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#1
Viewing the competition from a lens of 50 years support it's saddening to see how much of the game has been taken away from the average supporter.
My first taste of the elite level Aussie rules was a trip down to sleepy hollow with my old man in 1964, the dear old Victoria Park stands and outer were jam packed of a Saturday and fish and chips were the standard Saturday evening dinner of many a family after the game.
I had an autograph book signed by giants like our captain Terry (sticky fingers) Waters chock full of Pies players signatures, well wishes and funny stories. All written with a light heart whilst kneeling down beside a star struck young fan and his proud but blushing dad. That was NOT unusual, players were accessible and the club was accountable to the supporter base in ways not conceivable today.
Today is vastly different and the game is MUCH the poorer for this vacuum left by corporate and legalistic stringencies.
EVERYTHING about the game was structured around the wages and free time of the common working man, with matches scheduled weekly after Saturday morning overtime and memberships scaled to suit the working mans pay packet.
The real reason behind 'block busters' and special event rounds such as 'Anzac day' 'Queens birthday' 'Indigenous round' 'Pink ribbon' etc., etc., etc. is that said AFL are terrified to expose the falling live attendance figures without propping them up by mounting spectaculars.
Gentle reader this is just the tip of the iceberg, domination and failure are not to be tolerated by the AFL anymore, with the league mandated trade circus regulating the rise and fall of the various clubs - except newest franchises - and the game cast to satisfy the corporate media interests.
What about the average supporter???
The AFL and their media masters don't give a stuff.
My first taste of the elite level Aussie rules was a trip down to sleepy hollow with my old man in 1964, the dear old Victoria Park stands and outer were jam packed of a Saturday and fish and chips were the standard Saturday evening dinner of many a family after the game.
I had an autograph book signed by giants like our captain Terry (sticky fingers) Waters chock full of Pies players signatures, well wishes and funny stories. All written with a light heart whilst kneeling down beside a star struck young fan and his proud but blushing dad. That was NOT unusual, players were accessible and the club was accountable to the supporter base in ways not conceivable today.
Today is vastly different and the game is MUCH the poorer for this vacuum left by corporate and legalistic stringencies.
EVERYTHING about the game was structured around the wages and free time of the common working man, with matches scheduled weekly after Saturday morning overtime and memberships scaled to suit the working mans pay packet.
The real reason behind 'block busters' and special event rounds such as 'Anzac day' 'Queens birthday' 'Indigenous round' 'Pink ribbon' etc., etc., etc. is that said AFL are terrified to expose the falling live attendance figures without propping them up by mounting spectaculars.
Gentle reader this is just the tip of the iceberg, domination and failure are not to be tolerated by the AFL anymore, with the league mandated trade circus regulating the rise and fall of the various clubs - except newest franchises - and the game cast to satisfy the corporate media interests.
What about the average supporter???
The AFL and their media masters don't give a stuff.
