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[RussellEbertHandball]

The fact that people can shop 7 days a week (for many years) is a reason that shopping is not a reason that fewer fans per capita are going to games (ie it is so easy now to do your shopping, and go to an AFL game if you are so inclined).

THe AFL GF & Melb. Cup, both on Sat. afternoon, still attract very big TV Ratings. Shopping doesn't appear to be a distraction.

If in 1970 the shops weren't open, and you didn't have to work in shops, you then could go to the footy, if you weren't playing footy yourself. What else did you do if you were a casual fan and there was a game on down the road? If you are a casual fan today, you have so many other options and now that a game isn't on down the road, you have to get into bus, train or car and get into town.

Shopping is an an analogy or a metaphor for a change in lifestyle. Dont take it literally! People per capita don't go to the footy like they used for many reasons - some because of legislation changes, some because as a consumer driven society we have a lot more interesting alternatives and have had lifestyle changes.

 

[Rob]

2018 crowds are well down, on a per capita basis, cf the 1970's in Melb., Adelaide & Perth.

Melb. in 1970 had a population of c. 2,300,000 -now about 4,870,000. The VFL was averaging about 131,000 per H & A game round, plus the VFA was averaging c. 25,000 pw. Perth's population since 1970 has tripled to 2,100,000, Adelaide is up by c.50% The WAFL & SANFL average weekly crowds were very impressive on a per capita basis -IIRC, c. 35,000 pw.
Facilities at most games then were appalling -mainly standing room, little cover from the rain, toilet blocs primitive (putting it mildly). Melb. games not centrally located/diificult to attend with public transport (unlike now).

2 major points.

The expectations of the public were different. What we would call s**t facilities was state of the art back in the 70's. You only have to hear the bitching about Docklands as hard evidence of this. And it's not just about footy grounds, it's about life in general. We're massively, massively better off now than we used to be, and we expect better.

The other, far more important point is that per capita, a s**t ton more people watch the game now than they did 40 or 50 years ago. It might be mostly on TV, but millions watch the AFL every week. Every game too, not like highlights of 1 game we used to get. Never mind attendances that crap all over any other sporting league in this country.

Sure, there are some crap games. Like every other sporting league everywhere. You catch the Astros v Angels the other day? Didn't think so. It was s**t. But I bet you're hanging out for Watford v burnley when the EPL starts though. Yeah nah. About as attractive as Carlton.
But with every game broadcast, you're going to see s**t games, and you'll see good games. What sells papers though? "THE GAME IS STUFFED". But people keep watching.

 

[BringBackTorps]

The expectations of the public were different.[Agree] What we would call s**t facilities was state of the art back in the 70's.[Disagree . State of The Art in the 70's was a roof to keep out the rain, and a seat. The vast majority of the crowd did not have this] You only have to hear the bitching about Docklands as hard evidence of this.[Agree, it is unwarranted]
The other, far more important point is that per capita,[?] a s**t ton more people watch the game now than they did 40 or 50 years ago. It might be mostly on TV, but millions watch the AFL every week. Every game too, not like highlights of 1 game we used to get. [Are there any statistics on Ratings in previous decades back to the 60's?]

In the book "Heart Of The Game 45 Years Of Football On Television", (M.Roberts Editor, 2001 Hardie Grant, pg 20), it states all 4 Melb. TV stations were showing Replays and
" By 1967 it was possible to tune in for 26 hours of footy - replays and associated panel shows- each week".
This book states, at pg 25, also "...Channel O televising the comparatively cheap VFA live on Sunday afternoons...The VFA was, for a few years, "must -see TV" for footy fans... It was great Sunday fodder (before the VFL played started on Sunday in 1982 -my words)...".

The book does not provide the Ratings.

Crowds are far less in per capita terms. Why has the passion & tribalism apparently declined in Vic., WA SA, & Tas.?

The hardcore fans still turn up in very good numbers. Why are the passive sport followers missing?

Why, in the crucial market of Sydney, have crowds gone from 60 -72,000 at ANZ for big games; & SCG games once attracted over 40,000 -but averaging less now (Even though Sydney has been in Finals' contention & 3 GF's for c.13 years. And have Franklin, the game's biggest star)?
GWS, admittedly, has crowds now averaging c.12,500 -this would diminish Swans' crowds; & there was a very rare recent 61,000 crowd at the ANZ GWS vs. Sydney Final in 2016.

Sydney (obviously, full of passive/non AF fans) love gun Full Forwards (Capper, Lockett, Hall who had time & space, kicking bags). Congestion is damaging severely the AFL's very expensive plans to promote AF.

Many believe the game has declined as a spectacle, due to congestion eg
Barassi, Hafey, Sheedy, Kerley, Barlett, Parkin, Jeans, Pagan, Blight, Matthews, G.Healy, Russel, Brereton, Wallace, Maher, Lane, Whateley, Niall, Lyon, Watson (Ch.7 man -"besmirching" his own TV product!); & other professional media commentators.

I'm glad you enjoy the congested, gang tackling, scrappy, stoppages-filled, low scoring "stuffed" (your sarcastic words) game. From the decline in per capita crowds and the Ratings, it is clear an increasing percentage of the 11,000,000+ current population of Vic., WA, SA, & Tas. don't.

Do you think it is good that the game has increased from a total of 40 average tackles per game in the 80's to 140 per game now -from both a spectator and player perspective?

Fans would rather see the champion players on the field, playing & displaying their skills -& not on the bench. Do you disagree?

If the ratings continue to decline, it will be a financial disaster for the AFL -much less Broadcast Rights $.

 

[calyam]

Crowds are far less in per capita terms. Why has the passion & tribalism apparently declined in Vic., WA SA, & Tas.?

The hardcore fans still turn up in very good numbers. Why are the passive sport followers missing?

It's largely a combination of a) multi-culturalism and b) alternatives.

We are increasingly a multicultural country and technology has opened up the door to a range of different entertainment options. If I wanted to follow sport in the 1970s I either followed the VFL or the WAFL or the SANFL. My choices were local. In 2018, I can be a huge fan of global sporting competitions such as the NFL, NBA or EPL.

Given the increased competition faced by the AFL, it is no surprise that crowd sizes and televsion audiences are lower, in per capita terms, than they were decades ago. This is something that should continue for the foreseeable future.