So much for no atmosphere at Homebush...

[Bear]

Soccer is insolvent and doesn't represent a threat to anyone except the receivers.

Tonight proved if any more proof was needed that a second Sydney team would be a disaster. It won't happen within 15 years.

Alarmingly ignorant.

The Federal Government through the Australian Sports Commission has just committed another $50m to the world game, including a national womens league, national youth league, and of course the A-League. Sponsorship and revenues are growing considerably, with TV rights for A-League and Socceroos to rise massively at the next negotiation.

The Western Sydney team is starting in 2012. Fact.

Heard the term 'fiddle while Rome burns'?

[swantastic]

Back off swantastic. Taking a shot at all Sydney based supporters, including those who went to the game, is hardly fair. I was as pissed off as you are with the size of the crowd, as postings I made on RWO on Friday and Saturday morning will also attest. To have a go at all Swans supporters up here is a bit much (and a bit BigFooty).

See you at the G on Friday.

I'm not having a go at the people on here as we all seem very passionate,but the Sydney public are very fickle when it comes to sports teams.

The people who went to the game i say well done great support.

What i'm saying is that surly another 15/20000 could have gone to the game.

Its a final FFS.I was pissed off that i couldnt go and the only reason i didnt was because of work commitments.

See you at the G too.

[Flossie]

As you said in the paragraph above, absolutely right. We get taken for granted, over charged, and ignored for most of the year, then they wonder where all the people are! Bulletin boys. Not everyone loves AFL. Just us.

There are 19,000 people who belong to the "I Was There" Club, and its exclusive.

I am in that "I was there" Club and it was very disappointing to see such a small crowd. But us who were there were very passionate and vocal. I just also want to make a small point here. Some posters on here assume that most of the swans members and fans come from the eastern suburbs. If you saw the numbers on the trains and buses coming in from the west when we play at anz, and the people on the shuttle buses when we play at scg you might change your mind. I come from Parramatta area and have been a swannies supporter since I first came to live in Australia 25 years ago.

[Mr Magoo]

Unbelievable atmosphere for such a small crowd made of what looked like real supporters.

I had to laugh at the size of the North supporter group at the southern end of the ground ground. They are in real trouble if this is the size of their die hard membership base.

A number of factors contributed to crowd size :
1. Ticket prices - $75 for a ticket for any side on viewing of the game or $60 on the edge of that side on view is steep and out of reach for many after forking our upwards of $300 for membership during the year. Surely there could be a discounting regime for members put in place to encourage them to open their wallets one more time.

2. Catering Prices - $6 for a tooheys new is rape and pillage. People arent stupid and factor this in with ticket prices so therefore knowing they have to allow upwards of $100 for the night. Not something other than the diehard supporter base are prepared to do on a night like saturday.

3. The weather - sydney people simply dont like the wet weather and wont go to a game especially out at homebush when the weather is miserable. There would have been very few walkup sales on the night.

4. Fan Base - I have said before that AFl is the third or even fourth most popular sport in Sydney. What you saw on Saturday night was the fan base. The ones who would still be there whether the swans were going well or not. AFL is yet to understand this.

5. ANZ Stadium - people dont like the stadium or the way its run. Its run by business people who are concerned purely with milking the fan for as much as they can with the lowest possible outlay. No passouts (a ridiculous notion) , expensive catering etc dont really sit well supporters.

.

[Margie]

The slow 'S y d n e y' chant was born on Rd22 1996 on the most miserable of nights imaginable, much worse than last Saturday night. On that night, The majority of the 29K crowd (I looked it up ) were crammed into any under cover area they could find. The Noble was packed to the rafters with people sitting in the aisles from the walkway back up to the top, with barely anybody sitting forward of the walkway in the normally crowded area because the rain was pelting in horizontally. The effect was that when the chant got going, it echoed eerily throughout the covered sections of the stands where everybody was.

This echoing is what makes the chant so special and when in full cry is what makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

I remember getting into bed that night with the "Sydney" chant echoing in my head. It was such a memorable game for so many reasons - the weather, becoming minor premiers - but that chant epitomised the crowd's passion for the Swans.

[Jeffers1984]

It's to the chorus of "Can't take my eyes off you" by Frankie Vallie and goes something like this:

"We love you Barry
Because you've got no hair
We love you Barry
Because you're everywhere
We love you Barry
blah blah blah Idon'tknowtherest"

Pretty funny.

These guys sit in bay 29 at the SCG where i am. I think it goes:

We love you Barry
because you've got no hair
we love you Barry
because your everywhere
we love you Barry
Sydney Swans Through and Through

They also have a Michael O'Loughlin song to the tune of Walking in a winter wonderland. Can't remember how that one goes.

[ScottH]

I remember getting into bed that night with the "Sydney" chant echoing in my head. It was such a memorable game for so many reasons - the weather, becoming minor premiers - but that chant epitomised the crowd's passion for the Swans.

You both left off the most important part of that night. The opponent!!

[Triple B]

You both left off the most important part of that night. The opponent!!

Hehehehe...at the time they were just another opponent. Ten years on from 1996, it would have been sooooooooo much sweeter.

[Margie]

You both left off the most important part of that night. The opponent!!

Now that you mention it..... Like Triple B said didn't matter at the time. They were just another rival back then

[ScottH]

Hehehehe...at the time they were just another opponent. Ten years on from 1996, it would have been sooooooooo much sweeter.

Now that you mention it..... Like Triple B said didn't matter at the time. They were just another rival back then

Probably true, but it was an exceptional win in the conditions.

I first experienced the Sydney chant at the GF parade.
It is pretty cool when it gets going.

[SwallowdaFonz]

Another Factor in Small Crowd

Another significant factor for us is Ticketek - I hate booking finals tickets through them. We always buy first thing Monday and are always told - regardless of which Ticketek office -that "all those seats have been sold already, we can only give you these (crap) seats here". Then sure enough, empty seats galore on the night right where we wanted to sit.

Having said that, it didn't stop us attending on Sat night. Yep, it was great. Let's hope the late season resurgence is not a mirage.

Unbelievable atmosphere for such a small crowd made of what looked like real supporters.

I had to laugh at the size of the North supporter group at the southern end of the ground ground. They are in real trouble if this is the size of their die hard membership base.

A number of factors contributed to crowd size :
1. Ticket prices - $75 for a ticket for any side on viewing of the game or $60 on the edge of that side on view is steep and out of reach for many after forking our upwards of $300 for membership during the year. Surely there could be a discounting regime for members put in place to encourage them to open their wallets one more time.

2. Catering Prices - $6 for a tooheys new is rape and pillage. People arent stupid and factor this in with ticket prices so therefore knowing they have to allow upwards of $100 for the night. Not something other than the diehard supporter base are prepared to do on a night like saturday.

3. The weather - sydney people simply dont like the wet weather and wont go to a game especially out at homebush when the weather is miserable. There would have been very few walkup sales on the night.

4. Fan Base - I have said before that AFl is the third or even fourth most popular sport in Sydney. What you saw on Saturday night was the fan base. The ones who would still be there whether the swans were going well or not. AFL is yet to understand this.

5. ANZ Stadium - people dont like the stadium or the way its run. Its run by business people who are concerned purely with milking the fan for as much as they can with the lowest possible outlay. No passouts (a ridiculous notion) , expensive catering etc dont really sit well supporters.

.

[Wardy]

I'm not having a go at the people on here as we all seem very passionate,but the Sydney public are very fickle when it comes to sports teams.

The people who went to the game i say well done great support.

What i'm saying is that surly another 15/20000 could have gone to the game.

Its a final FFS.I was pissed off that i couldnt go and the only reason i didnt was because of work commitments.

See you at the G too.

I was mighty annoyed that I couldnt go - However, family and friends come first - I thought that the Swans would have been playing in Melbourne so made plans prior to the playing of the Brisbane game to go away. Even so I wasnt going to cancel my plans just to appease supporters of a football team that I happen to follow.
We dont know the circumstances of those who didnt show up - it could have been the cost, the weather and god forbid they had other plans - it happens - its not ideal, but its happen's - now time to move on.

[Danzar]

One word - awesome. And a top effort by all.

Man, I couldn't even wish my dad a happy fathers day yesterday - I had completely lost my voice.

Anyone sitting around gate H, bay 112, it was good yelling with you.

[Captain]

Not a single discussion about Uncle Charlies operation or "what I saw at the theatre last night" in earshot.

Spot on. How good was it to actually watch the footy instead of hearing some idiot talking.

[Captain]

Maybe they thought that Sydney would dish up the inept and insipid sort of performance that they have delivered at Homebush earlier in the season?

Only following winners is the first sign of being a loser.