Are AFL supporters too arrogant to follow the Storm aswell?

[philhawk]

Why is it that the Melbourne Storm still are unable to get regular crowds at their home games down in Melbourne. I mean you know your team is struggling when you get more opposition supporters than home supporters at a home game in your city.

All things considered, its not as if the Storm are a struggling team, I would say they would rank in the top 4 teams in the competition - but why is it then that AFL supporters cant considering the possibility of even supporting their local team? (referring to resident Melbourne based supporters).

If you look up at the Sydney Swans in what was usually considered to be a "rugby league heartland", after the Swans won the cup last year, the amount of support and general good spirit shown towards the Swans has been amazing, especially over the past 3-4 months.

There was a good article in the herald a week back,

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18556941%255E14823,00.html

Where it said,

Victorians have embraced the Commonwealth Games with soul-bursting fervour, turning the MCG into a cauldron of fiery spirals and rings for the opening ceremony that rivalled Nero's burning of Rome.

The ceremony involved everything Victorians see as part of their culture.

And that culture does not include rugby league. Never has. Never will.

Melbourne is not hostile to rugby league. It would be easier to accept if it was.

Easier to accept that the AFL sees rugby league as a threat to their domination of the Australian sporting scene, apart from Sydney and Brisbane, and was prepared to resort to nefarious and deceptive means to retain control.

I mean the Storm have made the finals in 6 of their past 8 years, also winning the damn thing in only their second year in the competition ...

Are the Melbourne Storm fated to die a drawn out death down in Melbourne, or will you Melbourne folk take it into your heart to eventually start supporting them? ...

[MightyFighting]

The Storm, as a club, are about the most dislikeable club in creation.

But the Swans are perfectly likeable.


That's part of the difference.

[RoosterLad]

Maybe because Rugby is dull and boring, whereas Aussie Rules is action packed. Seriously, Rugby is one of the worst games around, they chuck the ball around a bit, stick heads up bottoms, its terrible.

[chapmanmagic35]

We all follow AFL, we buy club memberships, AFL memberships etc, we go to our team's games on the weekend.

Also, many of us just don't like Rugby that much.

[Warwick]

Maybe because Rugby is dull and boring, whereas Aussie Rules is action packed. Seriously, Rugby is one of the worst games around, they chuck the ball around a bit, stick heads up bottoms, its terrible.

The Melbourne Storm don't play rugby.

[MightyFighting]

The Melbourne Storm don't play rugby.(Melbourne people often don't distinguish between league and union.)

[Warwick]

We all follow AFL, we buy club memberships, AFL memberships etc, we go to our team's games on the weekend.

Also, many of us just don't like Rugby that much.

Its not rugby but you are right.

Its like asking the catholic board why they dont visit the mosque on the weekend.

[ant555]

I dont buy a Storm membership simply because i have a Panthers Leauges Club membership(the Panthers dont actually have memberships like the AFL, it is season ticket holders or Leauges Club membership) to support the team i follow and to get me into the ground for the 3 or 4 games i go up to Penrith to see.
I will go to Storm games if they dont clash with the Bomber , Bendigo or Penrith games i go to see . I went to 5 of the Storm home games last season. Hopefully the new stadium seating is better , after buying reserve seating(in the grand stand) for 1 of the home games i found it was shocking. Very cramped for room compared with other venues.It was standing room tickets from then on , no point wasting money to be uncomfortable.:thumbsd:

[RoosterLad]

LOL what is it then?
Rugby League and Rugby Union, amazingly they both contain the word Rugby
Also, they are both very crap sports.

[MightyFighting]

LOL what is it then?
Rugby League and Rugby Union, amazingly they both contain the word Rugby
Also, they are both very crap sports.What he's getting at is that "Rugby" by itself refers to Rugby Union.

[rick James]

I quite enjoy rugby union, but league, as a sport, is just not good.

Only Lebanese people like it in Melbourne.

[RoosterLad]

What he's getting at is that "Rugby" by itself refers to Rugby Union.


thats pathetic, they only say that because it gives them a reason to whinge about, stick to eating fairy bread, they are both called 'Rugby' as far as im concerned

[Warwick]

LOL what is it then?
Rugby League and Rugby Union, amazingly they both contain the word Rugby
Also, they are both very crap sports.

Rugby = rugby union.

I know you think they are both crap and that's totally up to you. I prefer aussie rules over the other 2 sports as well and i grew up in a rugby and league dominated environment. I still enjoy watching the sports though.

The problem is a large majority of Melbournites feel the same way as you do and the city can't support either code with the AFL flooding the market (see why the Western Force got a super 14 licence over a Victorian team).

If this is the case, the NRL should give the State of Origin back to the actual states that are participating in the event. Its like Victoria playing South Australia at the Gabba - total lunacy. Also, the top Wallabies tests should be played in either Brisbane or Sydney.

[MightyFighting]

thats pathetic, they only say that because it gives them a reason to whinge about, stick to eating fairy bread, they are both called 'Rugby' as far as im concernedI salute your randomness.

[Warwick]

thats pathetic, they only say that because it gives them a reason to whinge about, stick to eating fairy bread, they are both called 'Rugby' as far as im concerned

Excuse me - explanation??

[RoosterLad]

http://www.oddkazoo.com/photos/camp2004-Images/104.jpg

fairy bread

Apparently, it's not a real birthday in Australia without fairy bread. White bread, butter, and rainbow sprinkles. Mmmmm.

[Southerntakeover]

Its arrogant to not support a sport you dont like?

[philhawk]

Its arrogant to not support a sport you dont like?

No its arrogant not to support another sport if you generally believe that it is a "threat to the sport you primarily follow" IMO ...

[Atticus]

thats pathetic, they only say that because it gives them a reason to whinge about, stick to eating fairy bread, they are both called 'Rugby' as far as im concerned

Well there you go. You have just answered the major part of the question that started this thread. Your comment that they are both called rugby "as far as I’m concerned" just highlights the arrogance and naivety that you obviously have about the two codes of rugby.

I have always found this argument between the different codes of football in this country to be sad, disappointing and frankly a little pathetic. Of course, it goes both ways. The majority of NRL fans in NSW and Qld. still wouldn't cross the street to watch an AFL game.

Why is this? To look at AFL and League for a moment; the games are just so different. The skills are different, the builds on the players are different, everything about the two games is different and yet so many people still try and compare them and say which is one is 'better'. Perhaps it’s just because they both get referred to as 'footy'....but that can't always be the case because so many fans of either sport follow and enjoy English Premier League or other competitions of the sport we used to call soccer in this country.

I see no problem with people saying they prefer one sport over the other and fans of either game could give their reasons for both. But as I said, it saddens me when people who claim to be sports fans take some sort of pleasure in running another game down because they somehow feel it is in opposition to the game they prefer.

Not only is it arrogance, but it is immaturity also.

[Sanguinarius]

No its arrogant not to support another sport if you generally believe that it is a "threat to the sport you primarily follow" IMO ...

except NRL is no threat to the AFL.

the NRL is for all intents and purposes a two state game. "National" should be stripped from it's title.

Union I like, League is crap

[mantis]

LOL what is it then?
Rugby League and Rugby Union, amazingly they both contain the word Rugby
Also, they are both very crap sports.

Exactly, I don't follow the melbourne lawn bowls team either, because it's as boring a sport as both rugby codes. :rolleyes:

[Count Zero]

Rugby is great. Aussie Rules is great. Rugby League is abysmal. AFL is a league not a sport.

[Refried Noodle]

South Melbourne moved into the Sydney market before League became relatively national. Melbourne was created after Aussie Rules went national.

This is ONE difference, in that Melbourne League fans already were exposed to League and had a team to support well before the Storm were created.

Winning the comp it in their second year could have put the thought patterns of "Well that was easy, won that...next." into many Melburnians.

[MagpieScouser]

i myself as a long time storm and pies fan cant understand why people cant give the storm a go

seeing billy slater run 90 metres with the ball to score a try is just as exiting as seeing anthony rocca get onto one from 60 metres out and sail right through the middle

also looking at lycra wearing cheerleaders shake thier bosoms around is also a good reason to watch the storm unless your homosexual

[Tas]

i myself as a long time storm and pies fan cant understand why people cant give the storm a go

seeing billy slater run 90 metres with the ball to score a try is just as exiting as seeing anthony rocca get onto one from 60 metres out and sail right through the middle

also looking at lycra wearing cheerleaders shake thier bosoms around is also a good reason to watch the storm unless your homosexual

I'll tell you why it is not given a go other than rugy being boring to watch (union and league):

They have zero exposure in Melbourne and unlike the AFL who pays $10 million annually to flood NSW and QLD with propaganda the NRL can't afford to do likewise in Melbourne.

The NRL should put Storm on the replay be it Friday or Saturday nights every single week on free-to-air. You hear the Storm doing okay but you can only see them on pay-tv, they are never on free-to-air TV. I have pay-tv and never switch it to the rugby games because despite my luke warm interest in other sports the NRL has made no effort at all to promote the sport here so why should supporters make the effort and sacrifice to try and find and get interested in the sport when the League just shoved them off the deep end with no support.

There is ZERO media coverage. I only get updated on what is happening with them when I fall asleep watching TFS and wake up to see the NRL version on.

I knew more about what was going on with the Storm when I lived in NSW than I do now.

They need to raise their profile, they need to put their game on free-to-air TV and they have to spend money they do not have on promotion.

It is up to the Storm and the NRL to make it happen, not the people here that have no knowledge of the sport and no interest in the sport to make them survive. They knew they were introducing the Storm into a very hostile market, it is like trying to sell Pepsi in a Coke factory, they really have to do a whole lot more than just bring the game here.

[PrideofSA]

I think you will find (as is the case with me) that most Victorians simply do not like rugby enough. Maybe because it is not exposed enough, but every highlight I've seen, ever match I've tried to watch just does not capture my interest for very long.

That is a suggestion as to why the crowds are poor.

[littleduck]

the product is great.

the 3 major problems are:
- lack of regular FTA coverage for the Storm
- *lack of suitable venue
- *promotion and advertising, particularly at the grassroots

*2 of 3 will be overcome in the near future

i fear minimal or no improvement for the other 1 in the next 5 years or so

therefore, within 5 years i expect 15k average attendances year in year out in a 20k world class boutique stadium... but i still see difficulties in the locals truly identifying with the marquee players due to lack of FTA coverage.

[Teagueeee15]

the product is great.

the 3 major problems are:
- lack of regular FTA coverage for the Storm
- *lack of suitable venue
- *promotion and advertising, particularly at the grassroots

*2 of 3 will be overcome in the near future

i fear minimal or no improvement for the other 1 in the next 5 years or so

therefore, within 5 years i expect 15k average attendances year in year out in a 20k world class boutique stadium... but i still see difficulties in the locals truly identifying with the marquee players due to lack of FTA coverage.

Preety much is to do with lack of FTA coverage. From memory the only Storm game on FTA last year was the final against North Queensland and this didn't start until about 9:30pm as well.

[Total Power]

I cant stand NRL, cant watch a sport that i dont like.

[blues4flag]

Only Lebanese people like it in Melbourne.
Yet I can't stand to watch more than two minutes of rugby at a time. Please don't generalize.

[RICHO: A GOD AMONGST MEN]

"Are AFL supporters too arrogant to follow the Storm as well?"

No, 'too discerning' would be a better way to put it.

Rugby (union, league, whatever) is simply too one-dimensional. A player grabs the ball, runs a little bit, passes to a teammate, gets tackled. Start over. Time and again. Occasionally you'll get the odd "exciting" bit of play (Billy Slater's 90m run, as mentioned) but how often does that happen?

Aussie Rules, on the other hand, has so much to offer the spectator - not just the long runs and the tackling, but also long kicking, pin-point passes, spectacular marks, goals kicked from the boundary line, hip and shoulders, and so on. There's just so much more going on in the game. It's got the toughness of rugby, the skill of soccer, the speed of basketball and the excitement of no other game on the planet.

Anyone arguing that we consider this other game a "threat" is kidding themselves.

[blues4flag]

"Are AFL supporters too arrogant to follow the Storm as well?"

No, 'too discerning' would be a better way to put it.

Rugby (union, league, whatever) is simply too one-dimensional. A player grabs the ball, runs a little bit, passes to a teammate, gets tackled. Start over. Time and again. Occasionally you'll get the odd "exciting" bit of play (Billy Slater's 90m run, as mentioned) but how often does that happen?

Aussie Rules, on the other hand, has so much to offer the spectator - not just the long runs and the tackling, but also long kicking, pin-point passes, spectacular marks, goals kicked from the boundary line, hip and shoulders, and so on. There's just so much more going on in the game. It's got the toughness of rugby, the skill of soccer, the speed of basketball and the excitement of no other game on the planet.

Anyone arguing that we consider this other game a "threat" is kidding themselves.
Agree, rugby is just too damn boring.

[Coughlan]

thats pathetic, they only say that because it gives them a reason to whinge about, stick to eating fairy bread, they are both called 'Rugby' as far as im concerned
no you are just wrong, Rugby Union is called simply "Rugby" and Rugby league is rugby league, you are just wrong like you are with most things you say:thumbsu:

[Hard Ball Get]

Quite simply we dont go because it is a crap sport.

[Hearts to hearts]

I try, I really do, but it's just not interesting. Nothing to do with arrogance, I'm very open-minded - I try to like Melbourne's soccer/football team as well - but I'd say life is too short to get truly passionate about more than one sport, especially at the same time/season. There's a whole real life to be lived in between games (for most of us at least) so we have to be discerning about getting caught up in more than one sport.

Except, of course, when any Games are on. I watched the badminton final rapt yesterday, and caught myself actually being interested in gymnastics results before I had to step back and settle myself down.

[whirl]

I like watching union, league's not really my thing. I did follow the Storm a little bit in the earlier days but that was mainly because I had a mate involved at the club.

[mad-saint-guy]

I watched a 10 mins of rugby (don't know which kind..it's all the same crap to me), and was bored out of my mind. I'm not going to support a team I don't care about playing a "sport" that bores the hell out of me.

Simple as that. After watching Aussie Rules, you can't possibly be excited by (any form of) rugby.

[beaver's army]

i watch the game on tv and like it. if i knew someone else that wanted to go id go and see it live.

[bloodsports]

I am not too arrogant to say that I follow my league teams fortunes .

[Catman]

I follow the Storm each week and when they don't clash with Geelong matches I make every attempt to go and see them live.

There is no reason why both codes survive in Melbourne. The Storm need support from both the NRL and Channel 9 who have done SFA to promote the game down here. The loyal supporter base of around 10,000 that attend each home game is an asset to the club but I believe that crowd could easily increase if the effort was put in to attract new fans to the sport.

Nine losing the AFL could be the best thing to happen to the Storm. They might actually get some coverage at a decent time.

[Johnson#26]

Cannot stand the sport, sorry, and there are plenty I know like that (obviously it has a greater support base north of the Murray).

I don't really care about their fortunes, whatever happens happens. I'm happy following AFL, cricket, Australian swimming and athletics.

[meekaboy]

No game that beats Aussie Rules, although I confess to follow the
Newcastle Knights. I still can't understand the purpose of scrums.

[Toots Hibbert]

No game that beats Aussie Rules, although I confess to follow the
Newcastle Knights. I still can't understand the purpose of scrums.
I'm sure a league fan will correct me on this if I'm wrong but I think the scrum in league is not contested in order to avoid the risk of injury which occurs with the scrums in rugby (union). However the scrum is formed in league anyway in order to remove the influence of the forwards from the next phase of play. It provides an advantage to the team awarded the scrum because they get possession of the ball in a situation where there is greater chance of breaking through the defensive line.

[JF_Bay_22_SCG]

My attitude to RL is mellowing year to year. I realised that after the Super League it was not the game I hated it was the people running it (and their complete lack of vision or concern about the development of the code).

I was at Henson Park watching the mighty Newtown Jets beat the Raiders in the NSWRL Premier League. Glory & Fame in his need for a weekly sports fix was also there. It was really skilful attacking spectacle, often far more so than the level of footbal above it (the NRL). The players from both teams wanted to impress and threw the ball around with both teams scoring awesome length of the field tries involving several second-perfect passes.

Rugby league CAN be extrenely attractive to watch. Watch a game from the UK & it can be great to watch. It is just when you get teams hitting the ball up through the forwards for 5 then playing for the mistake in defence (Warren Ryan defensive tactics).

If there was a RL & AFL match on at the same time I'd watch the AFL but would swap back to see what was happening in the RL. I like sport, actually I live for it.There was no Swans this weekend, so I went & supposed my local RL team & had a great day.

JF

[Hawkk]

Australian swimming and athletics.
I respect you as a poster, but why Swimming and athletics?

[littleduck]

"Are AFL supporters too arrogant to follow the Storm as well?"

No, 'too discerning' would be a better way to put it.

Rugby (union, league, whatever) is simply too one-dimensional. A player grabs the ball, runs a little bit, passes to a teammate, gets tackled. Start over. Time and again. Occasionally you'll get the odd "exciting" bit of play (Billy Slater's 90m run, as mentioned) but how often does that happen?

Aussie Rules, on the other hand, has so much to offer the spectator - not just the long runs and the tackling, but also long kicking, pin-point passes, spectacular marks, goals kicked from the boundary line, hip and shoulders, and so on. There's just so much more going on in the game. It's got the toughness of rugby, the skill of soccer, the speed of basketball and the excitement of no other game on the planet.

Anyone arguing that we consider this other game a "threat" is kidding themselves.
the "threat" of RL to AFL national dominance for the past 100 years is the reason why Vics say they prefer RU, which doesnt pose a threat anywhere.

[Kapow!!!]

the "threat" of RL to AFL national dominance for the past 100 years is the reason why Vics say they prefer RU, which doesnt pose a threat anywhere.

I'd say that threat is at its most minimal at this point in time

[Annabelle]

The problem is the game itself. It is just not very interesting - it is very repetitious. Victorians are spoilt having grown up with Australian rules which is an infinitely superior game to watch. Thus trying to get interested in Rugby league is difficult. Converting the other way is much easier. Many rugby fans actually seem to really like Aussie rules once they are exposed to it and understand it.

[littleduck]

I'd say that threat is at its most minimal at this point in time
wrong. RL is the reason why AFL isnt the be all end all in NSW and QLD for the pas 100 years... and the game is growing at all levels.

[Kapow!!!]

wrong. RL is the reason why AFL isnt the be all end all in NSW and QLD for the pas 100 years... and the game is growing at all levels.

Wrong. That's an argument that can be reversed. AFL is the reason RL isn't the be all and end all in NSW and QLD and the only reason RL is the main code in NSW is because they didn't want to play a game called (at the time) Victorian Football because of the bitter rivalry. It was always going to happen.

And AFL is growing more rapidly then RL. AFL is now the more national sport not as in it's dominant but supported fairly strongly to support fanatically in Sydney and Brisbane, two key RL markets. The Storm are very much disliked (from what I've gathered in this thread anyway) in Melbourne but Sydney, even though hated, still has a VERY strong supporter base. As do Brisbane.

The only code that should be threatend at the moment should be RL.

[catempire]

I grew up in Victoria and moved to Canberra about 4 years ago. At that stage I never liked, nor took any interest in what I then knew as "rugby" (for me rugby meant either league or union). After 4 years I can safely say that neither league or union comes within a bull's roar of Aussie Rules. However, I have come to enjoy rugby to an extent. I occasionally make it along to Brumbies games, I went to the rugby world cup matches in Canberra and I recently went to the Commonwealth Games rugby 7s. In the end though, league just doesn't do it for me. Never been to a game and never will.

Above all, AFL will always be the one for me. So much more unpredictable, unique and exciting.

[franjon]

Well there you go. You have just answered the major part of the question that started this thread. Your comment that they are both called rugby "as far as I’m concerned" just highlights the arrogance and naivety that you obviously have about the two codes of rugby.

I have always found this argument between the different codes of football in this country to be sad, disappointing and frankly a little pathetic. Of course, it goes both ways. The majority of NRL fans in NSW and Qld. still wouldn't cross the street to watch an AFL game.

Why is this? To look at AFL and League for a moment; the games are just so different. The skills are different, the builds on the players are different, everything about the two games is different and yet so many people still try and compare them and say which is one is 'better'. Perhaps it’s just because they both get referred to as 'footy'....but that can't always be the case because so many fans of either sport follow and enjoy English Premier League or other competitions of the sport we used to call soccer in this country.

I see no problem with people saying they prefer one sport over the other and fans of either game could give their reasons for both. But as I said, it saddens me when people who claim to be sports fans take some sort of pleasure in running another game down because they somehow feel it is in opposition to the game they prefer.

Not only is it arrogance, but it is immaturity also.
What absolute bull********!
Why cant people like you realise that most AFL supporters (not the boutique new age "I support eveything"********ers)follow AFL because they dont like rugby of any sort,and have been brought up in a AFL culture which has existed in Victoria for generations.
For most AFL supporters rugby is a nothing!

[sedders]

Well there you go. You have just answered the major part of the question that started this thread. Your comment that they are both called rugby "as far as I’m concerned" just highlights the arrogance and naivety that you obviously have about the two codes of rugby.

I have always found this argument between the different codes of football in this country to be sad, disappointing and frankly a little pathetic. Of course, it goes both ways. The majority of NRL fans in NSW and Qld. still wouldn't cross the street to watch an AFL game.

Why is this? To look at AFL and League for a moment; the games are just so different. The skills are different, the builds on the players are different, everything about the two games is different and yet so many people still try and compare them and say which is one is 'better'. Perhaps it’s just because they both get referred to as 'footy'....but that can't always be the case because so many fans of either sport follow and enjoy English Premier League or other competitions of the sport we used to call soccer in this country.

I see no problem with people saying they prefer one sport over the other and fans of either game could give their reasons for both. But as I said, it saddens me when people who claim to be sports fans take some sort of pleasure in running another game down because they somehow feel it is in opposition to the game they prefer.

Not only is it arrogance, but it is immaturity also.
What a load of sanctimonious bull********.

Should tennis fans also go to the badmitton?
Should surfers care about body boarders?
Should Windsurfers help promote kite boarding?

I love footy and i have so little time for rubgy and soccer that i dont even refer to them by their politically correct titles

[MightyFighting]

the "threat" of RL to AFL national dominance for the past 100 years is the reason why Vics say they prefer RU, which doesnt pose a threat anywhere.Seriously, Littleduck, that has nothing to do with it. Most footy fans aren't at all interested in the politics and economics of sport. And anyway, the only real threat is soccer, and it is having far more success in Victoria than Rugby League is.

[The Lord Commander]

I'm pleased if I hear on the news that the Storm have won, and I've even been to a few games, but the reason I don't really support the club is that I don't like the sport. It has too many fatal flaws compared to Aussie Rules.

* It's far too stop-start. You run two meters, crash into someone, and go to ground. This happens many times in any passage of play. Boring. When this happens in Aussie rules, if one team is flooding or it's really wet, the match is rightly condemned as being crap because it's so much like Rugby.
* Half the time you can't even see where the ball is because it's obscured by a mass of large, rectangular men. In Aussie Rules you've got some hope of knowing what's going on.
* The rules of the game make no sense, unlike Aussie Rules where it's only the interpretation that's stupid.

[H Dolphin]

.... I mean you know your team is struggling when you get more opposition supporters than home supporters at a home game in your city.

When the team/club was first set up, they promoted it on Melbourne radio as "your team". If ever a promotion turned me off, it was that one. Some advertising agency telling me that Melbourne Storm was my team. Why don't Melburnians support it ? Because nobdy cares about rugby/league/union, whatever you want to call it, let alone artificially introduced clubs. Too arrogant ? Too disinterested. What a stupid question.

[stui magpie]

It's got nothing to do with arrogance. What a ridiculous premise.

Just because a league puts a club in Melbourne and calls them melbourne doesn't mean I suddenly have to like the sport, support the team or even give a flying ******** about them. Why should I care?

I have no interest in Rugby, union or league, at any level less than proper international. If the team were to fold, I wouldn't care less.

Ditto with Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, checkers, synchronised grass growing etc.

If you follow it, I'm happy for you. If you want to spend your money and time on following or supporting them, goodonya. Just don't expect me to give a fat rats clacker.:cool:

[franjon]

It's got nothing to do with arrogance. What a ridiculous premise.

Just because a league puts a club in Melbourne and calls them melbourne doesn't mean I suddenly have to like the sport, support the team or even give a flying ******** about them. Why should I care?

I have no interest in Rugby, union or league, at any level less than proper international. If the team were to fold, I wouldn't care less.

Ditto with Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, checkers, synchronised grass growing etc.

If you follow it, I'm happy for you. If you want to spend your money and time on following or supporting them, goodonya. Just don't expect me to give a fat rats clacker.:cool:
I wholeheartedly concur

[mdmanser]

The big downfall of the Storm is the lack of publicity that they get down in Melbourne. The few times I've stopped over at a Melbourne airport lounge and picked up the sport, about 6 pages are dedicated to AFL and if they're lucky, about a paragraph on the Storm. I wouldn't imagine Channel 9 broadcasts any of the Storm games either at any stage of the weekend, let alone report on them in the news bulletins.

One of you said that the best thing to happen to the Storm is Channel 9 losing the AFL rights. I think that's spot on. And if Channel 9 play it correctly and show more coverage of Storm matches then hopefully it will get a rollon and expose the game to more people. It's a big possibility next year with it looking like there being 2 Friday night games per week.

But quite honestly some of you show posters are completely arrogant and narrow-minded. I'd be fine with you saying "I don't like rugby league and therefore don't tend to follow it". But a number of you aggresively stated that there is no difference between rugby league and rugby union and that you couldn't care less if the Melbourne Storm failed. Quite pathetic really. Those of you need to get out of your little worlds and give rugby league a go. Once you actually watch a whole game then you may make a decision of whether or not you like it or not. You can't possibly make up your mind on any sport if you've only seen 2 minutes.

The 3rd game of the State of Origin series is being played in Melbourne this year. If you consider yourself to be a fair, open-minded person then you will watch the game. Don't be ignorant. Give it a fair run.

[Lidge]

I'd claim myself as a Storm 'follower'. Watch most games on Foxtel, and might get to a couple of games per year at Olympic Park. Wouldn't go so far as calling myself a supporter (only financial members of a club have a genuine claim to that title IMO - ditto with AFL)

I like the game. Craps all over Union as far as I'm concerned. Faster, harder and more violent than it's more popular cousin in Union).

For anyone who hasn't been to a Storm home game, worth making the trip into the city. Kind of like a flash back to the old VFL days (drinking cans on the terraces).

And FWIW - I reckon Olympic Park is a good venue (despite the aths track, close up to the action and conevnient for parking/public transport).

And the icing on the cake - once the game's over, you can empty your bladder on the "Lexus Sony Emirates Centre" next door as you make your way home.

[Lidge]

The big downfall of the Storm is the lack of publicity that they get down in Melbourne. The few times I've stopped over at a Melbourne airport lounge and picked up the sport, about 6 pages are dedicated to AFL and if they're lucky, about a paragraph on the Storm. .

If you picked up a copy of the 'small' paper you would find plenty of publicity/propaganda on the Storm (Herald Sun is a News Corp rag, who also happen to own the Storm)
.

Can only guess you picked up a copy of The Age (Fairfax paper).

[deano1]

And the icing on the cake - once the game's over, you can empty your bladder on the "Lexus Sony Emirates Centre" next door as you make your way home.

Bet you would'nt do that if the joint was on fire.:rolleyes:

[Father Jack]

I was completely ambivalent about rugby league until I moved to Queensland (from tassie), when whenever I tried to talk about sport to anyone, the merest mention of AFL to a rugby league supporter resulted in a tirade of abuse about how they are allowed to tackle from behind and fumble the ball and other bewildering irrelevant crap, which completely turned me off their sport. That and the fact that is one of the most boring sports ever, right up there with Dutch Pole Sitting. Thats why they need cheerleaders and riots, to make it vaguely interesting. I DO like other sports, am a big Tottenhan fan, as well as keenly following the Oakland Raiders in American Football. And BTW, I take great delight in calling it 'rugby'. maybe its petty, but it does pierce them all off when you do that.

[harmesy 37]

I was completely ambivalent about rugby league until I moved to Queensland (from tassie), when whenever I tried to talk about sport to anyone, the merest mention of AFL to a rugby league supporter resulted in a tirade of abuse about how they are allowed to tackle from behind and fumble the ball and other bewildering irrelevant crap, which completely turned me off their sport. That and the fact that is one of the most boring sports ever, right up there with Dutch Pole Sitting. Thats why they need cheerleaders and riots, to make it vaguely interesting. I DO like other sports, am a big Tottenhan fan, as well as keenly following the Oakland Raiders in American Football. And BTW, I take great delight in calling it 'rugby'. maybe its petty, but it does pierce them all off when you do that.


Funny post - i like it.

Little Duck you have got to get on with enjoying your preferred sport and stop worrying about how many people like AFL/Rugby or badminton or whatever. If you get genuine enjoyment watching 200 tackles in 80 minutes then get out there and enjoy it. I seriously think you are wasting your time trying to convert Aust. Footy supporters to league. It is your enjoyment you should focus on - not what others are doing.


Someone said before that League doesn't get much media support... they have to be kidding. that is what is keeping it afloat.


I was at the airport the other day and picked up a Sydney Telegraph paper. there were 9-10 stories IN THE FRONT HALF of the paper on league.... that is bizarre.. even the herald sun rarely has 9-10 stories on the front half on AFL.
If they could write about a leaguey walking to the corner store and put it on the front page - they would.

[harmesy 37]

Rugby is great. Aussie Rules is great. Rugby League is abysmal. AFL is a league not a sport.

A lot of people here are talking up union compared to league.

I went to a union match recently - super 14- and i have got to say that game is ********e... in my humble opinion. League is neater and more easily understood than union. Not saying league is better - i am just saying they are as bad as each other.

half the time in union they are rolling over the ground in a big pack of 10 plus players doing god only knows what and they when you get to see the "skill of the running game" they pass it one metre - backwards - to another person. big deal!!

[Copernicus]

As with many other Melburnians in here, I just simply have not warmed to the game. When you grow up on a very fast paced, dynamic game like Aussie rules, rugby seems to pale by comparison. I really have no problem at all if the Storm grow in support, as I think the AFL is easily healthy enough to cope with any competition rugby can bring to bear. I think it just has a lot to do with sporting culture - rugby is embedded in the northern states, despite AFL incursion, and Aussie rules is deeply embedded in the southern states.

I also think that Aussie rules is the kind of sport that can be gotten into more easily, as it's faster and simply more pleasing to the eye, which may explain why support for the game is increasing in NSW and QLD moreso than support for rugby is increasing in Victoria, SA and to a lesser extent WA (where the Force seem to be doing well, at least so far).

[HorseHead]

Why is it that the Melbourne Storm still are unable to get regular crowds at their home games down in Melbourne...

...Are the Melbourne Storm fated to die a drawn out death down in Melbourne, or will you Melbourne folk take it into your heart to eventually start supporting them? ...If Melbourne Storm built a brand new stadium right next door to my home, I still wouldn't go and watch them play. I have absolutely zero interest in any form of Rugby.

[Hard Ball Get]

If Melbourne Storm built a brand new stadium right next door to my home, I still wouldn't go and watch them play. I have absolutely zero interest in any form of Rugby.

Agreed.
I actually hope the Storm lose every week so I dont have to hear about it.

[littleduck]

And AFL is growing more rapidly then RL. Overall, yes... but not everywhere.

AFL is now the more national sport not as in it's dominant but supported fairly strongly to support fanatically in Sydney and Brisbane, two key RL markets. exactly. AFL is now more national and RL is no longer challenging AFL on that wider front.

The Storm are very much disliked (from what I've gathered in this thread anyway) in Melbourne ... I havent picked that up.... I've picked up a lot of ignorance and shoulder shrugging, but if they arent regularly on FTA I perfectly understand the shouler shrugging attitude.

...but Sydney, even though hated, still has a VERY strong supporter base. As do Brisbane. but still a very different type of supporter to the one-eyed VIC/SA/WA club supporter...

The only code that should be threatend at the moment should be RL.why?
back2back2back double digit at junior participation levels, records average and aggregate crowds across the board, a resurgent international game, record ratings and crowds at origin, record merchandise sales, record interest, the most even comp in history, huge increase in broadcast revenue in recent times, more games on FTA on the way, more live coverage on FTA on the way... etc.... how is RL being threatened???

[littleduck]

Little Duck you have got to get on with enjoying your preferred sport and stop worrying about how many people like AFL/Rugby or badminton or whatever. If you get genuine enjoyment watching 200 tackles in 80 minutes then get out there and enjoy it. I seriously think you are wasting your time trying to convert Aust. Footy supporters to league. It is your enjoyment you should focus on - not what others are doing. Forgive me for believing in the ideal of a true sports fan who enjoys all football codes like I do...

Someone said before that League doesn't get much media support... they have to be kidding. that is what is keeping it afloat. It sustains all sports who rely heavily on broadcast revenue to survive and prosper... including AFL and NRL...

I was at the airport the other day and picked up a Sydney Telegraph paper. there were 9-10 stories IN THE FRONT HALF of the paper on league.... that is bizarre.. even the herald sun rarely has 9-10 stories on the front half on AFL.
If they could write about a leaguey walking to the corner store and put it on the front page - they would.absolutely... whats the problem?

[littleduck]

... And BTW, I take great delight in calling it 'rugby'. maybe its petty, but it does pierce them all off when you do that.I'm happy for you to continue supporting the sport of AFL.. ;)

[littleduck]

Wouldn't go so far as calling myself a supporter (only financial members of a club have a genuine claim to that title IMO - ditto with AFL) why do you have to a member to be a 'real' supporter?

And FWIW - I reckon Olympic Park is a good venue (despite the aths track, close up to the action and conevnient for parking/public transport). You're fair dinkum kidding...

[Hard Ball Get]

I'm happy for you to continue supporting the sport of AFL.. ;)

Silly comparrison,
AFL would be compared to NRL.
Rugby would be compared to Aussie Rules.

[littleduck]

When the team/club was first set up, they promoted it on Melbourne radio as "your team". If ever a promotion turned me off, it was that one. Some advertising agency telling me that Melbourne Storm was my team. Why don't Melburnians support it ? Because nobdy cares about rugby/league/union, whatever you want to call it, let alone artificially introduced clubs. Too arrogant ? Too disinterested. What a stupid question.Nobody supported AFL in Qld pre-Lions... I rest my case.

[m0nty]

absolutely... whats the problem?
The problem is that if News Corp decides to sell out of rugby league, they're screwed. League is at the mercy of Murdoch's whim. He (or his sons) might decide not to throw good money after bad (the bad being the Super League fiasco) and get out altogether. Then watch the NRL die in the proverbial.

[littleduck]

The problem is that if News Corp decides to sell out of rugby league, they're screwed. Many at the NSWRL and ARL would disagree.

League is at the mercy of Murdoch's whim.I dont think so...

He (or his sons) might decide not to throw good money after bad (the bad being the Super League fiasco) and get out altogether.
The NRL is now an annual money spinner for News Ltd, so it's hardly throwing good money after bad, although it is essentially paying off Super League.

Then watch the NRL die in the proverbial.If you learnt anything from Super League, it should have been that not even hit constantly with a battle axe, being knee capped, and poked in the eye can kill RL. RL must be the most resilient game on the planet..

[mantis]

Forgive me for believing in the ideal of a true sports fan who enjoys all football codes like I do...

What do you want, a medal or a chest to pin it on? :rolleyes:

Why do you assume, that everyone who follows aussie rules is a true sports fan? I don't like watching most sports, as they are boring. I prefer to play than watch, because it is more enjoyable. The only sport I love watching is aussie rules, couldn't care less about the other sports.

[johnnyhoward]

I follow the Storm each week and when they don't clash with Geelong matches I make every attempt to go and see them live.

There is no reason why both codes survive in Melbourne. The Storm need support from both the NRL and Channel 9 who have done SFA to promote the game down here. The loyal supporter base of around 10,000 that attend each home game is an asset to the club but I believe that crowd could easily increase if the effort was put in to attract new fans to the sport.

Nine losing the AFL could be the best thing to happen to the Storm. They might actually get some coverage at a decent time.
Rugby matches are on at a strange time...1am or so, when they could be shown at 11 instead of a crappy Steven Segal re-run. Steven Seagal movies even take precedence over the Late News.

Having the rugby on at 1am or so is OK if you want to watch it and are returning from a night out, but 11 at Friday nights isn't a bad timeslot and would get more viewers...don't know why Nine persist with it a bit later

[goDees22]

Nope we're not too arrogant, we're too smart

[Atticus]

What a load of sanctimonious bull********.

Should tennis fans also go to the badmitton?
Should surfers care about body boarders?
Should Windsurfers help promote kite boarding?

I love footy and i have so little time for rubgy and soccer that i dont even refer to them by their politically correct titles

What absolute bull********!
Why cant people like you realise that most AFL supporters (not the boutique new age "I support eveything"********ers)follow AFL because they dont like rugby of any sort,and have been brought up in a AFL culture which has existed in Victoria for generations.
For most AFL supporters rugby is a nothing!

Thank you fellow posters because you have illustrated my point perfectly. Perhaps you didn't understand it. What I was saying was that as sports fans it is natural that we have a preference for our favorite game. I know I certainly do, give me a game of Australian football every time, but what I find a bit pathetic is the way some people feel the need to bag out the other footy codes every chance they get. I may not like tennis and never want to ever watch another game in my life, but I recognise that just because I don't like it, it doesn't make it a crap sport that I need to denegrate at every opportunity. The fact that it is enjoyed by millions is the evience of that. For you two though it seems you have a different approach and I think thats a shame because surely you must agree that people being involved and following sports, even those ones that you don't like, is a pretty good thing.

[mantis]

Atticus, I can assure you, none of us would bother bagging it, (because we don't give it a second thought), if rugby fans didn't keep telling aussie rules fans, that they SHOULD like it & support it. How hard is that too understand?

All littleduck is doing, is turning people against it more, by trying to shove it down our throats.

[sedders]

I love footy and i have so little time for rubgy and soccer that i dont even refer to them by their politically correct titles

Thank you fellow posters because you have illustrated my point perfectly. Perhaps you didn't understand it. What I was saying was that as sports fans it is natural that we have a preference for our favorite game. I know I certainly do, give me a game of Australian football every time, but what I find a bit pathetic is the way some people feel the need to bag out the other footy codes every chance they get. I may not like tennis and never want to ever watch another game in my life, but I recognise that just because I don't like it, it doesn't make it a crap sport that I need to denegrate at every opportunity. The fact that it is enjoyed by millions is the evience of that. For you two though it seems you have a different approach and I think thats a shame because surely you must agree that people being involved and following sports, even those ones that you don't like, is a pretty good thing.

you are pathetic if you think that was bagging out rugby.

[PowerOfThePussy]

I can tell you from my experience it is not arrogance, but rather a lack of interest in the code.

I went to a Storm match a few years back with a mate to see what it was all about and was shocked by the crowd behaviour. There was a number of women and men for that matter in the crowd near us hurling abuse and some of the language that came out of their mouths was nothing short of disgraceful. Not sure if it was a one off but it was an interesting initiation to NRL.

Now I am no prude, however if I had kids, there is no way that I would subject them to that.

My mate and I left just after half time due to lack of interest - and both have not been back since.

I keep an eye on the scores and am mildly pleased when the Storm win, however would not go out of my way for them.

Regards
POTP

[littleduck]

What do you want, a medal or a chest to pin it on? :rolleyes:

Why do you assume, that everyone who follows aussie rules is a true sports fan? I don't like watching most sports, as they are boring. I prefer to play than watch, because it is more enjoyable. The only sport I love watching is aussie rules, couldn't care less about the other sports.
thats fine... but why throw mud at any of them?

[littleduck]

Thank you fellow posters because you have illustrated my point perfectly. Perhaps you didn't understand it. What I was saying was that as sports fans it is natural that we have a preference for our favorite game. I know I certainly do, give me a game of Australian football every time, but what I find a bit pathetic is the way some people feel the need to bag out the other footy codes every chance they get. I may not like tennis and never want to ever watch another game in my life, but I recognise that just because I don't like it, it doesn't make it a crap sport that I need to denegrate at every opportunity. The fact that it is enjoyed by millions is the evience of that. For you two though it seems you have a different approach and I think thats a shame because surely you must agree that people being involved and following sports, even those ones that you don't like, is a pretty good thing.
hear hear.

[littleduck]

Atticus, I can assure you, none of us would bother bagging it, (because we don't give it a second thought), if rugby fans didn't keep telling aussie rules fans, that they SHOULD like it & support it. How hard is that too understand? im not saying victorians SHOULD like it & support it. im saying it can be a good thing to have a 2nd or 3rd football team to support from another code.

All littleduck is doing, is turning people against it more, by trying to shove it down our throats.rubbish.

[AuckMel]

I went to a Storm match a few years back with a mate to see what it was all about and was shocked by the crowd behaviour. There was a number of women and men for that matter in the crowd near us hurling abuse and some of the language that came out of their mouths was nothing short of disgraceful. Not sure if it was a one off but it was an interesting initiation to NRL.

Now I am no prude, however if I had kids, there is no way that I would subject them to that.



Sounds like the sort of stuff I experiance every time I go to the footy. It's worse at local grounds.

I've certainly never seen people spitting at a RL game.

[Cally]

1. Rugby Legue fans who join an Aussie Rules site to chat Rugby League lost.........

2. Rugby League hosting possibly the second biggest match of the year(SOO3)
in Melbourne shows the incompetance of the people running the sport. If they think that will make people follow RL they are wrong, it robs the true fans of a really important match to them..

3. I lived in Queensland for a year, and it made me dislike the game even more, boring, although i like Game 1 of State of Origin, but it was only for the atmosphere and the patriotism that i am used to in every game of the year in AFL, that doesnt exist enough in the NRL..

4. Crowd attendences, poor............

5. in conclusion Rugby League is boring and crap.......... Possibly add Union to all that aswell

[Hicham]

Atticus, I can assure you, none of us would bother bagging it, (because we don't give it a second thought), if rugby fans didn't keep telling aussie rules fans, that they SHOULD like it & support it. How hard is that too understand?

All littleduck is doing, is turning people against it more, by trying to shove it down our throats.

Yet residents in the northern states are expected by the AFL fraternity to get involved with the Swans and Lions, mainly through unwarranted over-exposure in all forms of media, ie. "shoving it down our throats".

[mantis]

im not saying victorians SHOULD like it & support it. im saying it can be a good thing to have a 2nd or 3rd football team to support from another code.

rubbish.

Bullshyte, go back & read your first post, that's exactly what you're doing & no it isn't rubbish, you are doing more harm than good, by constantly posting your rugby crap on this forum.

It was good to see that Fred locked another of your AFL bashing threads. Here's a tip, PO to the rugby forums, you aren't wanted here. :thumbsd:

[PowerOfThePussy]

Sounds like the sort of stuff I experiance every time I go to the footy. It's worse at local grounds.

I've certainly never seen people spitting at a RL game.

Must be different down your way. I attend many AFL games and many local games around the Bellarine peninsula and I can guarantee that it was by far the worst language I have ever experienced at a sporting event - and to top it off, it was the women that were the worst.

Regards
POTP

[skilts]

I would never pay money to see a game of rugby, of either code. Maybe the Storm should give away more free tickets at local milk bars?

Fatuous, emotive, useless thread, trying to gain attention for a sport which is not deserving of it. If they can't get people to their games without appealing to the best-sports-supporters-in-the-world's better inclinations, they should take a course in marketing.

Either that, or make it so their players are able to pass the ball forward. This is the significant thing which makes Aussie Rules the best ball game in the world. That, and the lack of an off-side rule.

[Blues_Man]

Why is it that the Melbourne Storm still are unable to get regular crowds at their home games down in Melbourne.
I mean the Storm have made the finals in 6 of their past 8 years, also winning the damn thing in only their second year in the competition ...

Are the Melbourne Storm fated to die a drawn out death down in Melbourne, or will you Melbourne folk take it into your heart to eventually start supporting them? ...
Why would people want to go and watch a dull boring as batshyte game like thugby ????? I'm sure Melbourne have bowls teams as well ..do you expect AFL fans to turn out in big numbers to watch them as well ????
Bowls would be more exciting actually .

[Blues_Man]

the product is great.


Bullshyte ..the product is boring garbage

[mad-saint-guy]

The reason FTA stations don't show (any form of) rugby during prime time, simply is because it wouldn't rate well. Rugby's low profile in Victoria isn't because a lack of media coverage, or because everyone thinks it's a "threat to Aussie Rules", it's just because rugby is just so damn boring.

I don't watch much TV, but I'd still much rather watch a show like Lost than a rugby game. If you taped one rugby 'sequence' (a guy runs a couple of metres, gets tackled, start again), then played it over and over again, I bet quite a few people wouldn't even notice.

I'm just saying that it's not the media's fault rugby (league and union) isn't popular in Victoria, it's because we've grown up watching a much more exiting and entertaining sport.

Rugby just seems like a game made up by a drunk sumo wrestler/basketballer. It doesn't make any sense! There's no actual reason for so many of the rules.

(FWIW, there's an equal chance of me watching a rugby game at 2am as there is of one a 8:30pm. ZERO!)

[Hoops]

I find Sydney RL supporters to be worse when it comes to following Aussie Rules than what Melbourne Footy supporters are when it comes to following Rugby League.

Most people from NSW will point out that Swans gets healthy crowds in comparison to Storm Crowds, but that's just because a lot more people support Aussie Rules in NSW than RL in Vic, coupled with the fact more people support AR in Vic than RL in NSW.

It's got nothing to do with sydney-siders being more open minded than Melbournians when it comes to supporting more than one code just that the scales are more even. In fact there seems to be this hate for AR from Sydneysiders whereas Melbournians it neither love nor hate but just plain indifference.

[Y2eel]

The reason FTA stations don't show (any form of) rugby during prime time, simply is because it wouldn't rate well. Rugby's low profile in Victoria isn't because a lack of media coverage, or because everyone thinks it's a "threat to Aussie Rules", it's just because rugby is just so damn boring.

I don't watch much TV, but I'd still much rather watch a show like Lost than a rugby game. If you taped one rugby 'sequence' (a guy runs a couple of metres, gets tackled, start again), then played it over and over again, I bet quite a few people wouldn't even notice.

I'm just saying that it's not the media's fault rugby (league and union) isn't popular in Victoria, it's because we've grown up watching a much more exiting and entertaining sport.

Rugby just seems like a game made up by a drunk sumo wrestler/basketballer. It doesn't make any sense! There's no actual reason for so many of the rules.

(FWIW, there's an equal chance of me watching a rugby game at 2am as there is of one a 8:30pm. ZERO!)

The whats AFL doing on TV here in NSW and QLD it rates 4th on a sat night...

Is it because its so damn boring??:D

You dont even know what its called youve probably never seen agame but you'll still bag the crap out of it you know why because your from victoria nuff said..

[Y2eel]

I find Sydney RL supporters to be worse when it comes to following Aussie Rules than what Melbourne Footy supporters are when it comes to following Rugby League.

Most people from NSW will point out that Swans gets healthy crowds in comparison to Storm Crowds, but that's just because a lot more people support Aussie Rules in NSW than RL in Vic, coupled with the fact more people support AR in Vic than RL in NSW.

It's got nothing to do with sydney-siders being more open minded than Melbournians when it comes to supporting more than one code just that the scales are more even. In fact there seems to be this hate for AR from Sydneysiders whereas Melbournians it neither love nor hate but just plain indifference.

Thats BS most sydney folk support the swans... Ive found what 3 people open to other sports like league union on this forum...

[Y2eel]

.

Either that, or make it so their players are able to pass the ball forward. This is the significant thing which makes Aussie Rules the best ball game in the world. That, and the lack of an off-side rule.

:rolleyes:

[mantis]

whereas Melbournians is neither love nor hate but just plain indifference.

BINGO, give this man a cigar, sums it up pure & simple. :thumbsu: