I am losing my love of football

[baw066]

As a tiger supporter, i have always watched a lot of football not involving the tigers. In the last 2 years I have found that i am watching less and less. I am going to the football less and less but going to my local footy more and more.

I have listened to talkback and tried to understand the reason I am not as Interested. My Father In Law is a fanatical Cats supporter, he said he is turning off non Cats games now, he never did before.

So what is going wrong, lets say that there has always been good sides and bad sides, so when good teams play each other the games are good, like the hawks and cats. and lots of bad games, tigers and lions

So from talkback i have

1. rolling mauls
2. ticket pricing
3. expansion teams have taken all the talent - middle road team can not bridge the gap.
4. Ross Lyon turning Freo into a contender, so defensive.
5. players throw the ball and drop the ball now and its play on but you can dive on someone and it holding the ball
6. lack of big forwards, wasn't it great to see hawkins yesterday( hawks fans wont agree)
7. rules committee ruining the game
8. interchange cap
9. economy is bad, cutting non essential costs

So the experts say that the players are more skillful and a lot fitter, and supporters of Port, Hawks and Cats are probably saying there is nothing wrong, but the reality is numbers are down at games and on TV.

What does everybody think.

 

[Engimal]

Ehh, some will love it, some will hate it. I like defensive football.

 

[scotty13]

so u need to listen to talk back to work out why you are turning the games off?

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

I am losing my love of talk back radio.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

The quality of the game has dropped, I agree. But for me it's swings and round abouts. Early to Mid 2000's we were lamenting the game because of flooding and the ugliness that brought to the game. Things eventually changed and the game became very good to watch again, until recently. I agree with you about the stupidity of the holding the ball decisions.

Like Bartel said on Footy Classified, let's give the game a chance to breath and right itself. This isn't the first time in AFL history where the quality of the game has dropped off. Give it a chance to find its mojo again, before changing a hundred rules to force a change.

 

[I am Jack]

Football is not football.
A lot of people are turning off this year.

 

[Father Jack]

People have been 'losing their love for footy' since 1858

 

[SuperSub17]

Lowest scoring year since 1968 would surely have something to do with it

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I wish all the people that are turning the TV off would just leave it at that. Why do they feel the need to tell us about it? Your problem, not ours.

Garry Lyon could retire from the football media and spend the rest of his life wandering the earth, if watching AFL games is such a burden for him.

 

[Leliana]

I think we need a megathread for these types of posts. Call it "Footy was better in my day..."

 

[Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear]

Lowest scoring year since 1968 would surely have something to do with it

That's funny just the other day I was thinking what a low scoring year it had been. Lot's of games neither team is scoring past 100.

The day of the shootout appears long gone.

 

[Lensen]

People have been 'losing their love for footy' since 1858

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/losing-passion-for-the-afl.65439/

 

[the_interloper]

People have been 'losing their love for footy' since 1858

Just the same as boxing has been dead since around then too. And weird thread after another cracking Hawks v Geelong game, if you didn't enjoy that you don't enjoy footy.

 

[morgoth]

If you had to use one word to sum up the problems its, 'compromised'.

1. The draw, how can you run a draw based on commercial outcomes v fairness to all sides in terms of who they play and when they play. Teams don't play home games at their home grounds, lack of advertising by putting lesser sides in bad time slots, organised block busters. For me, the number one issue and a clear compromise of the competition.

2. Bias towards start up sides and interstate sides in expansion areas. Whether its COLA, access to the best talent, taking established players from clubs, it leaves a bad taste. The AFL has compromised the comp in order to expand. I am lucky, pies have won a flag recently and have the resources to compete (kin of) but it must suck to follow the Dees, Saints, Dogs, Tigers etc.

3. The blatant revenue grab by all parties, whether your own club, the AFL, the food venues, the ground operators, everyone is hooking into the average supporter.

4. Comprimised interpretation of the rules. We all miss the big forwards kikcing bags of goals so how about they wind back the clock and stop the Silvagni introduced crap whereby backman grab onto the forward. Never used to happen and forwards flourished. Just pay the god damn frees! And of course the constant throwing of the ball, and then they wonder why mauls develop.

 

[Rioli magic]

I wish all the people that are turning the TV off would just leave it at that. Why do they feel the need to tell us about it? Your problem, not ours.

Why are you telling us this?

 

[Donakebab]

Lack of big forwards? You chose a weird time to state this when big forwards dominated this weekend. Brown 4, J.Riewoldt 4, Cloke 4, Franklin 4, Pavlich 4, N.Riewoldt 5, Crameri 4, Henderson 5, Hawkins 5. This goes along with Schulz kicking the first big bag of 7 last week.

Nick Riewoldt has cemented himself as the best CHF since Carey and he is about to bring up his 600 milestone, along with Pavlich, Brown and Franklin. There is also a plethora of top quality young talls coming through in Cameron, Patton, Boyd, Daniher and others who are going to join the likes of Cloke, Kennedy, Hawkins, et al shortly.

Plenty of tall forwards to get excited about, but hey since you're not watching games you're obviously missing out.

 

[joop]

Aussie Rules is great, the AFL is not

 

[Zerg]

If you had to use one word to sum up the problems its, 'compromised'.

1. The draw, how can you run a draw based on commercial outcomes v fairness to all sides in terms of who they play and when they play. Teams don't play home games at their home grounds, lack of advertising by putting lesser sides in bad time slots, organised block busters. For me, the number one issue and a clear compromise of the competition.

2. Bias towards start up sides and interstate sides in expansion areas. Whether its COLA, access to the best talent, taking established players from clubs, it leaves a bad taste. The AFL has compromised the comp in order to expand. I am lucky, pies have won a flag recently and have the resources to compete (kin of) but it must suck to follow the Dees, Saints, Dogs, Tigers etc.

3. The blatant revenue grab by all parties, whether your own club, the AFL, the food venues, the ground operators, everyone is hooking into the average supporter.

4. Comprimised interpretation of the rules. We all miss the big forwards kikcing bags of goals so how about they wind back the clock and stop the Silvagni introduced crap whereby backman grab onto the forward. Never used to happen and forwards flourished. Just pay the god damn frees! And of course the constant throwing of the ball, and then they wonder why mauls develop.

While all of that might or not be true it isn't why a lot of people have lost their passion for the game.

It's the actual game itself and how it is played. Coaches have destroyed the good things about our game and turned it into a massive flood of players all over the ground. It is ******* ridiculous and all footy is now is chip, chip, chip, switch to other side, chip, chip as teams try to find a way through the mass of players.

The reason forwards don't kick bags is because there is no ******* room for them to lead and the ball gets in there too slowly.

The only reason that footy is still as popular as it is is because supporters love their clubs, not the game...

 

[LosBeatles]

Nick Riewoldt has cemented himself as the best CHF since Carey and he is about to bring up his 600 milestone, along with Pavlich, Brown and Franklin. There is also a plethora of top quality young talls coming through in Cameron, Patton, Boyd, Daniher and others who are going to join the likes of Cloke, Kennedy, Hawkins, et al shortly.

They all play for the same soulless club no one cares about nor ever will care about

Break them up and put one on the Tigers, Carlton and Essendon and the whole game becomes immediately x100 better

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Why are you telling us this?

Because people who obviously love football trying to tell us that they hate football, and that we should hate football as well, is idiotic.

 

[Rioli magic]

Because people who obviously love football trying to tell us that they hate football, and that we should hate football as well, is idiotic.

There is no need to tell us about it, it's your problem, not ours.

 

[Primetime Pricey]

Look i love football still but am i as passionate about it as much as i was a decade ago? not even close. Im not sure if its due to getting older and not becoming as important these days, whether its not i finally got to see my side win a flag or if its the constant rule changes or style of game being played now.
There is no doubt however the game has changed, just not sure if its for the better long term

 

[icee]

The product is in fact better that it has ever been. The skillset is amazing..i watched a game from 1986 and couldnt last more than 10 minutes..the play was horrible and so many simple skill errors from both teams. Plus in the first 30 seconds the ump paid 2 free kicks.

So the game has evolved to a cleaner game with players having amazing skills.

Its everything else and that is due to the massive amount of $$ and the way the game is now run by big business. I looked at the sydney coaching box the other day and they had two rows of assistants..7 each row. Thats 14 people working with the coach.

Now each of those has a role and are split up as forwards/mids and backs coach. These coaches then have assistants themselves.

Games are over anaylised to the most minute detail thanks to technology, so you have dedicated people who sole job is to pick apart an oposition for 2 days and report back to the senior coaching staff.

Then you have the sports science people as well who get in the way of skills and other areas. If an important player has a minor niggle he is then handed over to the medical dept at the club and they take care of his rehab. This player who prob got a minor tig then could go for weeks without kicking the football.

Skills then drop.

For me there is way too much money in the code and way too many people being employed as full time staff over doing things to justify their massive pays.

Time to strip it all back..i dont think we need coaching teams. 1 assistant and then a small group who keep an eye on stats..and you would see the game will revert back to being footy and not an over complicated game of chess.

 

[Pres]

While all of that might or not be true it isn't why a lot of people have lost their passion for the game.

It's the actual game itself and how it is played. Coaches have destroyed the good things about our game and turned it into a massive flood of players all over the ground. It is ******* ridiculous and all footy is now is chip, chip, chip, switch to other side, chip, chip as teams try to find a way through the mass of players.

The reason forwards don't kick bags is because there is no ******* room for them to lead and the ball gets in there too slowly.

The only reason that footy is still as popular as it is is because supporters love their clubs, not the game...

This sums it up for me I think.

 

[Ancient Tiger]

I think yesterdays game just emphasises how bad most games are by sticking out like the dog's proverbials showing how good it should be.

I looked at my teams match on Thursday night and said the game is in trouble. The gap from good to bad has become immense. And just like a footy team, the game can't afford for that to happen.