Can't buy that, John Z. It IS a league-wide problem, and fans are always complaining about the difficulty of getting tickets. So in your mind maybe up to 15,000 fans with tickets didn't/couldn't turn up on Friday night? You've got far too much faith in the (supposed) competence of those in our game involved in the ticketing process. AFL would love your position of not thinking about it.7000 people who bought a ticket didn't show up. Simple as that. Don't overthink it.
The issue is league wide. Pies v Dons sold out, and they got 80,000.