match, $90! He passed of course.
the SCG is really bad. about 12 years ago i made a last minute decision to see us play up there. i rocked up to the ground and the cheapest ticket was $60. And I ended up paying it. reckon we got done by about 12 goals as well.
