We don't deserve to be booed

[ScottH]

Originally posted by BonBon
It's only OK if it was the Hawks fans leaving I reckon.

I was puzzled how Melbourne got 2nd on the ladder when they only won by 40pts. Did they score over 100? Some other team won by just under 60pts and they had a really low percentage.

Have you not done percentages at school??

118/55*100 = 214.54 (Us)

103/57*100 = 180.7 (Dees)

[ugg]

I think the reference is to the Geelong-Richmond game where they won 160-98. In this case their percentage is 160/98 * 100 = 163.3 which is less than the 180 of the Demons.

[Doctor]

Richard Hinds commented in the SMH today that Swans fans were right to boo but they were booing the wrong team. The cynical action of Hwathorn throwing everyone into their defensive 50 to protect a 63 point deficit was laughable.

As for people leaving early, I reserve the right to go early if my team is putting on a disgraceful performance and getting lapped, but that hasn't happened with the Swans for a while, which is great. The obsession people have with driving to the SCG and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to get out again is probably why some folks leave early, especially those with kids. It staggers me that they do it even when it's a close game though! It's like the same idiots who leave a concert before the encore so they can get away quickly. Why the hell do they go in the first place???? It certainly can't be for any particular emotional engagement!

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by Nolie
Better for them to be leaving while they are winning. Much worse when "fans" leave when their team is losing.

But is that normal football supporter behaviour, leaving when your team is winning?

It definitely shows how many casual people go to our games just for something to do that at every match we have thousands of people opting to head for the carpark rather than stay and sing the club song.

I went to the Roosters match on Good Friday. It was quite an interesting comparison. Despite the crowd of 23000 (large for the NRL) I found that there were a lot of less of the white collar professionals in casual groups that you tend to see each match at the Swans matches. And notably less professional women in the crowd as well. The Undertaker does tel me that they are there in their thousands, especialy at finals times when football games become events. But I found it not as noticeable as on sunday during the last quarter.

Hey, it is great that it is OUR brand of football that is attracting such people, as opposed to the NRL. They are a largely untapped market that because of our generally white collar largely female supporter base fit in almost automatically anyway. They go to the footy with maybe work friends or otherwise in the same way they would go and see a play, a movie, go out to dinner. If it is boring they go early, even if it hurts us diehards to see it occur. They are simply not bound by the constraints that we fanatics uphold in terms of expected supporter behaviour.

We got 27000 on Sunday. We have less than 20000 members in Sydney. Hence a great deal of the crowd just rocked up because it was a nice day and going to a Swans match seemed like the thing to do with friends in the great outdoors. We can only hope that enough of these people DO get the footy bug and choose to become Swans members in future. Some will, many won't.

This is probably the main difference between the demographic of Swans crowds in Sydney and those elsewhere, including even Brisbane. In other states the allegiances are more obvious, more habitual, my ritualistic. However having said that in both Perth and Adelaide the Eagles and Crows do definitely get a similar type of spectator to the Paddo leather jacket brigade we get at the SCG, even if there they may well be draped in a club scarf so as to fit in to the tribal culture of the diehards. It is not as flagrantly casual about it as here, but it is still there.

JF

[j s]

Spectators leave early at ALL the venues in varying numbers. The big difference is that it is so obvious at the SCG because they have to stream across in front of the scoreboard to get out. At most venues the exodus is hidden behind the stands.

[timr]

Originally posted by Doctor
As for people leaving early, I reserve the right to go early if my team is putting on a disgraceful performance and getting lapped, but that hasn't happened with the Swans for a while, which is great. The obsession people have with driving to the SCG and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to get out again is probably why some folks leave early, especially those with kids. It staggers me that they do it even when it's a close game though! It's like the same idiots who leave a concert before the encore so they can get away quickly. Why the hell do they go in the first place???? It certainly can't be for any particular emotional engagement!

The two weirdest examples of this I've seen were an ice hockey game and a basketball game I went to in the US. At the ice hockey it was 3-3 at the end of normal time so they played overtime. About HALF the crowd left at the end of normal time, not bothering to watch the overtime. I also saw the Knicks at Madison Square Garden (where the only black people to be seen are on the court or serving hotdogs). The Knicks were behind and when their opponents scored to make the margin 8 points with two minutes to go almost everyone immediately got up and left. It was as if they had rung the fire alarm. At least Swans crowds aren't that disengaged with the match.

[Wil]

Originally posted by Doctor
Richard Hinds commented in the SMH today that Swans fans were right to boo but they were booing the wrong team. The cynical action of Hwathorn throwing everyone into their defensive 50 to protect a 63 point deficit was laughable.

Does he read this board as well?

Originally posted by Wil
If anything it should of been the Hawks fans booing their team for not attacking the ball anymore and just sitting back in defence - that is the poor form

Originally posted by Doctor
It's like the same idiots who leave a concert before the encore so they can get away quickly. Why the hell do they go in the first place????

Can't stand bands that do encores. They deserve to be walked out on.

My earliest memories of the Swans is always leaving at 3qtr time and just pretending that the Swans managed to pull back the huge deficit. Mind you the other memory is just running around behind the goals in the Noble trying to mark every goal. Caught some screamers.