How far out of touch are the AFL with their fans?

[Coach_Required]

Been a Richmond supporter for 40 years (member for 25years) and always will but I dont enjoy watching games anymore, not sure if its me getting older but I used to go to a game every week even if Richmond wasnt playing.

I'm totally frustrated with the umpires interpretation and the need to call play on instead of paying free kicks and its been like that for nearly 10 years, this past few years seems to be getting worse. Fans start to complain and we get shut down through the agenda driven media, told to think of the umpires as it's not an easy role and made to feel like we are clueless thugs.

General kicking skills is also annoying and you hear players are only allowed to spend XXX time a week kicking for goal etc, I thought it was a joke but apparently its not. The pace of the game has been fine for quite a while now, but the AFL continue to try and make it even quicker, they dont listen to what the fans want and just bring in changes to suit their agendas anyway.

Totally frustrated, yeah you can tell me I just like to complain but having watched this game for 40 years I think I have a right to be. If you've only been watching for the past 15 to 20 years you really cant have a go at people complaining because you have no idea what it used to be like to compare.

 

[Scotland]

I think they ebb and flow.

Fans are over the U/9s style of footy with 36 players within 50m of the ball so the AFL introduced the 6-6-6 rule which I would say has been well received. They've finally started to realise that leading with your head is a scurge. Let Selwood, Shuey etc. break tackles by brushing off the arm, it's a valid tactic and it's play on.

On the flip side they stuff around with the fixture like nobody's business. Did anyone actually ask for Thursday night footy? or Sunday twilight footy? There were two games in Melbourne on Mothers Day involving 3 Victorian sides for a total crowd of about 35,000. Hawthorn, Richmond and Collingwood don't want to play home games at Docklands, but they do. Geelong (apparently) don't want to play home games in Melbourne, but they do. Princes Park, Whitten Oval etc. are all off limits because the AFL doesn't own them or have a deal going with the MCC. Every year there is a 'will they won't they?' debate about moving the Grand Final to a twilight or night fixture. Did anyone ask for that?

 

[Kappa]

What if... there are a vocal minority who will always complain about the game? and have complained about the game for the past 100 years and will continue to do so for the next 100 years..

 

[Hawthorn United]

I think the problem is that they don't think they're making a mistake.

They realise there are PR issues with what they're doing, which is why they lie/spin, but fundamentally, they think that what they're doing is for the best.

People want to see the big name players...So we'll give them more leeway at the MRO.

People want an open, free flowing game...So we'll keep fiddling with the rules to try and produce that.


etc. etc. etc.

I said this in another thread, but this is Australian Football Entertainment. Not a League or sport type decision.

When people take the wins and losses seriously, and some jobs are lost based on the decisions you outlined, it makes it a mockery of things.

There's no integrity left as an outright competition, and it just TV/Live unscripted entertainment.

 

[These 4 Walls]

In most digital marketing spaces it is considered that people are 35-40 times more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one unprompted.

I think this adds to the problem that people who don't like the game as much as they did feel. It becomes somewhat of an echo chamber.

The game is still enjoyable, I know a growing number of late 20s and early 30s people have gone from a once a year to once a fortnight or weekly fan. The game clearly has problems still but if the expectation is for perfection than the expectation is the problem. The game is more confusing than I think it was 15 years ago, though I think it is also faster, more tactical and higher pressured. From a social point of view it is more inclusive(race, gender, age, sexuality, etc) and this seems to be in line with growth of the population.

I guess it also has to do with what you think the AFL is meant to do. If it is 50% about the growth of the sport and 50% about running a sporting competition, I would say they are probably at 75-80% then. (45/50 for growth and 25-30/50 for the competition)

I don't think the level of disdain towards them is appropriate of a business/group running at that level but if you see their role as 100% running a competition than that changes it drastically.