I hate AFL members

[Grendel]

Why i hear you ask do I hate AFL members. Well firstly why do we even need to HAVE members of the A F L!!!
it fundementally doesnt make sense.
Do you go to the footy to follow the afl? i dont think so or maybe only a minority do. the rest of us all go to see OUR TEAM. Yet whogets the preferential treatment come finals time, not the club member but the meber of a body that is only there to oversee the game. Why is that? To those people who say that they like to pick and choose which games they attend, tough. Why should you get to be alble to see my team in a fianl before I can just because your able to afford the cost of an afl membership? There is NO WAY that ANY one other than the competing two teams on the days match other than their supporters deserve first priority to see THEIR team play. This isnt the case now and will never be while the present structure is in place.
It stinks and it is only going to get worse with colonical stadium (deliberate mispelling, figure it out) and the like.

Come the revoloution they are the ones first to the wall

ps just wanted to get that of my chest

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

As a Swans fan who could not get to the '96 Grand Final because 25,000 freakking AFL members had first call on tickets - I know EXACTLY where you are coming from Grendel.

 

[Dave]

"Why i hear you ask do I hate AFL members."

Why indeed?

"Well firstly why do we even need to HAVE members of the A F L!!!"

Because without them the GSS would never have been built. AFL members contribute over 15 MILLION dollars annually to the coffers of the AFL, approx 1/6th of their revenue in 1998 (don't know about last year, haven't seen the annual report yet). Without that money the divedend payed out to clubs would be virtually nothing and a number of them would not exist, including your beloved hawks

"it fundementally doesnt make sense.
Do you go to the footy to follow the afl? i dont think so or maybe only a minority do. the rest of us all go to see OUR TEAM"

As do a great majority of AFL members, many of whom are also CLUB members. It's certainly what I go to the footy for.

"Yet whogets the preferential treatment come finals time, not the club member but the meber of a body that is only there to oversee the game. Why is that?"

Because EVERY year we pay over THREE HUNDRED dollars for our membership. It's not like a club membership where you can decide to have a year off now and then. I took it out becuase I wanted to make sure that if my team got in I was guarenteed a ticket, though with the medallion club fiasco even that's no longer true. It all comes down to how much you are prepared to pay, the more you pay the better your chances of getting in.


"Why should you get to be alble to see my team in a fianl before I can just because your able to afford the cost of an afl membership?"

Because that's how the world works, supply and demand and all that.

"There is NO WAY that ANY one other than the competing two teams on the days match other than their supporters deserve first priority to see THEIR team play. This isnt the case now and will never be while the present structure is in place."


You're actually having a go at the wrong people here Grendel. The two groups you should be targetting are the MCC members(since when did the Melbourne CRICKET club have anything to do with FOOTBALL?) and your own club. Each club gets allocated GF tickets REGARDLESS of who whether they are playing or not. These tickets go to players, sponsers etc etc. If these groups were not catered for there would be plenty of tickets for the competing club members, though when any of the top 4 memberships clubs played you'd be pushing it.


So feel free to hate me but I'm not losing any sleep over it

 

[steve]

A guaranteed way to get grand final tickets for every football team, is to be a member of the cheersquad. Attend a few banner makings each year, get your name ticked off.The AFL allocates 300 tickets to each Grand Final team for the cheersquad only.

 

[Grendel]

Dave your quote

"I took it out becuase I wanted to make sure that if my team got in I was guarenteed a ticket, though with the medallion club fiasco even that's no longer true. It all comes down to how much you are prepared to pay, the more you pay the better your chances of getting in."


This is exactly what I meant. It is wrong no matter whcih way you look at it.
'
Why should you have to pay that extra $300 for? To me it just doesnt make sense. Sorry if I offended with the hate statement it was wrong in retrospect I dont hate the people personally, just the idea of afl membership itself really rankles with me. Put it this way in my world there is no way i could justify paying $300 on top of what I pay for my Hawks membership I am not in a postion to afford that. Good luck and more fortune to you sincerly if you can afford to but for every one who can there are is probably at least two that cant.

There are many others in the same situation doing it tough, so is it right for them to miss out on a finals seats or a decent view instead of the top deck (vertigo city) of the GSS simply through lack of funds? If so then that is a bloody shame on the game.

But I still dont agree with the idea of joining anything other than club membership, regardless of how much is going into the coffers of the afl from it.


Again sorry if the hate comment personally offended, thats not my style and I hope from how I have (sort of) stuck up for the dons in the past you realise that

 

[Shinboners]

The thing that I don't understand is that with the current technology (the barcodes and databases), why can't the AFL and clubs keep records to see which members attend the most games, and therefore, give them priority to Grand Final tickets? We have to swipe our membership cards on the way in anyway, so it can't be that hard to keep the records of matches that a fan attends.

For many years in England, when fans went to see their teams play, they had to collect stamps that we're handed out at the match. If their club made the FA Cup final, the fans with the most stamps got priority for FA Cup final tickets. The only drawback with this system was that a black market trade in the match stamps evolved, but this surely would not be a problem with the barcodes and databases.

I do have an AFL membership (restricted) but I also have one of the more expensive North Melbourne memberships that ensure that I get a Grand Final ticket should North make it through. But I'm lucky enough to be in a position to afford that. However, it strikes me as wrong that club members that attend all their clubs games, but without an expensive membership, may miss out on a Grand Final ticket when others who barely see a handful of games can get in.

 

[Tealmeister]

MCC members are even bigger w***ers. They are complete freeloaders who contribute nothing to the game, and they got 24,000 GF tickets; more than club members of both competing clubs put together.

 

[gocatsgo]

Sorry Grendal i completely disagree with your comments about AFL members.

Firstly, let me set a couple of things straight.

I am an AFL member and wouldn't swap it for the world. As an AFL member, you are automatically a member of your club. You get guaranteed access to Grand Final tickets, in the AFL members reserve at the MCG (about 20,000 seats)

You get access to 30 games a year at all grounds except Shell Stadium, but that doesn't worry me because as a Geelong member, I still get access to the ground.

I can go to the ANZAC Day game without having to buy a ticket and I also get free access to the Pre-Season Grand Final, and all of the finals played in Victoria including the big one if I want it.

If you can afford it, AFL membership is the best thing you can possibly do.

 

[Dave]

Grendel, a couple of points.

Firstly, it isn't an extra 320 dollars on top of a club membership. With the AFL membership you can nominate a club and they send the equivelant of a membership to that club and you become a member (ie I nominate Essendon & they get ~$90). I realise this is till expensive, but over the course of the year it's 6 dollars week. When you take into account what away games and finals cost, you still end up in front if you go to a majority of your teams games.

Second, I'm not offended, I realise yer just blowing off steam , but I think you're off the mark. I realise that not everyone can afford AFL membership, however regardless of who gets let in and who doesn't there's no way every supporter of a team will get into the GF, there simply isn't enough room (for the members yes, for the fans no). Once you have a situation like this economics comes into play, with scalping etc as people with little prospect of getting in throw money around to secure a ticket. That's not any different to what happens now except that people do it up front.

cheers,

Dave

 

[Bomber]

Im a full Afl member and its the best thing Ive ever done!
I suggest everyone who isnt already to get inline for an afl membership if they can afford one, and if not, I guess club memebership is next on the list.
Its the way of the world - money talks and bullshit walks!!!!

 

[sainter]

Grendel, I put myself on the waiting list to become a restricted AFL member but changed my mind.

I decided that if I was willing to spend that amount of money, I would prefer to spend it on a St Kilda Social Club membership and a reserved seat at Colonial Stadium. Besides, it is only about a 15 year waiting list to become a full AFL member (and be guaranteed GF tickets)

The only time I want to see a Grand Final is when we are in it and with a SC membership I will not miss out.

I agree with you entirely that it is very frustrating to see so many club members miss out on tickets while AFL members (neutral supporters) get in. St Kilda were allocated a whopping 6000 tickets for members in 1997. How generous!!!

Don't stress though, I am sure you have seen the Hawks play in quite a few Grand Finals!

 

[elt]

I'd like to agree with Shinboners on this one. For football members who can't afford AFL memberships (or social club memberships) I can't see why grand final tickets can't be allocated on the basis of the number of games you attended, rather than the first in best dressed approach. current bar code technology at the G and Colonial Stuffup must allow for this.

My only comment on the AFL members and their access issue is that I fail to see why on big days like Anzac Day and even GF day their can't be a time limit on seats in the AFL members reserve at the G. Why can't they sell those seats not taken at 1:00 or 1:30? I believe that paying $300 entitles those people to make last minute decisions as to whether or not to go but once it gets within half an hour of game time, surely those seats could go on sale to club members who were unable to reserve other seats.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by elt:
I fail to see why on big days like Anzac Day and even GF day their can't be a time limit on seats in the AFL members reserve at the G.

Elt, for the GF there is a time limit. AFL members have one day to puchase tickets. Any unsold seats go on sale to restricted members (and quite possibly only those who are club support members of the two clubs, but I'm not sure of this), then club members.

 

[Drakey]

I think Tealmeister is spot on.

I may be wrong but without the AFL/VFL the MCG would just be a big paddock wouldn't it.
Certainly there would be no Great Southern Stand & what else would not have been built over the years without the money generated from footy.

Why was Waverly Park built? To stop the standover tactics of the MCC? No Waverly & the MCC starts playing hardball on TV rights. Do you think thats a coincidence?

Here in Adelaide, Footy Park was built because of the greed of the SACA members. At the time the chairman of the SACA (Don Bradman) thought it was a mistake as Adelaide could only support 1 large sporting venue. He was right.

Footy Park although a long way from perfect (it is a 30 year old + design after all) is a much better venue than Adelaide Oval. In my opinion Adelaide Oval sucks. Who cares if it is the prettiest cricket ground in the world (yeh right) once you get more than 15,000 people there you cant see, cant get a pie or a drink & have to take a leak behind the trees. Bulldoze it. thats what I say.

Anyway dont bag the AFL members because there money is going to football. Cricket Club members are the real leeches.

 

[Dan26]

I am an AFL full member, and it is the best investment I ever made too. I started of as restricted in 1994 (when I was 18), and I got elevated to full half way through 1997. It is now a 20 year wait. I am now 24

I pay 400 bucks a year which is more than what you pay for a nornmal "club" member, but for that amount I deserve (and get) a seat at the Grand Final each year.

If Full members don't take up their allocation of seats, the remaining seats go to restricted members who hold a "club support" package for the teams involved in the Grand Final.

If you hold a "club support package" (for example I hold an Essendon club support package), you are also a member of your footy team. So, those restricted members that got in to the Grand Final last year through their club support package are actually club members.

So, Grendal, the AFL members reserve is actually made of of people who are members of the clubs involved, the very people you said are missing out are actually IN THE AFL members. Sure most are neutral fans (like me), but we pay 400 doallrs a year, and dammit......I'm going to the Grand Final.

I go to about 30 matches a year, so I'll be damned if I'm not going.

Also, each year 20,000 tickets get a,loacted to embers of the competing clubs. This is not enough, but DON'T BLAME IT ON AFL MEMBERS> Blame it on the other 78,000 seats in the ground. For some stupid reason, there are 17,000 series tickets. All clubs get given series tickets, and the only reason peoplebuy them is becasue they give you a seat at the Grand Final. If they abloished series ticket, there would be 37,000 tickets availabel to members of the competing clubs. Not all emmbers want to purchase a ticket, so 37,000 would be plenty.

Series tickets a re a relic of the old days, when there were 4 finals, one eaxh week, all at the MCG. t is no longer appropriate to have a 4 match seriies ticket.

The AFL members contributed to the building of the Southern Stand

 

[staggy]

to solve the grand final situation, why not do this:

STEP 1 - allocate enough tickets to the members of the clubs involved, including AFL club support members of the teams which are playing.

STEP 2 - allocate the amount of seats left in the afl reserve to other AFL members. Do this on the monday and tuesday ONLY, in the week before the game. This should ensure that most AFL members who wish to go should be able to go.

STEP 3 - on the Wednesday, at the MCG ONLY...have a sell off of any remaining tickets left to the public.

STEP 4 - on the THURSDAY...if there are ANY tickets left, allocate them to corporates.


Grendel, i'm not a fan of AFL members either (i hate them to be honest), but they do pay their 400 odd bucks, and probably deserve a chance at a seat. But i've always believed that the club members SHOULD COME FIRST, It is one of the great injustices that a loyal club member of a team that's playing can miss out on a seat.

I am a loyal essendon supporter and club member. And i am NOT RICH by any stretch of the imagination. NOw at essendon there are silver and bronze members. I am a bronze member, and if the bombers make the gf (which is looking incresingly likely) i don't get offered a ticket until the MONDAY. Silver members all get guarenteed a gf seat and get them on the sunday - and usually they all go before bronze members even get a chance.

They have paid their extra money, so they should get a chance. But surely it is unfair that I, a loyal member who goes every week, could miss out on a ticket, while an AFL member, who only goes to half the games and doesn't even barrack for the teams involved, get a seat.

I just don't get it.

staggy

------------------
2000: year of the bomber

 

[Dan26]

Staggy,

Some people wait 20 years to become full AFL members (same with MCC members) Once you become a full member you can go to the Grand Final. That is why you become a member in the first place.

Like I said, the best way is to get rid of the 17,000 series tickets and add them to the 20,000 tickets avaiable to members of the competing clubs. This would mean 37,000 tickets available to members.

Dammit, I'm going to the Grand Final, and I deserve to. I don't care who's in it. I've got my full membership, and I pay my 400 bucks a year. There are plenty of OTHER ways to get club members into the Grand Final (who admittedly deserve to go. It is a great injustice that some don't get tickets), but this should NOT be at the expense of AFL members. If the AFL use a bit of common sense they can juggle the ticketing so that all club members can go, in ADDITION to AFL members still having their usual entitlements. But they won't do this.

 

[Grendel]

Dan, pretty much what you said is why I was so frustrated with it in the first place. Your going because you deserve to? Only if the bombers make it do you deserve to go, if
(for arguments sake only, becuase they ought to make it anyway) the dons stuff it up in a prelim final again and its a North vs Hawks Gf then no mate you dont deserve to be there. You can afford (and good luck to you to I dont begrudge you that) to be there and thats the bottom line.

Nothing against you or other afl members ( really wish I had named this post I hate the idea of AFL members, now *Blushes*) but it is only the members of the two competing clubs that deserve to go. Particularly if they have attended every other game during the season. if they for whatever reason miss out on tht then it is wrong.

They should have FIRST CRACK at tickets every time, bottom line no argument. Whatever is left over can then go to afl and mcc members.

Of course i know that im living in dream land with this but its how I feel. The ALf complains about how the GF has been 'flat" for the lst few seasons. Could it be the fact that over 50% of the crowd going probably really dont care who actually wins the damn game because they dont support either team playing? And if the passion from the crowd isnt there then of course the game isnt going to have the feeling it should generate.

 

[Dan26]

If you do the maths, there is room for both AFL members AND members of the competing clubs. The stadium holds 100,000 people. I DESERVE to go. I don't care whether the Bombers are in it or not. There are 100,000 seats, and I am one of the people who attend more matches than anone else (I would estimate I am in the top 1 %) If only Hawaks and Roos Members went, the Grand Final crowd would only be 50,000. There is room for both.

I suport AFL as much as anyone, I don't care who is in the GF, I pay my money, and not only can I afford it, I DESERVE it. If I were you, I'd be come a restricted AFL member.

 

[Grendel]

Fair point about the Hawks and Roos Dan, How about Adelaide and the Eagles then?
Thats Eighty thousand members less capacity for the mcc crowd add various corperate guys and your left without a seat.

No you dont deserve to go, the supporters of those teams that go each week every single one has more right than anyone from any other team to be able to see their team in that game. Even if they did have to travel interstate. I go to an awful lot of games to Dan (a lot of bombers ones actually) but I couldnt go to a GF that the Hawks were not in. Not only would I be taking away the chance for someone to see their team have that opportunity to win a GF ( and its just the best feeling there is, we both know that) but why would I want to?
I wouldnt really care, unless it was richmond who I would hope would get hammerd, who won anyway. I would just be pissed of that the Hawks were not in it.
Sure watch it on the tv but to go I think I would just have an empty feeling in the gut. And who wants to be around other supporters gloating about how they are the greatest and will win the next ten flags etc etc (I used to do it) after they win it?

It was a supporters game, and it is moving further and further away from that. And thats what makes me sad and angry and confused all at once. Yea I still love my Hawks yet I wonder if I will ever get that last day in September again, and sorry but I cant afford Afl membership simple as that.
Again I named the post badly, its not the actual members, its the idea of afl membership I hate and that isnt going to change.

 

[Dan26]

You're wrong about Crows-Eagles.

Not every member is willing to go. In 1996, Sydney and North Melbournes combined membership totalled well over 30,000, but only 20,000 tickets were allocated. Everyone who wanted a ticket got one. There were even reports that year of members coming BACK for a second ticket (which they are not allowed to do)

Yes, members of clubs deserve to go. I know. I'm not disagreeing. But so do AFL members. There is room for both. Not every member of every club is willing, to purchase a ticket. Of West Coast's 38,000 members, how many would come across for the GF ? Not more than 5-8,000, I reckon. If that.

There is room for both AFL members and club members (I am both and Essendon member and an AFL member)

 

[Dan26]

What do you mean you can't afford AFL membership ?

Full membership cost about 1 dollar a day, for a year.

But, becasue it is a 20 year wait, you would have to be a restricted member. This would cost about 60 cents day, over the whole year.

You don't have to be a millionaire. I'm sure you can afford 60 cents a day. I'm not rich, by any stretch of the imagination, but I MAKE SURE I afford my AFL membership.

 

[Grendel]

Dan lets agree to disagree, I was only using the adelaide/eagles as an example.

Sorry mate but I cant afford at the moment even restricted membership even if I wanted it. There are some things the budget wont stretch to maybe if the afl are looking for more ticket collectors to open a few more windows at colonical stadium

hahaha now im really dreaming zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[elt]

I agree there should be room for both AFL and club members to attend at a ground with the capacity of the G.

As for becoming an AFL restricted member I was under the impression there was a waiting list of something like 15,000 (some sources say this could mean 15-20 years) even for *restricted* membership.

 

[elt]

I agree there should be room for both AFL and club members to attend at a ground with the capacity of the G.

As for becoming an AFL restricted member I was under the impression there was a waiting list of something like 15,000 (some sources say this could mean 15-20 years) even for *restricted* membership.