This whole situation reminded me of a discussion I had a while back over equilisation of funds and why it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Its interesting that the person I had the discussion with, who was advocating allowing financially insecure clubs to fold, is a Carlton supporter.
The thread is here and I've reproduced it below. This shows why the AFL won't ever let Carlton fold. Even hardcore supporters would walk away from the game if their club folded.
You still didn't answer the question. I wasn't asking what you would do if Carlton were in trouble. I was asking what you would do if Carlton went out of business? Would you then be cheering the AFL for introducing an open slather system, or would you be bitter about the fact you've lost the club you love? My guess is the latter.
Would you then decide that, as the AFL is the best football league in the country, to follow another team? Or would you drift away from the sport? Would you start following state leagues and only occasionally glimpse at whats occuring in the national league? If you answered yes for the last two questions, then you'd understand why the AFL doesn't want an open slather system, and wants to be seen to be doing everything it can to help struggling clubs. Sure, they may not survive despite their best efforts, but the system we have in place is the best system to ensure they have a fighting chance of survival.
Team support is the lifeblood of the AFL. Losing teams from the league will cause a drop in attendences as supporters of the lost clubs drift away from the AFL. So you may say, "That will never happen to my club" but what if it did? What if one or more of the big Victorian clubs folded? Ratings and attendences would drop significantly, corporate support would decrease due to a decreased marketability of the product and come the next broadcasting agreement there'd be no more $100 mil five year deals. The AFL would be digging itself a hole it couldn't get itself out of.
What I really object to about the implications of a free market in the AFL is that it is gone into in the knowledge that the smaller club do not stand a realistic chance of competing against the larger clubs. Its been proven in the English Premier League, with the same teams lifting the silverware each season. That may be fine for a country with a population as big as the U.K. and it's also fine for a sport as big globally as soccer. At least teams in the EPL have an opportunity to compete for a spot in the FA Cup (although little chance of winning it), the Champions League and UEFA cup, which at least keeps some interest in the league for supporters of lesser clubs.
Aussie Rules, on the other hand, only has is the Premiership. By turning it into something that only a handfull of teams realistically have the opporltunity to win, you're killing the game. If a free market occurs, over time people will drift away from the game in the knowledge their club has no opportunity to win the Cup. Some may chase glory and bankrupt themselves in doing so, trying to compete with the big boys. It will occur slowly, but over time they'll be complaining as to why the fantastic 10 team competition doesn't draw crowds or ratings like it once did, because a large chunk of the Victorian market has walked away. When this happens, advertising revenue for TV will dry up and corporate sponsorship won't be seen as such a boon when a large slice of Australian Footballs largest market doesn't care about the national competition.
Besides, if a large number of Victorian clubs went out of business, Collingwood or Carlton might win ten Premierships in a row, but who else will care? If a Port Adelaide supporter tells you they've won fifty trillion SANFL Premierships, whats your reaction? Try to lord it over a supporter of a club that folded and is now playing in the VFL and where will it get you? They'll have no attatchment to the league and probably just tell you to f**k off.
The thread is here and I've reproduced it below. This shows why the AFL won't ever let Carlton fold. Even hardcore supporters would walk away from the game if their club folded.
Deej said:
You still didn't answer the question. I wasn't asking what you would do if Carlton were in trouble. I was asking what you would do if Carlton went out of business? Would you then be cheering the AFL for introducing an open slather system, or would you be bitter about the fact you've lost the club you love? My guess is the latter.
Would you then decide that, as the AFL is the best football league in the country, to follow another team? Or would you drift away from the sport? Would you start following state leagues and only occasionally glimpse at whats occuring in the national league? If you answered yes for the last two questions, then you'd understand why the AFL doesn't want an open slather system, and wants to be seen to be doing everything it can to help struggling clubs. Sure, they may not survive despite their best efforts, but the system we have in place is the best system to ensure they have a fighting chance of survival.
Team support is the lifeblood of the AFL. Losing teams from the league will cause a drop in attendences as supporters of the lost clubs drift away from the AFL. So you may say, "That will never happen to my club" but what if it did? What if one or more of the big Victorian clubs folded? Ratings and attendences would drop significantly, corporate support would decrease due to a decreased marketability of the product and come the next broadcasting agreement there'd be no more $100 mil five year deals. The AFL would be digging itself a hole it couldn't get itself out of.
What I really object to about the implications of a free market in the AFL is that it is gone into in the knowledge that the smaller club do not stand a realistic chance of competing against the larger clubs. Its been proven in the English Premier League, with the same teams lifting the silverware each season. That may be fine for a country with a population as big as the U.K. and it's also fine for a sport as big globally as soccer. At least teams in the EPL have an opportunity to compete for a spot in the FA Cup (although little chance of winning it), the Champions League and UEFA cup, which at least keeps some interest in the league for supporters of lesser clubs.
Aussie Rules, on the other hand, only has is the Premiership. By turning it into something that only a handfull of teams realistically have the opporltunity to win, you're killing the game. If a free market occurs, over time people will drift away from the game in the knowledge their club has no opportunity to win the Cup. Some may chase glory and bankrupt themselves in doing so, trying to compete with the big boys. It will occur slowly, but over time they'll be complaining as to why the fantastic 10 team competition doesn't draw crowds or ratings like it once did, because a large chunk of the Victorian market has walked away. When this happens, advertising revenue for TV will dry up and corporate sponsorship won't be seen as such a boon when a large slice of Australian Footballs largest market doesn't care about the national competition.
Besides, if a large number of Victorian clubs went out of business, Collingwood or Carlton might win ten Premierships in a row, but who else will care? If a Port Adelaide supporter tells you they've won fifty trillion SANFL Premierships, whats your reaction? Try to lord it over a supporter of a club that folded and is now playing in the VFL and where will it get you? They'll have no attatchment to the league and probably just tell you to f**k off.
![C4[2]Yo`DooR](https://www.bigfootycontent.com/avatars/m/21/21849.jpg?1724656646){kind=avatar}
