BenMacAn
Senior List
Get over it everyone.Dogs supporters have a long history of jumping on and off. I was a tin rattler in 1989 and it seems to be a perennial battle to get "real" people to sign up year after year. When you look at our attendances I think we have a solid base of about 18 thousand supporters that come to all the games. In our Crisis times ( just like North now) we get the media guys going out buying multiple memberships ( I remember Dermie Brereton saying he bought 3 one year ), supporters like some on this board buying extra tickets and pet and children memberships probably outnumber social club memberships. A year or two later the Dermies of the world have a new crusade to support, the multiple membership buyers have other expenses and the kids are busy doing other things with the other half and you head to the footy without them.
Last year was a record yet we still got told 5 thousand members from the previous year hadn't signed up. This year it is 8000. Who are they? Dermie and the dog probably. WE ARE NEVER GOING TO GET 32000 adult members.
BUT.... we need to look at WHY people aren't buying memberships.
Lack of confidence in sustained performance is always an excuse and financial hardship in the West is a reality but no one ever mentions the LACK of Value for Money.
What do I get for my hard earned each year that I have been dishing out since 1975?
7 home games with my reserve seat ( X 3 with my two kids included)
2 "home games" at the G minus my paid for reserved seat that I can go to without a membership ticket anyway and get a decent seat because they are always interstate teams which means no crowds
2 "home games" in Darwin and Sydney/now Canberra that I can never get to due to both financial and work reasons.
I buy a 5/16/17/18 home and away game ticket to get into all away games with all the money going to the Dogs but then we get the fake "bonus" on make up games for the interstate games I never get to which means I get in with my ticket that I've already paid for anyway.
I'm paying the same price for a reserve seat that I paid when we used to play all our home games AT HOME and I'm supposed to be happy about that.
I'll keep paying every year but the Dogs have to address this because I'm sure a lot of people would rather buy a ticket on a game by game basis rather than blow money on home tickets that don't exist.
Paid up Doggies member 2008.
Go Doggies