Game day experience in Melbourne

[Hot Scodges]

I have spent Easter in Melbourne this long weekend and, as usual, took in the best AFL game not involving my team (Port), that being the Hawks v Cats game today. I was particularly interested in comparing today's matchup in terms of form and experience to Port and what I am used to in watching home games at the Adelaide Oval, as today's game was supposed to be a blockbuster between two traditional opponents.

I have been watching football for nearly 40 years and have been struck by the decreasing amount of tribalism and passion in AFL games in Melbourne, including finals, and including today's game. I was nonetheless struck today by how, Hawks and Cats supporters, all 73,000 of them, which is a vast number by any definition in world sport, approached the game almost like theatregoers today.

Geelong were very average yet there was no fierceness in the support from their fans, and Hawthorn were excellent as usual and I felt that their fans were subdue (bored?) in their support of their team.

I have to say that there is absolutely no comparison between supporters of these teams and Port supporters who are much, much louder and more passionate in their support of their (our) team, particularly in Showdowns. This may be because we are a 'smaller' club in a smaller city where perhaps winning and losing seems (in my view) to mean more than the somewhat dilletantish approach of Victorian crowds who are divided between 10 teams only a handful of which seem to have any chance of winning the flag from time to time.

I can imagine Saints and Bulldogs supporters would be vociferous and passionate in their support of their teams not having won the flag in so many years but I still doubt they would be as loud and engaged as Port (and possibly even Crows) supporters are. Oh and I have been to Richmond and Collingwood matches and, their crowd numbers notwithstanding, still don't think they can match the loudness and fervour of our crowds at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval.

West Coast and Fremantle supporters may feel the same way as me and say the same about their crowds (I can't comment as I have never been to Perth to watch an AFL game but will be sure to go when the new Perth Stadium opens), but I really do think people in Melbourne are far less tribal and vocal than they used to be, which I think is a shame.

 

[Bluelegs]

Port supporters are so passionate that three years ago you had to cover your seats with tarps.

 

[Dazb86]

Yeah your fans are feral.

*The new LED advertising around the ground ****ing sucks when you are at the game. Way too distracting. They need to tone it down a little.

 

[Hawkk]

Port supporters are so passionate that three years ago you had to cover your seats with tarps.

This

 

[Hot Scodges]

Still louder though, even under tarps!

 

[Pessimistic]

Hawks fans were a lot more feral when we were crap.

Faira fair though port fans bat way above their numbers

 

[Hot Scodges]

Yeah your fans are feral.


Possibly, but still louder.

 

[aCunningPlan]

Pretty well spot on with your assessment there, it's just flat in Melbourne. You get used to it after a while and just come to accept it. No amount of LED signs, oversized flags, fireworks, blimps, and helicopter advertising will make up for passionless fans.

 

[Bluelegs]

Just because you built a stadium that makes the crowd sound louder doesn't mean you love footy or your club more than other supporters. Get over yourself.

 

[Borderline]

They don't have their traditional homes anymore, they're effectively franchises of the AFL. There's passion involved but their not very tribal any more

 

[blue harvest]

Port supporters are so passionate that three years ago you had to cover your seats with tarps.

Those tarps can really make some noise.

 

[master bate]

27000 at Melbourne v Gold Coast and our players tweeted about how awesome the crowd were, the noise was great, the edge of your seat feeling was definitely there.

Once you have about 25,000 in the MCG (or anywhere) it's not about numbers it's about passion.

Hawks fans are tired of winning. Geelong fans a bit shocked. That's the reality. Doesn't make them less of fans. Hawthorn fans were going nuts in the Grand Final, obnoxiously so. I wanted to smack them all.

If Port fans want to jump up and down when 10 goals up then good luck to them. There's plenty of games that become adversarial and heated. But there's a level of control so that opposition crowds mainly get home safely. Unlike this fool.

 

[blue harvest]

Depends where you sit. It was passionate and loud in the Hawks members area. Maybe OP was level 2 Ponsford or something?

 

[SJ]

Hawks fans were a lot more feral when we were crap.

Faira fair though port fans bat way above their numbers

That's right.

A long period of success makes winning the norm and losing far easier to swallow.

That's why Fremantle's fans are still rabid.

 

[Burzum]

That's a pretty small sample size. You're judging Melbourne footy supporters as a whole on one game where it wasn't even a contest before half time.

 

[ManWithNoName]

They will never tear us apart!*


*Except when we're not winning, or playing at a not as nice stadium, or it's a bit cold, or there's something good on telly, or the tarp hiring people asked nicely if they could get some exposure.

 

[Pessimistic]

For passionate fans, south australians seem to spend a huge part of the game walking around that track thing in front of the hill during play

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

St Kilda and Western Bulldogs supporters are very passionate about our teams.

Just because we dont sing a stupid song pre game or do any marches does not make us any less passionate.

 

[Hot Scodges]

we get it.....you think port has the best supporters in the league.

truth is when you wern't winning , no one showed up so stop it

Read the post. I just don't think Victorian crowds are as loud and passionate as they perhaps might have been. It's you people who started pinging me for being a Port supporter. I have always thought Adelaide crowds have been louder than Victorian crowds, pound for pound. Call us feral or rabid or whatever, it is just a plain fact, and increasingly so.

 

[blue harvest]

Our tarps are still louder than your bored, superannuated supporter group. Say it ain't so.

Actually we have by far the largest number of junior members (20K+) out of all the clubs which goes someway to explaining not as much noise.
Clubs have different demographics, not everyone enjoys going off their face at dud games.

 

[radiojake]

swampies out and about, even after a loss...

.... bet they're wearing shades....

 

[Mervyn Beasley]

Maybe it's all comparative to the % of bogans, rednecks, and chips on shoulders in the stadium?

Whatever the case I'm tipping you are never sat in a reserved seat area of another club.

 

[kickazz]

It's a long season, and there are many games to be played in Melbourne. Today's game was hardly a cracker either. Perceived lack of passion can also be seen more as discernment on the past of the spectator.

Port supporters are so passionate that three years ago you had to cover your seats with tarps.

Yeah this.

Probably cherry picking the comparisons a bit based on the fortunes of the teams. 3 to 5 years ago cats vs hawks had a real edge to it. Port are on an upward incline so their games are more conducive to excitement from the fans.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Read the post. I just don't think Victorian crowds are as loud and passionate as they perhaps might have been. It's you people who started pinging me for being a Port supporter. I have always thought Adelaide crowds have been louder than Victorian crowds, pound for pound. Call us feral or rabid or whatever, it is just a plain fact, and increasingly so.

We need numbers and graphs to back this up otherwise stfu.

 

[Hot Scodges]

Maybe it's all comparative to the % of bogans, rednecks, and chips on shoulders in the stadium?

Whatever the case I'm tipping you are never sat in a reserved seat area of another club.

Yes I have Collingwood's! And I was told to be quiet!