Match day experience - an open letter

[4#Didak#4]

Match day experience has certainly declined a lot and its a combination of many things, not just the hideous commerciality of it all.

The gambling ads and American style "crowd entertainment" is perhaps a reflection of society today and not isolated to the AFL. It would be great if the AFL & Collingwood made a stand to reduce this, however in this day & age where they/we are a slave to the $, it isn't going to happen any time soon.

The underlying problem of everything as I see it is the primary stakeholders in the game over the last 10 years have changed. No longer is the average supporter or member the primary stakeholder. It used to be that the members and supporters were number 1 priority as they drove the games revenue. High crowds & crowd enjoyment = revenue. With the advent of gigantic TV rights and monster sponsor dollars, the main source of revenue are not supporters anymore. So the shift has been made to please TV & the sponsors before the supporters and even the players. The advertising gurus and marketeers take over to maximise the commercial investment that has been made. I call it selling our souls.

I also think the AFL has taken for granted their old school supporter base, the ones who just want to see the footy in a pure form. I think most on Bigfooty are in this category. The AFL has been desperately reaching out to other markets. Those who are perhaps less interested in the footy but carry dollars in their pockets and are interested in the spectacle & event. While I understand the need to broaden appeal of the game and grow markets I think it is a great risk that you end up with a bunch of half interested people and a bunch of disgruntled purists. This reduces the match day experience and eventually crowds will drop off. The AFL expects us old school footy followers to continue to front up, which mostly we do, however everyone has limits to what is tolerable. I think these limits are being reached by many this year.

I think a sport like cricket has been going through a similar experience. However they have the advantage of different forms of the game which have taken different direction. For me I only watch test cricket as its not as commercial or bastardised. However, I know lots of people who were not that into cricket who love that disgraceful imitation of cricket called 20/20. It is horses for courses, but the AFL doesn't have the luxury of two forms like cricket to grow markets.

In my opinion the AFL needs to take a step back and focus on the quality of the product. If the product is good people will buy it and sponors etc. will follow. At the moment the AFL is following the sponsor/TV dollar and degrading the quality of the product. If this continues, interest wanes and the sponsors will follow suit. So make no mistake commerce rules the game either way, I just think the AFL has put the cart before the horse and will pay a price for it if they don't correct quickly.

 

[wednesdaywarrior]

The match day experience has really deteriorated in recent seasons and I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I used to.

The gambling ads
The ridiculously loud advertising on the big screen between qtrs.
The dance troupe
The Holden rev up the crowd
The crappy run throughs
The wave the advertising sign for the camera
The Kiss cam
The bays of empty seats in the Collingwood end
The sheltered workshop they call a cheersquad
The lack of any atmosphere
The lack of a decent social club

Damn. Reading that whinge I just realised I must be getting old.

Totally agree with the above. I also agree with the sentiments expressed in the thread about the over-imposition of gambling advertising.

The Coodabeens had a very funny song on 'Match Day Experience' on the weekend.

I think it's probably another sign I'm getting older but I find I just like to sit and 'be' during the breaks at games. Just to dwell on things in the game, compose myself for what might come, check the record, tell my kids off, buy extortionate fast food, have a long overdue chat with a mate I may not have seen all year. Maybe I'm just strange but I actually need this 'down time' in between quarters to get my sh1t together and I prefer that wonderful low buzz of nothingness to gimmicky activities and betting adverts. I CAN actually exist in my own head without external stimulation for long periods, 20 minutes is achievable. I am not a half-wit. I am not a moron. I am not a sheep.

 

[fabulousphil]

Collingwood was the slum of Melbourne when the club was formed and yes, players wanted to play for Collingwood because they 'got looked after' it is in that sense that I am talking.

Ironically, considering the opening post, John Wren initially made his money as an SP Bookie with an illegal Tote in Johnson St. Collingwood. Local beggars and unemployed would be scattered about the lanes and alleyways to give warning signals whenever a raid was on and were rewarded for their loyalty. Wren was seen very much as a local boy made good who never forgot where he came from and always looked after his own. Players wanted to play for Collingwood because Wren had a reputation of 'looking after them', getting them jobs at the local brewery and slipping them a pound laden handshake after a win. It didn't make us a rich club but it made us a club with a rich patron who was seen as anti establishment (initially) and one of our own.

Collingwood was indeed known as the 'Catholic' club in its early years, due to the suburb being an Irish Catholic slum and the Irish Catholics were indeed racially and religiously vilified at the time.

To give a bit of flavour, John Wren tried unsuccessfully to sue the author Frank Hardy whose novel 'Power Without Glory' was a thinly veiled work on Wren and other characters of power and influence of the time. The case was brought about in 1951 because John Wren (John West in the book) was deeply offended by the revelation that his mother had committed adultery. Wren stated in court that he found this reference more offensive to him than another explosive allegation in the book, being that Wren's mother had instigated the murder of Squizzy Taylor. Wren lost the case, Hardy's defense was that the book was partly based on fiction and partly based on fact and was therefore in its entirety a work of fiction. The 1951 case was the last ever criminal (as opposed to civil) libel case ever prosecuted in Victoria.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/footy-religion-and-politics.1050319/page-2#post-31907860

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/footy-religion-and-politics.1050319/page-2

I agree and disagree.

 

[Chilli Con Incarnate]

Cost and distractions i.e. dance troupe, loud ads, spectator comps etc... These things don't add anything to the game experience for me, instead it seems to just be there to distract people from talking about the actual game. Nobody seems keen for banter anymore as they are all checking their phones for stats etc...

The sense of fun and community has gone from AFL live games recently, everybody seems to be taking footy far too seriously. People can't go to the footy and enjoy themselves anymore, if you yell too loudly people get upset, the food is expensive and the cheaper seating is now terrible. God forbid if anyone was to have a beer!

I still like going to the footy despite these things, but it is no where as good as it used to be.

 

[Throw]

Whereas in the past the big screen showed replays of contentious or spectacular plays/goals, now all we got was advertising at hyper volume. During the breaks (qtr time , half time & 3 qtr time it was all about advertising, generally Holden or gambling (which didn't impress me much) but more importantly all at hyper volume which really annoyed the hell out of me. After the game I returned to my reli's house and told them that although we had won the game had left me quite flat.

I know exactly what you mean about feeling "flat" afterwards. I found the experience really draining personally. My mates/workmates in the past have described me as being "obsessed" with footy. For the first time in so long I can't remember, I didn't even tune into the West Coast game on TV, and honestly didn't care if we won. It's like I've been under a spell for years and only just come out of it. It's not that we're going poorly on the field. It's an incredible change and I can only attribute it to realising that the club (and maybe the game itself) is no longer the institution that has been the constant in generations of my family. The history that the club likes to promote, and the club that my grandparents supported may as well be the history of another club. Collingwood in 2014 is something else, and something that I seem to have lost any attachment to. And I'm pretty angry about that and the people that let it happen.

I want to know how much the club got from Holden to put that outrageous ad up. What price does it put on its own members? I'm also a little surprised that Holden agreed to it. Perhaps I'm in the minority (and it's not my field of expertise) but I would have thought that the ad would have the effect of turning a lot of people off the brand. There must be safer ways to flog your product? As I mentioned above, I drive a Holden but if I was subjected to that ad weekly I can guarantee a personal boycott would be the result. I once drove an extra forty minutes past a "Good Guys" to buy my espresso machine because their ads annoyed me.

And how much is chemist warehouse paying for those shitty vitamin ads which are flogged under the guise of a game? These Holden "rev up" and vitamin "game" ads are an insult to our intelligence. Start treating supporters as members and stop flogging our loyalty to your corporate mates and maybe crowds will stop dropping.

 

[Vampire013]

It's come to the stage where the club treats us as sheep.
I remember a few years ago listening to talk back with Eddie as guest.
A caller was complaining about not being able to get Grand Final and finals tickets.
He virtually said: "You can come to H&A Games, you don't have to come to finals".
Not exactly like that, but in that context.
All I know is that I was seething at him.
Thinking to myself: "What a hecken w@nker".
He also said to the bloke: "That's why I am the President and you're not".
There is a real contempt towards the normal punter.
When you do that, you have lost the plot.
It's the normal punters that fill the stadiums and follow the game, not the corporate flogs who get free tickets with the free food and drinks.
They go and pig themselves and don't even watch the game or are interested !

 

[Gone Critical]

I know exactly what you mean about feeling "flat" afterwards. I found the experience really draining personally. My mates/workmates in the past have described me as being "obsessed" with footy. For the first time in so long I can't remember, I didn't even tune into the West Coast game on TV, and honestly didn't care if we won. It's like I've been under a spell for years and only just come out of it. It's not that we're going poorly on the field. It's an incredible change and I can only attribute it to realising that the club (and maybe the game itself) is no longer the institution that has been the constant in generations of my family. The history that the club likes to promote, and the club that my grandparents supported may as well be the history of another club. Collingwood in 2014 is something else, and something that I seem to have lost any attachment to. And I'm pretty angry about that and the people that let it happen.

I want to know how much the club got from Holden to put that outrageous ad up. What price does it put on its own members? I'm also a little surprised that Holden agreed to it. Perhaps I'm in the minority (and it's not my field of expertise) but I would have thought that the ad would have the effect of turning a lot of people off the brand. There must be safer ways to flog your product? As I mentioned above, I drive a Holden but if I was subjected to that ad weekly I can guarantee a personal boycott would be the result. I once drove an extra forty minutes past a "Good Guys" to buy my espresso machine because their ads annoyed me.

And how much is chemist warehouse paying for those shitty vitamin ads which are flogged under the guise of a game? These Holden "rev up" and vitamin "game" ads are an insult to our intelligence. Start treating supporters as members and stop flogging our loyalty to your corporate mates and maybe crowds will stop dropping.

Throw I can hear your pain and agree that the game has changes and that is a reason for your loss of feeling. It is also coming through that you may have changed also and maybe lost some feeling for the game also regardless of the changes in the game itself. No criticism in that, peoples interests change over time. If it involves something long held I am sure that can be pretty disconcerting. I have seen it in people who were once pretty fanatical then dropped off interest for no strong reason other than they changed priorities.

 

[Throw]

This is what happens when it's costs 70 million dollars to operate our Football team.
The marketing boys are under extreme pressure to maximize revenue from Sponsors, Members, Gate, Social Club & gaming plus merchandising. To enable the Football club to operate at the max in a very competitive environment.
2013 we raised 22 million from Social club & gaming, 20 million from Sponsorship/Merchandising/Marketing & 17 million from Membership (total 61 million). The balance 14 million came from AFL distribution & match returns.
Hence less than 20% of our revenue comes from TV rights & gate.
This forces all clubs to squeeze every drop ($$$) from wherever they can, by promising Sponsors the moon, sell merchandise, maximize membership & reserved seats revenue & rely upon gaming revenue.
The monster is hungry & demands to be fed, to the detriment of the game itself, spoiling our traditional match day atmosphere & turning it into a circus.
Only the AFL can alter the direction the game is heading, as clubs are too embroiled in micro managing their short term performance on & off the field.
When 80% of your revenue has to come from non Football sources (TV & gate only 20%) then you know you are in trouble. This monster has become bigger than the game itself & is out of control, like Godzilla rampaging through the streets of major cities.

Really good post.

 

[Throw]

Throw I can hear your pain and agree that the game has changes and that is a reason for your loss of feeling. It is also coming through that you may have changed also and maybe lost some feeling for the game also regardless of the changes in the game itself. No criticism in that, peoples interests change over time. If it involves something long held I am sure that can be pretty disconcerting. I have seen it in people who were once pretty fanatical then dropped off interest for no strong reason other than they changed priorities.

If I had to psychoanalyse it, it would be that I'm a very rational person and have always been. The only exception to that in the past has been my interest/passion for footy. Once I felt the club had turned on its supporters (there's no other way to explain the advertising and gambling dependence - they've sold us out) then my rational mind kicked in to tell me not to reward that behaviour. I also think it's interesting that living interstate I was immune from that change (or change in interests/priorities as you put it), and I and the above poster only had our epiphanies after attending a recent game in Melbourne. I don't think it's a coincidence.

A lot can be inferred from the match day experience, and either the club does not give a shit about its supporters' wellbeing, or someone at the club is very shit at their job.

The real test will be the crowd figures in 2015, when Sunday night footy is not a factor. I expect they'll pick up but not by much.

 

[Vicky Park]

This is a very interesting, pertinent thread. Even Markfs made some serious contributions!

Disaffection with the match day experience is one thing, but to hear of long term dedicated and fanatical supporters losing their passion for the game - and for our club - is entirely another matter, and of greater concern.

Gambling ads aside - and I find them abhorrent - most of the recent match day entertainments and 'enhancements' are for me, mostly or merely annoying. I dont pay any attention. I am an MCC member, sit with old Pie friends in the 'Balcony' for most games - which is a covered and quite intimate space (for a huge stadium) - and nearly always full with fans of both teams. There is banter and cheering and high fiving. Abuse and swearing will usually get you evicted, but there is still plenty of passion, and slagging off the opposition and umpires. So match days are for me still fun and exciting, although the spectacle offered up by Pies games at present is - we all agree - not good.

I am not losing my love for the Pies; it is tied to my history, background and family, and is as strong as ever. As a team we are in a slump, but we've been there before. I wish we were less corporate, but that horse has bolted. I also think the club is trying to reach out to fans, through its social and community programs, 'The Club' TV show, and other initiatives of which I am only dimly aware (the CFC Foundation). Yes, footy has changed, and the club is different. It is better in some ways, and worse in others. But footy, and the Pies are evolving and dynamic, and I'm still on board for the ride.

 

[Gone Critical]

If I had to psychoanalyse it, it would be that I'm a very rational person and have always been. The only exception to that in the past has been my interest/passion for footy. Once I felt the club had turned on its supporters (there's no other way to explain the advertising and gambling dependence - they've sold us out) then my rational mind kicked in to tell me not to reward that behaviour. I also think it's interesting that living interstate I was immune from that change (or change in interests/priorities as you put it), and I and the above poster only had our epiphanies after attending a recent game in Melbourne. I don't think it's a coincidence.

A lot can be inferred from the match day experience, and either the club does not give a shit about its supporters' wellbeing, or someone at the club is very shit at their job.

The real test will be the crowd figures in 2015, when Sunday night footy is not a factor. I expect they'll pick up but not by much.

I don't agree the club has turned on it's supporters. There is another way to explain the dependence on advertising and gambling. Its a community and national and international phenomena. Watch the TV now and you can see Samuel Jackson spruiking a giant US gambling company and our own national bookies and other internationals are after their piece of the pie. World sport is corporate. You can follow US sports, Serie A, EPL etc etc and all those bodies have strategies in place to obtain revenues for Aussie supporters. World sport is on our doorstep and is commercial. People vote with their feet by being seduced by these new players. AFL could stand back and stay true to its roots but it would die if it did.

So we embrace the change and some of it doesn't sit very well. If we wanted to go back to a VFL comp, drop the massive TV coverage, do standing room and suburban grounds we would get a sense for what we have lost. Clearly that is not a real possibility. I don't really expect the AFL or Collingwood to be my moral guardian. They are a sports competitions now massively driven by commercial concerns. To a degree we asked for this expansion. The community as a whole promotes the professionalism of sport. We want access to better stadiums, we want the ability to be able to watch any of 9 matches a week. The price we pay is the commercialisation of the game.

Our gaudy world is all around us. We are saturated by adds of all sorts. I think I am a bit different to you as I see Collingwood as my footy club and not a moral driver. I don't see an AFL club as a main driver for social change even if they have involved themselves in this in many ways. I don't believe clubs can be immune from the commercial drivers of our world. When I am at the games I see the contrived aspects of the gameday experience as something put there to drive the non die hards. Like VP above I just ignore them because I am there to see the footy.

 

[76woodenspooners]

This is what happens when it's costs 70 million dollars to operate our Football team.

It technically costs $22.5 million to operate our footy team.

We had around $75 million income, $11 million of which was government grants.

We had around $16 million profit (which will eventually pay in part for Westpac stage 3). So the total expenses were $75 - $16 = $59 million.

The difference between the $59 million total expenses and the $22.5 million for operating the footy team goes towards admin cost, marketing costs, product merchandise costs, etc, etc.

The marketing boys are under extreme pressure to maximize revenue from Sponsors, Members, Gate, Social Club & gaming plus merchandising. To enable the Football club to operate at the max in a very competitive environment.
2013 we raised 22 million from Social club & gaming, 20 million from Sponsorship/Merchandising/Marketing & 17 million from Membership (total 61 million). The balance 14 million came from AFL distribution & match returns.
Hence less than 20% of our revenue comes from TV rights & gate.
This forces all clubs to squeeze every drop ($$$) from wherever they can, by promising Sponsors the moon, sell merchandise, maximize membership & reserved seats revenue & rely upon gaming revenue.
The monster is hungry & demands to be fed, to the detriment of the game itself, spoiling our traditional match day atmosphere & turning it into a circus.
Only the AFL can alter the direction the game is heading, as clubs are too embroiled in micro managing their short term performance on & off the field.
When 80% of your revenue has to come from non Football sources (TV & gate only 20%) then you know you are in trouble. This monster has become bigger than the game itself & is out of control, like Godzilla rampaging through the streets of major cities.

Money buys power.

There are too wars being fought ...

There is the "Us versus Them", our quest for Premierships, sustainability, and to give our members and fans the best match day experience.

And then there is the AFL versus NRL war.

 

[Markfs]

I received this link the other day & this topic came to mind.
I don't go to soccer, but this is really embarrassing.
Look at the AFL crowd and look at the soccer crowd.
Wouldn't it be good if we could bring some of the soccer atmosphere to our games !

There's a two reasons for the difference. The first is that there is an underlying frustration at soccer games. People can go for two hours and not see one single score. The choice is absolute boredom or self entertainment. In contrast, I've been to footy games by myself and it's an interesting day. The other reason is the sheep mentality of the average punter who goes to a soccer game. Many of them are low socio-economic uneducated deadbeats looking for some meaning in their lives. I think the average AFL fan is more educated and has other things in their life that interests them.

If you want the self-entertainment experience go to a local soccer game. They usually try to do what the europeans and south americans do. You could also try a rap concert which also seems to rely on the audience to provide the entertainment because the actual entertainment is pretty uninteresting.

 

[Markfs]

I don't agree the club has turned on it's supporters. There is another way to explain the dependence on advertising and gambling. Its a community and national and international phenomena. Watch the TV now and you can see Samuel Jackson spruiking a giant US gambling company and our own national bookies and other internationals are after their piece of the pie. World sport is corporate. You can follow US sports, Serie A, EPL etc etc and all those bodies have strategies in place to obtain revenues for Aussie supporters. World sport is on our doorstep and is commercial. People vote with their feet by being seduced by these new players. AFL could stand back and stay true to its roots but it would die if it did.

So we embrace the change and some of it doesn't sit very well. If we wanted to go back to a VFL comp, drop the massive TV coverage, do standing room and suburban grounds we would get a sense for what we have lost. Clearly that is not a real possibility. I don't really expect the AFL or Collingwood to be my moral guardian. They are a sports competitions now massively driven by commercial concerns. To a degree we asked for this expansion. The community as a whole promotes the professionalism of sport. We want access to better stadiums, we want the ability to be able to watch any of 9 matches a week. The price we pay is the commercialisation of the game.

Our gaudy world is all around us. We are saturated by adds of all sorts. I think I am a bit different to you as I see Collingwood as my footy club and not a moral driver. I don't see an AFL club as a main driver for social change even if they have involved themselves in this in many ways. I don't believe clubs can be immune from the commercial drivers of our world. When I am at the games I see the contrived aspects of the gameday experience as something put there to drive the non die hards. Like VP above I just ignore them because I am there to see the footy.

I just wanted to add the fact that there's no turning back. If we went back to the VFL games then kids would no longer play professional footy and soccer would take over. The game would always remain but it would be a minor part of melbourne life...probably dying away slowly as the old fans died off. It's like trying to go back to the days when working men went down the pubs or joined unions or went for family drives with their families on sundays. I still think the best way to approach it is to take the money but tell the people who are buying the game that you still hate them.

 

[MyManLynch]

It technically costs $22.5 million to operate our footy team.

We had around $75 million income, $11 million of which was government grants.

We had around $16 million profit (which will eventually pay in part for Westpac stage 3). So the total expenses were $75 - $16 = $59 million.

The difference between the $59 million total expenses and the $22.5 million for operating the footy team goes towards admin cost, marketing costs, product merchandise costs, etc, etc.



Money buys power.

There are too wars being fought ...

There is the "Us versus Them", our quest for Premierships, sustainability, and to give our members and fans the best match day experience.

And then there is the AFL versus NRL war.

I think the $11 million in grants was outside the $75 million in revenue.
Hence revenue $75 million less expenses $70 million resulting in a $5 million operating profit.
Add the $11 million in grants brings total profit to $16 million.

Total costs $70 million, less Football expenses of $22.5 million, leaves a balance of $47.5 million to operate the football club (social club/gaming, admin, marketing, membership, depreciation, leases etc).

I am not against the club pursuing avenues to find $ to fight the battles & hopefully win the war (or two).
However this pursuit of $$$ by all clubs is part of the reason our game day experience is changing so rapidly.
$$$ wins & pure football suffers, that's the reality.

 

[MarkT2]

For a lot of little reasons, I have been less to the footy this year than any year in my life. It isn't because we aren't winning. I went regularly in 1999 even though I only returned from overseas when we were on the bottom and I went in 2005. I am finding it hard to part with the hard earned for 2 legends and 2 kids reserved seat memberships for next year. The footy experience isn't what it was and nor is the Collingwood experience. My kids aren't enthusiastic like I was. The match timing makes it difficult but it is much more than that. I haven't had a vote to cast this century and that isn't because the club hasn't made some major mistakes. It is solely due to the way we are run as a club. On top of that I am told some of my money will go to St Kilda, Melbourne etc. to help them compete against us. I still watch every game in TV that I don't attend but it isn't TV keeping me away from the ground. I am not anti gambling at all and I am pro choice but the ads do drive me insane.

There are too many and the hypocracy of the AFL integrity stance on that and other fronts leaves me cold. The AFL, ASADA and Essendon, as well as a few individulas, will come out of this latest epposide in a very poor light. We need change at AFL level and we need change at club level. Not just of people but of philosophy and approach.

 

[mwhop]

I want to preface my post by saying that I have read Bigfooty for 3+ years and NEVER posted before. I have just joined Bigfooty now because on seeing this post I realised that THIS ISSUE has caused me so much angst and I am writing in the hope this is read by the club.

I have spoken to MANY SUPPORTERS about this issue and the vast majority agree that attending a football match has become much less enjoyable, some even say intolerable, because of the constant advertising, american style rev ups and intrusive voiceovers and superimposed spectacle at the games. Regardless of how one might feel about the ongoing commercialisation of the game, all I've spoken to agreed that the current experience of watching a game was so intrusive that we all felt we as supporters were being treated with CONTEMPT. Others have described the experience as infantilising, alienating and exploitative.

Many people I know have already started going to the football less because of these factors.

 

[Markfs]

I found it interesting the Crowds gone down at Pies AFL Games but Crowds seem up at Pies Home Games at Vic Park

Its called "losing" and "winning" in that order...if want to see how much difference winning makes on crowd numbers, look at the figures when Richmond is winning and losing. Tiger supporters go into winter hibernation when they lose...

 

[Vicky Park]

I want to preface my post by saying that I have read Bigfooty for 3+ years and NEVER posted before. I have just joined Bigfooty now because on seeing this post I realised that THIS ISSUE has caused me so much angst and I am writing in the hope this is read by the club.

I have spoken to MANY SUPPORTERS about this issue and the vast majority agree that attending a football match has become much less enjoyable, some even say intolerable, because of the constant advertising, american style rev ups and intrusive voiceovers and superimposed spectacle at the games. Regardless of how one might feel about the ongoing commercialisation of the game, all I've spoken to agreed that the current experience of watching a game was so intrusive that we all felt we as supporters were being treated with CONTEMPT. Others have described the experience as infantilising, alienating and exploitative.

Many people I know have already started going to the football less because of these factors.

Welcome to BF.

 

[Markfs]

I want to preface my post by saying that I have read Bigfooty for 3+ years and NEVER posted before. I have just joined Bigfooty now because on seeing this post I realised that THIS ISSUE has caused me so much angst and I am writing in the hope this is read by the club.

I have spoken to MANY SUPPORTERS about this issue and the vast majority agree that attending a football match has become much less enjoyable, some even say intolerable, because of the constant advertising, american style rev ups and intrusive voiceovers and superimposed spectacle at the games. Regardless of how one might feel about the ongoing commercialisation of the game, all I've spoken to agreed that the current experience of watching a game was so intrusive that we all felt we as supporters were being treated with CONTEMPT. Others have described the experience as infantilising, alienating and exploitative.

Many people I know have already started going to the football less because of these factors.

I think it might be a generational thing, although not all youngsters like the fake stuff and not all oldies hate it. I know this is a little off topiic but bear with me. I went to a meeting at work where we had to discuss things in groups. The "facilitator" asked us if we wanted music and I sat there like a stunned mullet as he preceded to put on background music .....Can people tolerate silence these days? I love silence sometimes. It's so peaceful. I went to the footy at the MCG last year by myself. I got there before the gates opened and I was one of the first in. It was a long wait until the game. I had a couple of pies. I read the record. I sat in the sun. It was relaxing. I didnt die from the silence. Those who love modern life should try it sometime.

 

[Rorzza]

I live interstate, my family left VIC to live in the Northern Territory during the second world war as part of army initiatives. I have only been to a handful of live CFC games and I have never experienced being a traditional CFC supporter making that weekly journey down to support the footy club that I have loved all my life. So why am I posting on this thread! it is in repose to those disillusioned and mystified in the globalized direction that the CFC/AFL is taking. As an interstate supporter that will never live in VIC I now have unprecedented access to the CFC that I would not have imagined 5 years ago, and I want more. The money that is being poured into the AFL/CFC through revenue is providing multiple pathways to enhance the experience of CFC less geographically privileged supporters and importantly provide them with the necessary tools to contribute in regenerating the magpie army.

I am a interstate member, my five year old daughter is an interstate member, I also provide the option of interstate membership as a perk to employees of my local business, as part of their employment package. This is a new initiative that I have introduced the past couple of years, not many takers at this point, only one in fact but it will grow. Annually I try to buy clothes and paraphernalia from the CFC online shop and take the family to one CFC game either Anzac or Brisbane/Gold-coast.

My home is in far north QLD and I work in remote areas of Northern Australia. I have access to CFC in these remote areas which is remarkable and not taken for granted. I purchased Telstras unlimited download and TBox subscription plus a smartphone which allows remote access to live CFC games and replays over the internet at home or while working away. It is possible to stream live VFL games plus listen to local Melbourne radio blogs and just recently I became a BF member. In 35 years as a CFC supporter I have never had the access or incite to club than what I have now.

The revenue being raised and money being spent is reaching remote areas of Australia and is truly appreciated providing remote supporters access to the many privileges of being a CFC supporter/member. Please don't begrudge the AFL/CFC for their direction in making the sport we love truly national and I sincerely wish that the AFL/CFC look into and improve game day conditions for local supporters. Go Pies!

 

[The Magnificent Seven]

I heard a rumor that the entire MCG will be green-screened so that they can superimpose a crowd for every match, thereby negating a need to cater for match-day atmosphere at all. Will save a lot of money!

 

[MarkT2]

I heard a rumor that the entire MCG will be green-screened so that they can superimpose a crowd for every match, thereby negating a need to cater for match-day atmosphere at all. Will save a lot of money!

Until the caterring revenue dries up

 

[Lefthanded]

I heard a rumor that the entire MCG will be green-screened so that they can superimpose a crowd for every match, thereby negating a need to cater for match-day atmosphere at all. Will save a lot of money!

Maybe in the short term but no match day atmosphere will affect the players in the long term. We would end up with players who just play for prestige & money and have no passion for the club. You could educate them all you want about club history but if not backed up by the supporters at the game it would mean nothing.

Has been a very interesting thread to read and I've found myself agreeing with conflicting views because both have validity. Yes the game would 'die' if it didn't compete for corporate dollar as long term the best athletes would be playing other sports. That said to have the game sold out to corporate $ also loses our game. If you don't stand for something you stand for nothing. (Sorry if I've got the quote wrong, doesn't sound quite right.) It's great that the game can reach people like Rorzza but it needs to retain appeal to grassroots. I loved mattys123 idea about having a general admission membership. Access to member seating not taken 10 (vary to find right balance) minutes before the game becomes available to public / other categories. The club even using corporate $ to make membership cheaper (Robin Hood strategy) appeals to me.

Many options and interesting to see how it pans out. Don't be afraid to make your opinions known and hopefully Pies make the right choices in what they stand for and standing for the right things will lead to success (on & off field).

 

[Markfs]

I loved mattys123 idea about having a general admission membership. Access to member seating not taken 10 (vary to find right balance) minutes before the game becomes available to public / other categories. The club even using corporate $ to make membership cheaper (Robin Hood strategy) appeals to me.

what about if members or corporates and other freeloaders who arent going to use their seats, get to register online and, if their seats are onsold, then they get a percentage of the sale. It might only get them back $5 of a $60 seat but it might generate some freeing up of the better seats in the house. Too many times there are areas in the ground in the better seating areas, which are sparsely populated.