Had planned to go to this game (3 AFL North club support members), but when being dicked around by Ticketmaster and then told that the only upgrade for the standard AFL member price of $7.50 + booking fee was Level 3 behind the goals said stuff it. If a North home game would have gone along anyway. The crowd numbers were sh*t compared to previous years (lowest in the last 5 years) and from viewing the TV, level 1 and 2 were very empty, particularly the Carlton cheer squad goals which looked more like Freo or PA at Etihad.
I have grown fonder of Docklands over the years and am normally happy to rock up and sit somewhere on the wing or pocket on level 3, but this year the AFL policy combined with Etihad's money grubbing has turned me bitterly against both. I have also noted that the MCG AFL members area seems to be following suit. Against Melbourne this year Level 2 of the AFL members required reserved seats, less than half of which were occupied. One of the great things about VFL/AFL aussie rules was its egalitarian crowd mix. The more we go down the American line of extracting maximum return from minimal attendance the more the game's uniqueness and attraction for the average punter will diminish. This is shown by the drop off in attendance this year.