Ogopogo
All Australian
Hello all. I really discovered the game of Australian football back in 2013 and have experienced six full seasons of the AFL. It's hard to believe, 6 years of staying up late here in Canada to watch my club - the Gold Coast Suns.
Some of you may have spent five minutes to read my post back then about the joy I had in discovering the sport: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-afl-a-foreigners-perspective.1011811/#post-28638361
Today, I am posting for a very different reason. I believe the business of the AFL is flawed and the league is broken. What do I mean by that?
As a Suns fan, I have experienced a lot of losing the past 6 years. 38-93-1 has been the Suns' record since I started following the club back in 2013. Many nights, up at 1, 2, 3 am watching the Suns play...the house was quiet it was three hours of uninterrupted bliss each week. Yes, the losses are hard to take but it made the victories all the sweeter.
As much as I love the sport, the business side has to work to make the sport worth watching. Pro sport leagues like the EPL really don't appeal to me that much because the richest clubs compete for the championship each year while 14 or 15 others can only hope to not be relegated. The clubs are either first class or no class and most everybody knows where their club stands. I like Everton, for the simple fact they came to Edmonton to play a friendly about 10 years back, but, I know they will likely never win the league. Money rules and Everton is not one of the rich clubs.
Of course, the AFL is different. It is more like NHL hockey where everybody has a chance because of a salary cap and draft structure - that is equal opportunity and that is what every sports fan craves. My team doesn't have to win every year, they just need equal opportunity with finances and other inequalities levelled. Each club could have any player, if they were smart enough to draft or trade for them; rich clubs and poor clubs are on level ground because of the cap.
That is what I thought the AFL was - equal opportunity and one day, the Suns will get their chance at a flag. It was exciting, I was a new fan so I selected a new club to follow. I was going to grow with them and share in the hardships as well as the success. What I have discovered, six years later, is that there isn't an equal chance for success. With the current structure of the football business, the Suns will likely never have a chance to compete for a flag.
Yes, the Suns were given concessions at the start of their existence - which is only fair. When you are starting a new club from nothing, you need to toss them a bone to begin. The interesting thing with that bone is, the bone walked away! Players the Suns had drafted high, the players that were here build this club from nothing into a financially viable, competitive side, decided rather than put in the hard work of building a winner on in Queensland, they would rather take the easy route and go to an established winning club.
Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Charlie Dixon, Adam Saad and now Tom Lynch, Steven May and more, all threw in the towel and asked to be traded. All of them refused to be adults and take on the responsibility of building a winner at a new club - they preferred to be passengers elsewhere. Granted, Gary Ablett spent many years here trying to build a winner but, eventually bailed as well.
The problem with the AFL is that the league allows the inmates to run the asylum. Some will argue that the players have the right to play where they want but, that damages the equity of the game. How can you possibly build a fan base in a new market when all of the best players decide to leave? Some are "home sick", some want to win now but really, they are abdicating their responsibility to the people of the Gold Coast. They are cowards; essentially killing football in the region.
Gold Coast is a thriving area that is a great market for football. All they need is hope, a chance, maybe the opportunity to play finals and they can capture the attention of the entire city. Hope is what we had in 2014 when the Suns finished just 8 points shy of a finals spot. The games were exciting and the future looked bright...but, key players kept asking to leave. A beautiful city, with a great opportunity in front of them and key players would rather run back to Melbourne - the path of least resistance. Why pioneer, why build something great when you could just ride as a passenger on the hard work of others?
Of course, the Suns receive high draft picks in exchange for their best players....who then turn into good players that want to leave as well. The Suns are little more than a farm club, supplying the Victorian teams. There is no hope. No draft pick compensates or satisfies...we know the future, those players will leave.
The point of footy on the Gold Coast is to tap into a new market, spread the game and to make money long-term. That is a noble cause, there is nothing wrong with those goals. Given enough time and success, footy can be a Gold Coast passion as is rugby. Many in Victoria will trash the club and call for its demise. To what gain would be that demise? How is the game of football better if there is no longer an AFL club on the Gold Coast? Is there anything at all to be gained by the folding of the Gold Coast Suns - other than to stroke the egos of some closed-minded Victorians? The truth is, there is much to be gained by the success of the Suns and nothing to be gained by the failure. The fact that people delight in the lack of success on the Gold Coast is puzzling. They must have some sick, twisted elitist attitude to think football belongs to them alone and cannot be shared.
As it stands, fans like me are at a crossroads. 6 seasons ago, I fell in love with the sport and enjoy it immensely...but, when my club has no chance of ever winning flag or making finals, it is hard to get excited to stay up very late in Canada to watch them get thumped each week. I can only imagine how hard it is for members to continue to pay good money to attend games that always end in devastating losses. The current state of the Suns is killing the fan base it was once building. I will admit, I probably only watched 2 of the last 11 Suns games this year - by fluke, one was the win over Sydney. It it just too difficult to be disappointed every week, knowing the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train.
At this point, I am not sure I will renew my AFL Global subscription for next season. I probably won't buy more Suns merchandise and I may only follow the scores on the AFL app on my phone. I see no reason to get excited for the 2019 season...more beatings...more players wanting out...more useless draft picks that turn into players we develop for Richmond or Hawthorn.
I wish you all well next season and beyond. My six-year AFL joy ride was incredible but it appears to be winding down. Suns football used to be can't-miss TV for me, now it feels like too much effort to stay up late and watch. I will be a Suns fan for as long as they exist, it is just no longer fun to be an "active" fan.
Maybe one day the league will change and the Suns will be great. Maybe then I will be glued to AFL Global each week like the old days. It would be nice but, it seems like little more than a foolish pipe dream.
The sport is still great - one of the most entertaining on the planet. I may still watch occasionally. I am sure to take heat for my thoughts but really, equal opportunity for all clubs is what makes a sports league work. Without that opportunity, the league is failing its paying customers.
Many will see this as me whining but, it is really the AFL alienating a fan base and losing the money we spend.
End rant. I feel better now.
Some of you may have spent five minutes to read my post back then about the joy I had in discovering the sport: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-afl-a-foreigners-perspective.1011811/#post-28638361
Today, I am posting for a very different reason. I believe the business of the AFL is flawed and the league is broken. What do I mean by that?
As a Suns fan, I have experienced a lot of losing the past 6 years. 38-93-1 has been the Suns' record since I started following the club back in 2013. Many nights, up at 1, 2, 3 am watching the Suns play...the house was quiet it was three hours of uninterrupted bliss each week. Yes, the losses are hard to take but it made the victories all the sweeter.
As much as I love the sport, the business side has to work to make the sport worth watching. Pro sport leagues like the EPL really don't appeal to me that much because the richest clubs compete for the championship each year while 14 or 15 others can only hope to not be relegated. The clubs are either first class or no class and most everybody knows where their club stands. I like Everton, for the simple fact they came to Edmonton to play a friendly about 10 years back, but, I know they will likely never win the league. Money rules and Everton is not one of the rich clubs.
Of course, the AFL is different. It is more like NHL hockey where everybody has a chance because of a salary cap and draft structure - that is equal opportunity and that is what every sports fan craves. My team doesn't have to win every year, they just need equal opportunity with finances and other inequalities levelled. Each club could have any player, if they were smart enough to draft or trade for them; rich clubs and poor clubs are on level ground because of the cap.
That is what I thought the AFL was - equal opportunity and one day, the Suns will get their chance at a flag. It was exciting, I was a new fan so I selected a new club to follow. I was going to grow with them and share in the hardships as well as the success. What I have discovered, six years later, is that there isn't an equal chance for success. With the current structure of the football business, the Suns will likely never have a chance to compete for a flag.
Yes, the Suns were given concessions at the start of their existence - which is only fair. When you are starting a new club from nothing, you need to toss them a bone to begin. The interesting thing with that bone is, the bone walked away! Players the Suns had drafted high, the players that were here build this club from nothing into a financially viable, competitive side, decided rather than put in the hard work of building a winner on in Queensland, they would rather take the easy route and go to an established winning club.
Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Charlie Dixon, Adam Saad and now Tom Lynch, Steven May and more, all threw in the towel and asked to be traded. All of them refused to be adults and take on the responsibility of building a winner at a new club - they preferred to be passengers elsewhere. Granted, Gary Ablett spent many years here trying to build a winner but, eventually bailed as well.
The problem with the AFL is that the league allows the inmates to run the asylum. Some will argue that the players have the right to play where they want but, that damages the equity of the game. How can you possibly build a fan base in a new market when all of the best players decide to leave? Some are "home sick", some want to win now but really, they are abdicating their responsibility to the people of the Gold Coast. They are cowards; essentially killing football in the region.
Gold Coast is a thriving area that is a great market for football. All they need is hope, a chance, maybe the opportunity to play finals and they can capture the attention of the entire city. Hope is what we had in 2014 when the Suns finished just 8 points shy of a finals spot. The games were exciting and the future looked bright...but, key players kept asking to leave. A beautiful city, with a great opportunity in front of them and key players would rather run back to Melbourne - the path of least resistance. Why pioneer, why build something great when you could just ride as a passenger on the hard work of others?
Of course, the Suns receive high draft picks in exchange for their best players....who then turn into good players that want to leave as well. The Suns are little more than a farm club, supplying the Victorian teams. There is no hope. No draft pick compensates or satisfies...we know the future, those players will leave.
The point of footy on the Gold Coast is to tap into a new market, spread the game and to make money long-term. That is a noble cause, there is nothing wrong with those goals. Given enough time and success, footy can be a Gold Coast passion as is rugby. Many in Victoria will trash the club and call for its demise. To what gain would be that demise? How is the game of football better if there is no longer an AFL club on the Gold Coast? Is there anything at all to be gained by the folding of the Gold Coast Suns - other than to stroke the egos of some closed-minded Victorians? The truth is, there is much to be gained by the success of the Suns and nothing to be gained by the failure. The fact that people delight in the lack of success on the Gold Coast is puzzling. They must have some sick, twisted elitist attitude to think football belongs to them alone and cannot be shared.
As it stands, fans like me are at a crossroads. 6 seasons ago, I fell in love with the sport and enjoy it immensely...but, when my club has no chance of ever winning flag or making finals, it is hard to get excited to stay up very late in Canada to watch them get thumped each week. I can only imagine how hard it is for members to continue to pay good money to attend games that always end in devastating losses. The current state of the Suns is killing the fan base it was once building. I will admit, I probably only watched 2 of the last 11 Suns games this year - by fluke, one was the win over Sydney. It it just too difficult to be disappointed every week, knowing the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train.
At this point, I am not sure I will renew my AFL Global subscription for next season. I probably won't buy more Suns merchandise and I may only follow the scores on the AFL app on my phone. I see no reason to get excited for the 2019 season...more beatings...more players wanting out...more useless draft picks that turn into players we develop for Richmond or Hawthorn.
I wish you all well next season and beyond. My six-year AFL joy ride was incredible but it appears to be winding down. Suns football used to be can't-miss TV for me, now it feels like too much effort to stay up late and watch. I will be a Suns fan for as long as they exist, it is just no longer fun to be an "active" fan.
Maybe one day the league will change and the Suns will be great. Maybe then I will be glued to AFL Global each week like the old days. It would be nice but, it seems like little more than a foolish pipe dream.
The sport is still great - one of the most entertaining on the planet. I may still watch occasionally. I am sure to take heat for my thoughts but really, equal opportunity for all clubs is what makes a sports league work. Without that opportunity, the league is failing its paying customers.
Many will see this as me whining but, it is really the AFL alienating a fan base and losing the money we spend.
End rant. I feel better now.
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