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

[Furn2]

"AFL is on the decline because I think it is"

Yep a random unsubstantiated rant based on nothing but personal observation and emotion.

 

[hoianbulldog]

I was born in the 70s and I lived for footy.

I played as often as I could, and I listened to games on the radio, watched highlights and was generally engaged with my club, obsessed even. I was in the majority as well, most kids my age, most people I knew, even older where the same.

Nowadays, with kids, even adults under say 25, that level of commitment and engagement is the exception, not the rule.

Most people take it or leave it as far as the AFL goes, some have a passing interest, I would put it to you that most people do not really care.

I feel like the glory days of the AFL are over. Crowds when you compare apples with apples over time will decline, and ratings will continue to go down as well. This is especially true with these two things when you adjust for population growth.

The AFL is in trouble, maybe not now, but in the future this comp will be battling, and the reason is that rusted on supporters are a dying breed. Plastic corporates like Gil running the show do not help either just quietly.

Sounds like Rupert having a whinge about Myspace's decline.

 

[woota]

I know people will laugh at this, but I think the fact that women's AFL is being forced down our throats now is a sign of the times - the sport is being engulfed by the same leftist agenda that is engulfing the rest of the society. The fact is, nobody gives a shit or will ever give a shit about women's AFL. They're telling us we should give a shit because equality. Men's AFL will suffer because of it.

 

[Kappa]

"I don't like Footy as much therefore it must be on the decline, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary"

 

[Juddernaut08]

I was born in the 70s and I lived for footy.

I played as often as I could, and I listened to games on the radio, watched highlights and was generally engaged with my club, obsessed even. I was in the majority as well, most kids my age, most people I knew, even older where the same.

Nowadays, with kids, even adults under say 25, that level of commitment and engagement is the exception, not the rule.

Most people take it or leave it as far as the AFL goes, some have a passing interest, I would put it to you that most people do not really care.

I feel like the glory days of the AFL are over. Crowds when you compare apples with apples over time will decline, and ratings will continue to go down as well. This is especially true with these two things when you adjust for population growth.

The AFL is in trouble, maybe not now, but in the future this comp will be battling, and the reason is that rusted on supporters are a dying breed. Plastic corporates like Gil running the show do not help either just quietly.

Sport in general has changed to a consumer model. This isnt unique to AFL.

The world has changed, footy is still great.

 

[Bombermania]

I don't think interest has fallen, I find younger people are just as into footy however they generally don't spent hours and hours discussing it as they have so many other things to do, I find young people are not too different than the generation which came out of the 1980s/1990s, that were just as into American sport as this current generation is and were accused of being entitled and lazy yet turned out pretty much as one would have hoped, and the current younger generation will probably follow suit.

 

[Nutsngum]

I know people will laugh at this, but I think the fact that women's AFL is being forced down our throats now is a sign of the times - the sport is being engulfed by the same leftist agenda that is engulfing the rest of the society. The fact is, nobody gives a shit or will ever give a shit about women's AFL. They're telling us we should give a shit because equality. Men's AFL will suffer because of it.

So in a thread worried about football interest/participation you criticize the largest single increase to both in years and years because those damn women are out of the kitchen right?

 

[Boomerfan99]

I see your point taking into account population growth, however how much more immigration has happened since the 70's?

I would say that both Rugby Codes are in far worse shape than Aussie Rules, I don't think its going to decline anywhere near as much as Rugby Union has, and I still believe the game will grow.

You do have a good point with under 25's though

Agreed. Loved watching rhe Wallabies in late 90s right through to early 2010s. Now couldn't give a shit about them.

 

[blaisee]

"I don't like Footy as much therefore it must be on the decline, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary"

When you take into account

1. Smaller venues
2. Less games less teams
3. Lower population

More people went to games in 1980, than in 2017

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

I don't know what to think really.

I suspect as a share of the total market of leisure/entertainment dollars, football is declining or stagnating, not necessarily due to any mistake but just because the amount of competition for a young persons leisure time is through the roof.

I also think most long term highly engaged fans realize what a hollow, contrived product the AFL has become and don't like it very much.

But I don't think either of those things really matter very much.

The AFL's bread and butter isn't anyone who will read this thread, it is the huge legions of semi-engaged football fan who put Friday night football on in the background when they're having a few pre-drinks, who goes to the footy once or twice a year and participates in their office footy comp and will switch on a game if they happen to be flicking channels when it's on.

Just because there are so many of those people they drive advertising revenue and tv rights deals.

 

[Kappa]

When you take into account

1. Smaller venues
2. Less games less teams
3. Lower population

More people went to games in 1980, than in 2017

Can you please post the maths behind that?

 

[woota]

So in a thread worried about football interest/participation you criticize the largest single increase to both in years and years because those damn women are out of the kitchen right?

As a financial enterprise, women's AFL cannot, and will not, compete with men's AFL. It's not women's football in itself that poses a danger to the sport - it's the lefties who control the mainstream media and public policy, who are just waiting for their opportunity to start frothing at the mouth because female AFL players aren't paid the same as male players. The inevitable media saga that will arise shall have nothing to do with reality - it will simply be conceived by the leftist media as part of the "gender pay gap" and "women don't get paid as much because sexism". And once again, "equality" will have to be legislated into practice, by artificially propping up the women's game by taking away from the men's.

 

[pablo668]

The one point I've taken out of this thread that I agree with (it's buried back there somewheres) is that the AFL should in no way be the custodian of the sport. The AFL is way too self interested and.......dare I say it, corrupt.

 

[frenchconnection]

Trust me, bub. The league's so far up its own arse and ingrained with irremovable bias and prejudice that I could start ignoring it tomorrow and not feel anything. I'm only around for my team.

Quality of the play is one thing. The mentality of the people who run it and the people who do what it takes for a paycheck (Michael Christian is the latest in a long line of scrap eaters) make it truly unbearable.

Not a truer word was said

 

[TheKanga]

People these days have no attention span.
Always on their phone.

 

[blaisee]

When you take into account

1. Smaller venues
2. Less games less teams
3. Lower population

More people went to games in 1980, than in 2017.

In 1980, the VFL was played in the states of Victoria and NSW.
The population of NSW and Victoria in 1980 was about 8.4 million people
The total crowds for the 1980 season 3.8 million people.
On Average, 4.5 out of every ten people went to a vfl game in 1980

In 2017, the AFL was a true national competition
The population of Australia in 2017 was 24.8 million
Total crowds for the 2017 season about 7.3 million ( best ever )
On Average 3 out of every ten people went to an AFL game in 2017

So even though there were less teams, and smaller venues on average, You were 50% more likely to go to the footy in 1980, when compared to 2017. More or less.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

I know people will laugh at this, but I think the fact that women's AFL is being forced down our throats now is a sign of the times - the sport is being engulfed by the same leftist agenda that is engulfing the rest of the society. The fact is, nobody gives a shit or will ever give a shit about women's AFL. They're telling us we should give a shit because equality. Men's AFL will suffer because of it.

I don't think the AFL suffers because of AFLW, we still have everything, but the AFL continues to support ventures that make loses to live up to what society has become, making sure everyone's feelings are okay.

Happy for women to have a league but it has to be forced down peoples throats to even get noticed. Transitioning to paid entry for AFLW will make the AFL nervous. No one really gives a shit just like womens soccer, cricket, basketball, etc. Tennis is maybe an exception but still doesn't compare, Venus v Serena final still had tickets available on the day of the game while Fed vs Nadal sold 1 second.

 

[Bombermania]

As a financial enterprise, women's AFL cannot, and will not, compete with men's AFL. It's not women's football in itself that poses a danger to the sport - it's the lefties who control the mainstream media and public policy, who are just waiting for their opportunity to start frothing at the mouth because female AFL players aren't paid the same as male players. The inevitable media saga that will arise shall have nothing to do with reality - it will simply be conceived by the leftist media as part of the "gender pay gap" and "women don't get paid as much because sexism". And once again, "equality" will have to be legislated into practice, by artificially propping up the women's game by taking away from the men's.

Geez someone needs to step outside their political bubble a bit. Murdoch is Australia's largest owner of media and he is no leftie, and Gary Stokes runs Channel 7, again no leftie nor is his fellow board member Jeff Kennett a leftie. Plenty of Liberal Party women support women's footy and many of the same women support paying women more than they currently are and there is nothing leftie about wanting more money, again many Liberal Party women are leading supporters of gender pay equity.

 

[Bombermania]

I don't think the AFL suffers because of AFLW, we still have everything, but the AFL continues to support ventures that make loses to live up to what society has become, making sure everyone's feelings are okay.

Happy for women to have a league but it has to be forced down peoples throats to even get noticed. Transitioning to paid entry for AFLW will make the AFL nervous. No one really gives a shit just like womens soccer, cricket, basketball, etc. Tennis is maybe an exception but still doesn't compare, Venus v Serena final still had tickets available on the day of the game while Fed vs Nadal sold 1 second.

Women's footy isn't being forced down anyone's throat as the matches are only shown on FoxFooty and it rarely receives a mention outside the sport's media at a time of year when there is very little local sport to take attention from it.

The biggest problem with the AFLW is the lack of an Essendon and Hawthorn side as both clubs have very active women supporter groups which could support a women's side.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

The biggest problem with the AFLW is the lack of an Essendon and Hawthorn side as both clubs have very active women supporter groups which could support a women's side.

Would it help, yes, to what extent? Depends on what your aiming for. Probably not enough.

From a capitalist perspective I'd argue biggest issue is whether AFLW clubs will ever be able to support themselves (as if they were a separate entity to AFL clubs of course).

 

[Bombermania]

Would it help, yes, to what extent? Depends on what your aiming for.

From a capitalist perspective I'd argue biggest issue is whether AFLW clubs will ever be able to support themselves (as if they were a separate entity to AFL clubs of course).

Both Essendon and Hawthorn have large women focused coterie groups which could support those clubs by providing the financial and human capital needed to make such clubs successful. If we applied free market principles to the AFL, half the clubs would be out of the competition.

 

[Dirty_banchez]

AFL as a spectacle is garbage, but the lower levels of footy are still great fun to watch.

All sports are better until they become flooded with money, as soon as lots of money gets involved, then it becomes a sanitized mess.

 

[Bombermania]

AFL as a spectacle is garbage, but the lower levels of footy are still great fun to watch.

All sports are better until they become flooded with money, as soon as lots of money gets involved, then it becomes a sanitized mess.

I don't think money is the problem, but you hit on the spectacle being garbage, you might get one or two good games a week but many games are unforgettable five minutes after they end, however the game has always produced its fair share of poor matches, just we didn't have a 24/7 footy channel showing them.

 

[Furn2]

Now that I think about you could add pretty much anything in place of AFL and it would be true.

Eg.

Metal is on the decline. And the current generation just doesn't get it.

 

[Scotland]

People these days have no attention span.
Always on their phone.

...watching the AFL Live app.