AFL Grand Final experience v NRL Grand Final experience

[SriLankanCat]

I was fortunate to go to my first AFL grand final last week and my first NRL one this week.

Growing up in Sydney, League has always been popular, but AFL is number one for me.

Both were fantastic experiences. But the AFL one stood out for me, of course as i am a bigger fan of AFL is the prime reason.

Other reasons include, the AFL is more prestigious if u ask me, it is much more national and is seen as a national day and occassion.

Parramatta had the bulk of support tonight and there was gold and blue everywhere. THe way Homebush stadium is built is that there is a roof that covers most of the crowd, this means the noise is kept in which creates a great atmosphere when it is full as it was tonight with 82,000 people there. The noise was terrific tonight. WHen its a small crowd there the noise is quite poor.

Anyway, the AFL Grand Final was soemthing else. It felt like i was part of a huge occassion, the noise was fantastic even though MCG is an open stadium. It felt like i was part of history.The NRL GF in comparison felt more like a fun day out. If that makes sense.

Of course my beloved cats won which made it even more special to be at the MCG.

ANyway, both were great experiences Just thought id quickly share my thoughts

BUT AFL stood out for me!

 

[SM]

Couldn't agree more. Only saw the last ten minutes of the NRL tonight, but it just didn't feel like a GF watching it. Maybe that has something to do with me just not liking 9's coverage, but it just didn't feel very big.

 

[Giants FC]

Good thread SriLankanCat.
I've been to Grand Finals in both codes before. Similarly, AFL is my favourite sport and overall I've enjoyed my experiences at AFL grand finals more; but the NRL grand finals are still good fun.
The NRL was interesting tonight, with such lopsided crowd support. It seemed that 80% of the crowd was supporting Parramatta; and when the Eels were charging back into the contest in the second half there was a massive wall of noise. I've never seen so many Parramatta supporters before - certainly not when I was at a game at Parra Stadium earlier this year when there were barely 8,000 there. But that was before their winning streak....

One thing I found interesting - I posted it in a thread earlier this evening that got deleted, but I'll have another go:
At the AFL Grand Final, everyone stays for the presentation and the cup is presented with the crowd all still there. In contrast, the ground emptied out very quickly from the moment the field goal went over with 3 minutes to go; and by the time the trophy was presented there wouldn't have been more than 20% of the crowd still there.
I don't know if it's a difference between supporter cultures between the two games or if there was some other explanation. But I thought it was poor form by the Parramatta fans not to stick around for the presentation.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Different sports. There are things the NRL does better, there are things the AFL does better. The NRL has more GF's on, that is a good thing! The last thing I want is to listen to Robert Walls for SIX HOURS! However the actual spectacle as an "event" the AFL GF is a better event in terms of the main event.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

But I thought it was poor form by the Parramatta fans not to stick around for the presentation.

Hardly, I hardly bother to watch the presentations, and the primary reason is that you avoid the lines to get out of the ground. Put yourself in a Parramatta supporter's shoes..would you want to stay and watch Melbourne collect the trophy..doubtful.

 

[Giants FC]

The St Kilda supporters stayed last week.

 

[Zvim]

It didn't help the ugly ducklings were in the final, again.

Not sure what was better, the result or the pom pom whooshing commentators realisation that the Sydney team had lost.

 

[gostk86]

AFL and NRL do them differently and it works for both

I love the NRL grand final day with getting their early and seeing the 3 grades, although its changed a bit now

 

[SriLankanCat]

Funnily enough i think the NRL changing the time to a non traditional time has a huge impact. For me growing up in SYdney I used to love the 3pm kickoff.

To me tradition equals prestige. I think the NRL Grand Final has to an extent become a novelty due to its timing.

I am in no way trying to detract from the NRL. AS i do like both codes, but if u ask me AFL will always be more prestigious

 

[Plogs]

The NRL seem to do the "hoopla" well. Might be because the game is average at best.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

The St Kilda supporters stayed last week.

And I dont think there will be many more things which will be tougher to sit through in my life. :/

I actually got the impression the atmosphere was better at the NRL, it looked like there was a hella larger % of supporters at the game, rather than corporates and neutrals.

 

[Plogs]

And I dont think there will be many more things which will be tougher to sit through in my life. :/

I actually got the impression the atmosphere was better at the NRL, it looked like there was a hella larger % of supporters at the game, rather than corporates and neutrals.

Of course there would be. It's not all that difficult to get into an NRL Granny.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Yeah lol. I think tickets only sold out on Tuesday?

Just sayin is all.

 

[cap304]

The NRL seem to do the "hoopla" well. Might be because the game is average at best.

Second that.

 

[WCErevival]

I havent watched either live. Saw the NRL final today on tv and there doesnt seem to be any atmosphere like AFL. And it almost seems like your watching something from 10-15 years ago.

 

[MightyHawks]

they need tina turner flying in on a black helicopter again...

 

[SriLankanCat]

NRL Grand FInal tikcets can be hard to get especially when a popular team like Parramatta make it in.

I paid $185 on ebay for a ticket. It was worth $165 but i think the person may have got it for less as the starting price was way less than $165.

AFL is definitely harder to get though. I paid $500 for a concession ticket.

haha

 

[crownie]

i have yet to see a sport that does on ground after match celebrations better then the AFL, its good the AFL has set it up so the team is quickly up on stage when the cup gets presented. Seeing Smith recieve the cup on stage by himself and before the players got their rings took out a lot of the excitement.

 

[Pie eyed]

Has anyone ever heard of the band that did the half time gig?
I was on a boat with 70 people, many of them hard core musos and not one single person had ever heard of them or recognised the song???

Some eminently forgettable Irish band.

 

[crownie]

Has anyone ever heard of the band that did the half time gig?
I was on a boat with 70 people, many of them hard core musos and not one single person had ever heard of them or recognised the song???

Some eminently forgettable Irish band.

only found out who they were cause of their appearance on the AFL grand final show, have seen there video clips on foxtel a few times, dont listen to radio so maybe there music gets a flogging on there.

 

[lions_den]

Has anyone ever heard of the band that did the half time gig?
I was on a boat with 70 people, many of them hard core musos and not one single person had ever heard of them or recognised the song???

Some eminently forgettable Irish band.

They're quite huge. The Script. They recently had a #1 or close to #1 hit. Can't remember the song name or how it goes though.

 

[Giants FC]

Has anyone ever heard of the band that did the half time gig?
I was on a boat with 70 people, many of them hard core musos and not one single person had ever heard of them or recognised the song???

Some eminently forgettable Irish band.

According to my Big League program, they were called The Script, but I can't tell you anything about them. Spent most of half time queueing for a piss.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

They'll be one hit wonders with their no.1 song - Breakeven.

You've probs heard it.

 

[Ping Pong]

Yeah lol. I think tickets only sold out on Tuesday?

Just sayin is all.

You do realise thats because the semi finals were only played a few days before hand and the NRL hold back 15,000 tickets for fans of the teams who win through to the grand final. As for the other tickets they were sold months in advance.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I went to my first ever AFL GF last week and in hindsight I should have expected it but I was surprised by the distinct lack of atmosphere, particularly in the first 3 quarters.

When you go to a preliminary or a big H&A game the crowd is normally split or close to split and there is that huge buzz travelling around the ground for the entire game. At the GF I noticed that it was very quiet unless there was a goal kicked or a good passage of play building up to a shot. I guess it's to do with the large number of neutrals that go.

I watched the NRL and really enjoyed it. It's second only to their State of Origin.

I'm glad I went to the grannie especially since the Cats won but I won't be in a hurry to go to another one. I can have more fun at home with some mates around, a barbie and watching it in hi def on the big screen.