AFL is on the decline - the younger generation is just not that into you

[PowerForGood]

Just one sentence to sum this up.

This has been said every year for the last 20 and it doesnt happen.




Record crowds, both TV and live last season.

I did this.

https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/yearly.html

Pick a club... look at attendances... look at 1997 crowds to 2017.... and compare home averages.... and think about how the population has increased over that time. Also consider the decimation of the SA and WA state league attendances over that time, and addressing constraints that were already there which were alleviated by the introduction of taxpayer funded Adelaide Oval (Adel crowds up) and private funded Docklands instead of Princes Park) (Carl crowds up) as city stadiums, a taxpayer financed upgrade of Princes Park (Geelong crowds up). This year add new Perth Stadium.

In my opinion crowds are slightly up (AFL only) due to capacity issues relieved, not because of increased desire to go.

TV is where is the real growth has been, however i read somewhere on BF that overall viewership is down 15% this year which I doubt.

 

[PowerForGood]

Laughable thread IMO.

Older people have been saying this about everything for generations.

Younger people have been saying that about older people for generations.

 

[AcuteWhistle]

Certainly doesnt help when the fixturing is in the toilet a lot of the time - yes Friday Night, I'm looking at you

 

[Bollox]

Oh i know what a Japanese fighter aircraft was. Thought you were using as an euphemism for something else.

Post needs also some references to fireworks available from local milk bar

i also left out buying a razz or glug at the milk bar on the way home, before playing one of those new fandangled space invaders machines

I cant be expected to remember everything during a rant.

 

[00Stinger]

Purely and simply there are more options for people to watch sport thanks to pay tv.

Gone are the days where only footy was on tv in winter and cricket in summer

 

[mr bagcroft]

It really is I think, just so many more options today.
Look at whats happened to music.

 

[projectv]

An entire generation of girls now have a future in the game.

But sure OP it's all turned to rubbish because it's not like it was in the 70s.

Dinosaurs gonna dinosaur.

 

[AcuteWhistle]

Purely and simply there are more options for people to watch sport thanks to pay tv.

Gone are the days where only footy was on tv in winter and cricket in summer

Yep & add in gaming or Netflix or the latest Marvel flick & there's just not enough hours in the day so why would any kid let alone your average adult footy head (such as myself) sit around all weekend watching what is many times just a shadow of the game that they used to love?

The AFL has picked a bad time to have the arse drop out of standard of many games played each week but at least they appear to have recognised there's a major problem & are starting to look into doing something about it. Whether they can pull the right reins to fix it, well who knows...

 

[Maylandsman]

An entire generation of girls now have a future in the game.

But sure OP it's all turned to rubbish because it's not like it was in the 70s.

Dinosaurs gonna dinosaur.

and here I was thinking some bloke saying kreuzer was rubbish was the dumbest post of the year...ladies and gentleman we have a contender.

 

[gandaal]

It's pretty simple. Exposure increases interest. The more exposure or saturation the greater the interest.

The drop in free to air TV coverage over the years was always going to starting hitting the AFL in the guts eventually. They've just been too blinded by the cash to see it.

 

[00Stinger]

It really is I think, just so many more options today.
Look at whats happened to music.

why would a kid want to watch 9 games of AFL on a weekend when they could watch 1, a game of soccer, maybe some NBA, then some NFL and finish off with some MLB. Oh and then there is cricket, tennis, golf, fighting ext.

 

[Coaster2012]

May as well scrap monkey bars, drinking fountains (can chip a tooth you know), riding any sort of contraption that isnt contained in a bubble etc...its so pathetic.

I think they have scrapped monkey bars...

 

[DangerSloane]

I did this.

https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/yearly.html

Pick a club... look at attendances... look at 1997 crowds to 2017.... and compare home averages.... and think about how the population has increased over that time. Also consider the decimation of the SA and WA state league attendances over that time, and addressing constraints that were already there which were alleviated by the introduction of taxpayer funded Adelaide Oval (Adel crowds up) and private funded Docklands instead of Princes Park) (Carl crowds up) as city stadiums, a taxpayer financed upgrade of Princes Park (Geelong crowds up). This year add new Perth Stadium.

In my opinion crowds are slightly up (AFL only) due to capacity issues relieved, not because of increased desire to go.

TV is where is the real growth has been, however i read somewhere on BF that overall viewership is down 15% this year which I doubt.

The populations might grow but the stadiums havent.
Up until a few years ago Adelaide, Port, West Coast and Freo were playing in the same stadium they were in 1997.
Population can rise 1,000,000 times but a 50,000 person stadium still only fits 50,000

In fact beyond the traditional victorian teams, all the teams have jumped up by around 20% or more.

 

[DangerSloane]

and here I was thinking some bloke saying kreuzer was rubbish was the dumbest post of the year...ladies and gentleman we have a contender.

Congrats on your nomination.
The post you quoted was 100% correct.

The womens game will be the fastest growing part of the industry and will be great for the game.

 

[sataris]

The populations might grow but the stadiums havent.
Up until a few years ago Adelaide, Port, West Coast and Freo were playing in the same stadium they were in 1997.
Population can rise 1,000,000 times but a 50,000 person stadium still only fits 50,000

Not related, but in a podcast I listened to many years ago, they mentioned that an engineering company that was bidding for the sydney olympic stadium bid, (as an inside joke by their engineers) designed a 200,000 seat stadium, "They stopped at 200,000 because if they added another row, a soccer ball is no longer visible to the human eye at that distance from the ground".

I'm all for increasing stadium sizes to 200,000 to match the population growth.

 

[RW]

Footy does go through dull patches when my interest in it starts to wane, but something will always happen that reinforces my love for the game, like our unexpected comeback against Geelong with no Buddy and a midget forward line, or Ronke's bag of seven. Not every game is memorable, but there are still nuggets of gold amongst all the low scoring scraps.

 

[Shane Heard]

I went to my first game in 1977.

Gone through every era.

The game is incredibly exciting with elite skills on show every week these days.

It’s as popular as ever and I love it just as much as I did as a 7 year old.

That said, just like the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s...there are a lot of really really crap games that send people into coma induced slumber of immense perpetual boredom.

But that’s footy.

 

[BEaston]

Younger people have been saying that about older people for generations.

no shit. they never stop complaining.

 

[Furn2]

It's pretty simple. Exposure increases interest. The more exposure or saturation the greater the interest.

The drop in free to air TV coverage over the years was always going to starting hitting the AFL in the guts eventually. They've just been too blinded by the cash to see it.

There's more fta games now than there's ever been.

 

[Marc_Remillard]

So was I? We work with two of the local schools, and a few of our clients are teachers (and a lot are child care workers). The decline in kids support is either exaggerated or area based.

I'm referring to the outer east, the Yarra Valley is still a strong area for British background Aussies but around here during the breaks the kids play basketball, soccer or bey blades. Rarely do you see kids playing kick to kick. Our school doesn't even have a footy team but there is a basketball team in every year level from grade 1 and there is a soccer team. I also know the local Auskick numbers are down with many kids dropping off, that's straight from the mouth of one of the organisers in our area.

 

[BEaston]

and here I was thinking some bloke saying kreuzer was rubbish was the dumbest post of the year...ladies and gentleman we have a contender.

The ironing is delicious.

 

[demontim27]

I'm referring to the outer east, the Yarra Valley is still a strong area for British background Aussies but around here during the breaks the kids play basketball, soccer or bey blades. Rarely do you see kids playing kick to kick. Our school doesn't even have a footy team but there is a basketball team in every year level from grade 1 and there is a soccer team. I also know the local Auskick numbers are down with many kids dropping off, that's straight from the mouth of one of the organisers in our area.

Might be different in a bit further but Montrose/Mooroolbark onwards is where I’m talking. Auskick numbers are well up around here.

 

[FruitTingles]

I definitely think, despite appearing poorer, the average player is more skilful thanks to professionalism, they simply don't have as much time and space. All that extra training is going improve skills. Give them time and space and they would all hit targets.

Goal kicking is still poor.

 

[Marc_Remillard]

Might be different in a bit further but Montrose/Mooroolbark onwards is where I’m talking. Auskick numbers are well up around here.

Mooroolbark is still very British background aussies, any further in and it's much more multicultural

 

[Sedat!]

The biggest lie from the AFL is that attendance numbers are increasing. While the AFL keep believing/selling this story it covers up any problem.

They have to perpetuate this lie, otherwise they won't be entitled to those fat bonuses.