AFL is on the decline - the younger generation is just not that into you

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

That doesn’t solve his horrendous maths skills at all. Or that he mentioned channel 10.


Yeah but blokes got to belt blokes from behind and have a dart straight after the game so FOOTY WAS BETTER!!11!

He was talking about cricket.
The Math can add up because not all games are on 7 so the Fox games can have a higher overall avg than what they get for the simulcast games.

 

[boncer34]

He was talking about cricket.

WTF?

Where does he say that?

WTF does cricket have to do with this thread?

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

People romanticise their youth.

The late Drew Morphett had that rewind to “The Winners” around three years ago which basically played replays of late seventies and early 80s games.

People who say footy was more popular and more exiting in the 80s are speaking rubbish.

I remember on one episode they had a game between Collingwood and Hawthorn in the mid 80s at Princess Park.

Seriously the ground was half empty, it was played in a mud heap, and seemed to be being played in slow motion in comparison to 2018. Imagine if 15,000 people turned up to a Collingwood v Hawthorn games in 2019.

This is one example but I can’t be stuffed going through them all.

i agree nostalgia plays a big part and from that peopl only remember the good not the bad of the past but for a footy fan the thing with the 80, 90s and early 2000's was when you went to the footy you knew you were going to see a footy match now days its more a game of chess with over officiating and over complication ... in huge part of that is the way the TV comentators present the game with the over analysis of every kick and the "yesterday hero's" explaining the play as some sort of preconcieved "yes thats what he was planning to do in that situation" it becomes tiresome watching the footy live without comentary the game is great 90% of the time theres enough action and skills on show (provided its not over officiated) watching on TV it becomes a show of yesterdays hero's fapping on about their past carreer and how inteligent they are to see the tacktics of the game ...

last season i was watching a game with a guy who played AFL footy in the early 2000's and the way he spoke about the game as it was happening against what the comentators were saying was chalk and cheese ... in said game Ling went on the rant about the defender choosing to force the forward to the "fat"side so he could gain possession to run off him and deliver into the corridor to set of a forward thrust blah blah blah ... the former AFL player said bullshit hes a defender his focus is making sure his guy doesnt get the ball and if he gets the ball he is going to look for the closest escape path he can find to get it the hell away from his opponent ...
we over complicate the game instead of just watching and enjoying two teams going after the ball we have guys paid to analyse every thing to overwhelm us with info ... i watch a lot of old games on youtube the game was much more exciting when the call was simply "player X kick to player Y who handpasses to player Z who kicks long to PLAYEEER S .... "

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

Australian Rules at the highest level is generally on par or better than footy 25+ years ago.

The thing that ruins it is commentators giving us 3 sentences of per play, many of which are dedicated to calls on the same old '<insert smartarse overweight commentator> eating more than the <insert smartarse slightly less overweight commentator> earlier in the broadcast - followed by laboured in-joke + forces laughter'.

It was barely amusing or interesting 10 years ago.

Today, nobody relates & nobody GAF.

this !!

 

[andrew coombs]

People romanticise their youth.

The late Drew Morphett had that rewind to “The Winners” around three years ago which basically played replays of late seventies and early 80s games.

People who say footy was more popular and more exiting in the 80s are speaking rubbish.

I remember on one episode they had a game between Collingwood and Hawthorn in the mid 80s at Princess Park.

Seriously the ground was half empty, it was played in a mud heap, and seemed to be being played in slow motion in comparison to 2018. Imagine if 15,000 people turned up to a Collingwood v Hawthorn games in 2019.

This is one example but I can’t be stuffed going through them all.

Excellent post. There is no doubt that people old enough to have followed footy in the seventies, eighties and nineties wear a nostalgic pair of rose coloured glasses. I grew up in the era of suburban grounds, reserves footy curtain raisers and World of sport on Sundays and absolutely loved it. Catching trains and trams to small local grounds and standing on terraces to watch blokes you considered almost superhuman were childhood memories I will forever cherish. But that was then and now is now. Anyone who says footy was better back then is kidding themselves. Eg:

The levels of comfort and safety at the grounds are incomparable, as are the facilities available to patrons.

The arenas are in superb condition. No cricket pitch squares causing the old glue pots.

The communications platforms are light years ahead of what we used to have. Media coverage of the game has actually greatly improved.

The coaches have a level of expertise simply not seen or heard back in the days of Barrassi, Hafey, Jeans, Parkin or Kennedy.

As full time professionals the players are far stronger, faster, fitter and generally more skilful than yesterday’s part timers.

The umpiring is infinitely superior. Anyone who disputes this needs to head to YouTube or watch winners rebooted.

And so on.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

People romanticise their youth.

The late Drew Morphett had that rewind to “The Winners” around three years ago which basically played replays of late seventies and early 80s games.

People who say footy was more popular and more exiting in the 80s are speaking rubbish.

I remember on one episode they had a game between Collingwood and Hawthorn in the mid 80s at Princess Park.

Seriously the ground was half empty, it was played in a mud heap, and seemed to be being played in slow motion in comparison to 2018. Imagine if 15,000 people turned up to a Collingwood v Hawthorn games in 2019.

This is one example but I can’t be stuffed going through them all.

This is a common reply to anyone who talks about the past. It’s also the easiest reply.
Did you attend and watch footy in the 80’s, 90’s? If you didn’t then you really wouldn’t know. Watching the odd replay from the past is not living the game in that era.

There is just as many crap games played this day as there was back then.
For me they are almost two different sports, one was Australian Rules Football and the other is the new sport invented by a bunch of business men called AFL.
It’s in the eye of the beholder what you enjoy the most.
For those who are 30 years old and younger I would not expect you to appreciate or admire an era of the game you had no part in. How could you?
For me who has lived both I loved the game far more in the 80’s and 90’s for a number of reasons.
Firstly and the biggest reason of all is that the League back then never had a constant look or even discussion about changing the rules or interpretation of the rules every bloody year, the game was the game and we loved it.
We only cared about whether our side won or lost.
I never heard anyone ever who cared how many interchanges there were, or how many forced behinds there were, or how many boundary throw ins there were. We knew the first bloke to the ball would be looked after, we knew head high contact would be a free kick without there being sub rules to go through to get to that decision.
One on one contests were brilliant without fear that a free kick will be called because one guy is stronger than the other.
The game was simpler, we knew the rules and it was a joy to be a part of. Like I said I don’t expect the younger generation to understand as they know nothing different to the game they follow now.
But spare me this romancing about our youth crap, I loved the game far more in my youth than I do now and think it was a far better game than today’s version.
Each to their own of course.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

Excellent post. There is no doubt that people old enough to have followed footy in the seventies, eighties and nineties wear a nostalgic pair of rose coloured glasses. I grew up in the era of suburban grounds, reserves footy curtain raisers and World of sport on Sundays and absolutely loved it. Catching trains and trams to small local grounds and standing on terraces to watch blokes you considered almost superhuman were childhood memories I will forever cherish. But that was then and now is now. Anyone who says footy was better back then is kidding themselves. Eg:

The levels of comfort and safety at the grounds are incomparable, as are the facilities available to patrons.

The arenas are in superb condition. No cricket pitch squares causing the old glue pots.

The communications platforms are light years ahead of what we used to have. Media coverage of the game has actually greatly improved.

The coaches have a level of expertise simply not seen or heard back in the days of Barrassi, Hafey, Jeans, Parkin or Kennedy.

As full time professionals the players are far stronger, faster, fitter and generally more skilful than yesterday’s part timers.

The umpiring is infinitely superior. Anyone who disputes this needs to head to YouTube or watch winners rebooted.

And so on.

I agree, as a spectator and a commentator it is much more safer and comfortable now. That has improved the game heaps. Lol

 

[Hawthorn United]

What a complete overstatement this is. In fact it is completely wrong.

What time frame are you using ?

Before 2016 Brisbane won three in a row, Stkilda played in 3 grand finals since 97 amongst quite a few other finals. Sydney won two flags, and the Bulldogs played in 7 prelims in 25 years.

So these teams were hardly “easy beats and never in contention”

Considering I had Fitzroy in there, I was talking about the 80s and early 90s. The same period Sydney were playing infront of 2,000 people.

It was a response to a thread of discussions about how the 90s were better as a fan as you always had hope each season.

 

[Draft Pick]

This is a common reply to anyone who talks about the past. It’s also the easiest reply.
Did you attend and watch footy in the 80’s, 90’s? If you didn’t then you really wouldn’t know. Watching the odd replay from the past is not living the game in that era.

There is just as many crap games played this day as there was back then.
For me they are almost two different sports, one was Australian Rules Football and the other is the new sport invented by a bunch of business men called AFL.
It’s in the eye of the beholder what you enjoy the most.
For those who are 30 years old and younger I would not expect you to appreciate or admire an era of the game you had no part in. How could you?
For me who has lived both I loved the game far more in the 80’s and 90’s for a number of reasons.
Firstly and the biggest reason of all is that the League back then never had a constant look or even discussion about changing the rules or interpretation of the rules every bloody year, the game was the game and we loved it.
We only cared about whether our side won or lost.
I never heard anyone ever who cared how many interchanges there were, or how many forced behinds there were, or how many boundary throw ins there were. We knew the first bloke to the ball would be looked after, we knew head high contact would be a free kick without there being sub rules to go through to get to that decision.
One on one contests were brilliant without fear that a free kick will be called because one guy is stronger than the other.
The game was simpler, we knew the rules and it was a joy to be a part of. Like I said I don’t expect the younger generation to understand as they know nothing different to the game they follow now.
But spare me this romancing about our youth crap, I loved the game far more in my youth than I do now and think it was a far better game than today’s version.
Each to their own of course.

I am 44 so I have a clear memory of the 80s and 90s.

Yes I watched the game in the 80s and 90s and I recall much conjecture regarding the rules and the standard of the game.

There were some ridiculous rules brought in during the 80s and 90s that have since been scrapped because they were stupid and did not improve the game. These were brought in because people thought 60s and 50s footy was way better.

The catchcry during the 80s from the old folk was that there was too much handball, so they brought in a rule in the late 80s that you could not handball from a free kick. Lol. That was scrapped a few years later.

There was also a rule brought in during the 90s where if you wanted to play on from a kick out you had to kick it two metres in the air. I am not sure the reasoning for this change but it was scrapped soon after.

These are just two examples.

I also recall driving out to the Western Oval and Waverley with my Dad as a youngster listening to old farts calling talkback whinging about umpiring interpretations and the standard of the game.

So during this “golden era” of footy (which I liked as much as today by the way) there was the same longing for another era which was supposedly better.

 

[Draft Pick]

Considering I had Fitzroy in there, I was talking about the 80s and early 90s. The same period Sydney were playing infront of 2,000 people.

It was a response to a thread of discussions about how the 90s were better as a fan as you always had hope each season.

All those teams mentioned other than Fitzroy had hope during the 90s as they were in contention at some point in time. Sydney made a GF, Brisbane, Tigers and Dogs made PF.

Fitzroy made finals in the 80s.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

I am 44 so I have a clear memory of the 80s and 90s.

Yes I watched the game in the 80s and 90s and I recall much conjecture regarding the rules and the standard of the game.

There were some ridiculous rules brought in during the 80s and 90s that have since been scrapped because they were stupid and did not improve the game. These were brought in because people thought 60s and 50s footy was way better.

The catchcry during the 80s from the old folk was that there was too much handball, so they brought in a rule in the late 80s that you could not handball from a free kick. Lol. That was scrapped a few years later.

There was also a rule brought in during the 90s where if you wanted to play on from a kick out you had to kick it two metres in the air. I am not sure the reasoning for this change but it was scrapped soon after.

These are just two examples.

I also recall driving out to the Western Oval and Waverley with my Dad as a youngster listening to old farts calling talkback whinging about umpiring interpretations and the standard of the game.

So during this “golden era” of footy (which I liked as much as today by the way) there was the same longing for another era which was supposedly better.

No doubt every era has people complaining about the game. Umpire bashing is as much a part of our game as kicking the ball itself.
The sport has changed a great deal the last 15 years, I still watch it but no where as much as I once did. Mainly just watch my own side these days.
The game is very frustrating to watch these days, I don’t believe the skill level is as high as some do and I spend most games I watch laughing at umpiring decisions which are not the umpires fault but more the leagues fault who have made it so complicated.
Like I said It’s each to their own. Today’s game is a poor cousin in my opinion to the sport called Aussie Rules Football.

 

[Masher]

I hope Chess becomes bigger than the AFL

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

No doubt every era has people complaining about the game. Umpire bashing is as much a part of our game as kicking the ball itself.
The sport has changed a great deal the last 15 years, I still watch it but no where as much as I once did. Mainly just watch my own side these days.
The game is very frustrating to watch these days, I don’t believe the skill level is as high as some do and I spend most games I watch laughing at umpiring decisions which are not the umpires fault but more the leagues fault who have made it so complicated.
Like I said It’s each to their own. Today’s game is a poor cousin in my opinion to the sport called Aussie Rules Football.

The thing is the game has evolved so much that I highly doubt many people could ever enjoy the way football was played back then again. People are just too aware of tactics nowadays that watching football played like it used to, just looks amateurish.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

WTF?

Where does he say that?

WTF does cricket have to do with this thread?

I’m not sure but they are the cricket stats from the BBL

 

[greatwhiteshark]

The thing is the game has evolved so much that I highly doubt many people could ever enjoy the way football was played back then again. People are just too aware of tactics nowadays that watching football played like it used to, just looks amateurish.

60% of people who attend AFL today wouldn’t know one end of a football from the other. It’s a cool place to go and telling your friends you went to the big game last night is their weekend highlight.
They wouldn’t even understand the tactics or even care about them. They just follow what the media tell them to follow as they don’t know.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

60% of people who attend AFL today wouldn’t know one end of a football from the other. It’s a cool place to go and telling your friends you went to the big game last night is their weekend highlight.
They wouldn’t even understand the tactics or even care about them. They just follow what the media tell them to follow as they don’t know.

I think even people who aren’t that interested in tactics would still be frustrated out of their minds at watching KF’s having 180degree of 40m player free space to lead into.
No doubt the game looked better back than but I think times have changed and that people who are invested in their club would no longer enjoy that brand anymore

 

[greatwhiteshark]

I think even people who aren’t that interested in tactics would still be frustrated out of their minds at watching KF’s having 180degree of 40m player free space to lead into.
No doubt the game looked better back than but I think times have changed and that people who are invested in their club would no longer enjoy that brand anymore

There is more uncontested footy now than ever in the games history. Short passing to blokes 30 m on their own is over half the modern game now.
Now I understand why that occurs and the reasons teams allow it but it is still uncontested footy.

 

[shaqsuns]

I just think it’s sad that when I was a kid the big forward’s were the kings of the jungle and every team had one. These days kids get to go watch Scott Selwood get 16 tackles a game, how exciting said no one ever.

I personally have started to move away from watching football mainly because I don’t like where the game is heading and I find the NFL, NBA and world football more interesting although I still enjoy the weekly buildup to a big game.

My sneaking suspicion is that when I was a kid my family never had the internet or pay tv so I couldn’t follow overseas sports, it was Aussie Rules and Cricket (I haven’t watched cricket since Ponting’s retirement) and that’s why Aussie Rules was so dear to us, also kids are to busy with online games such as fortnite, 2k, fifa etc.

I hope the AFL will one-day review this mess properly that they created where the game just looks like a bunch seagulls fighting over a chip but I highly doubt it and I also doubt next years rule changes will do anything for the look of the game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

There is not enough talent for 18 teams and that's why there are so many poor games.

Players 30-42 on most lists are not even VFL/SANFL/WAFL standard of the 1980s.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

I just think it’s sad that when I was a kid the big forward’s were the kings of the jungle and every team had one. These days kids get to go watch Scott Selwood get 16 tackles a game, how exciting said no one ever.

I personally have started to move away from watching football mainly because I don’t like where the game is heading and I find the NFL, NBA and world football more interesting although I still enjoy the weekly buildup to a big game.

My sneaking suspicion is that when I was a kid my family never had the internet or pay tv so I couldn’t follow overseas sports, it was Aussie Rules and Cricket (I haven’t watched cricket since Ponting’s retirement) and that’s why Aussie Rules was so dear to us, also kids are to busy with online games such as fortnite, 2k, fifa etc.

I hope the AFL will one-day review this mess properly that they created where the game just looks like a bunch seagulls fighting over a chip but I highly doubt it and I also doubt next years rule changes will do anything for the look of the game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s funny you mention NBA because the conversation on the AFL now compared to the 90’s is the exact same as what everyone talks about with basketball. It would be even more extreme with the NBA in America than AFL here.
Also Soccer and especially NFL people actually appreciate the defensive tactics, although plenty of people still complain, football supporters find it boring for some reason. Rugby and cricket are two other sports that struggle with making it intriguing. Every game is different and you only have to look at how extreme changing the amount of short balls or fielding restrictions in cricket and adding the three point line into basketball was to realise sometimes change is needed to improve a sport when tactics mess with the game too much.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

i know for me personally i dont watch half as much footy as i used to outside of my own team based a lot on the fact i cant stand the coverage channel 7 dish up ... unless its my team (and it never is) playing on Friday night i wont watch friday night footy and Saturday night footy aint much better ... if they got rid of the fake blokey bloke BT Richo Darce rubbish and put in comentators who can actually call the game not make it about themselves we might get somewhere

I think their is an awful lot of truth in this post.

Call me old fashioned but I liked it when the commentators use to call the actual game. Now days they appear to just want to stroke themselves into a personal frenzy all the time. They're just willy wonkas about themselves & co-callers.

One just gets sick of their BS.

That it's easier than ever to watch overseas sport makes the bad quality Seven and even Foxtel dish up even worse. When you've been watching NFL or MLB or soccer during the week, with commentators and the production team taking it seriously, it's very easy to not want to listen to Brian Taylor talk complete s**t and pretend to be a comedian when the weekend arrives. Unless it's Essendon or finals I just don't. It shouldn't feel like a chore or obligation but Seven in particular make it so. I wish the AFL would force a change on this. Save the junk for the pre-game and post-game shows. The game itself should be presented as the most important thing ever.

 

[Leeda]

who cares if the younger buds don't join it.. they will eventually and if they don't then it is human nature that people gravitate to things eventually..

 

[Carson Dial]

I just think it’s sad that when I was a kid the big forward’s were the kings of the jungle and every team had one. These days kids get to go watch Scott Selwood get 16 tackles a game, how exciting said no one ever.

I personally have started to move away from watching football mainly because I don’t like where the game is heading and I find the NFL, NBA and world football more interesting although I still enjoy the weekly buildup to a big game.

My sneaking suspicion is that when I was a kid my family never had the internet or pay tv so I couldn’t follow overseas sports, it was Aussie Rules and Cricket (I haven’t watched cricket since Ponting’s retirement) and that’s why Aussie Rules was so dear to us, also kids are to busy with online games such as fortnite, 2k, fifa etc.

I hope the AFL will one-day review this mess properly that they created where the game just looks like a bunch seagulls fighting over a chip but I highly doubt it and I also doubt next years rule changes will do anything for the look of the game.


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Being a Suns supporter I fully understand why you would be moving away from watching football.
The other supporter will cave in eventually.

 

[Kappa]

Apart from useless anecdotal evidence, what evidence is there that less people enjoy the game or less kids are getting into Footy compared to 20 years ago?

Stop telling your own personal story, it means literally nothing if a individual doesn't like 1 thing as much as he use to.

 

[Billy ray]

Being a Suns supporter I fully understand why you would be moving away from watching football.
The other supporter will cave in eventually.

Same number of flags as freo.