Bushrats may fold sooner than we think ...

[AnnieH]

Stadium deals could kill clubs



JB says ...

"We get $2 out of the $25 that comes in every time a North Melbourne supporter comes to one of our games, which is a disgrace."

Bushrat's biggest problem it seems is getting bums on seats.
What do that do with their $120 a week?

[ShockOfHair]

I enjoy sinking the boot into Nth Melbourne as much as anyone, but we're the last ones to talk about bums on seats. We have the second lowest membership in the league. And then there was the crowd at that final.

Apart from that, nice bit of Kanga-baiting Annie.

[ScottH]

Drove past Gosch's Paddock yesterday on the way home, and saw a team training/warming up in Red and White Jumpers, figured it must be a VFL team.

But it was just the roos, preparing to play the Pies 2's yesterday

[AnnieH]

I enjoy sinking the boot into Nth Melbourne as much as anyone, but we're the last ones to talk about bums on seats. We have the second lowest membership in the league. And then there was the crowd at that final.

Apart from that, nice bit of Kanga-baiting Annie.

But he never took it. Damn it all to hell !!

You must remember three things about that game ...

1. Most Sydneysiders are very, very, very fickle (unfortunately);
2. It was pissing down cats and dogs, and "sydneysiders" don't like to get their hairs wet; and
3. There were 19,127 at that game. 19,125 were Swans supporters.

[ShockOfHair]

Kanga's still wondering who the other fan was.

The NM debacle was all the AFL's fault. We can claim the sellout match against the Doggies as a rousing (ha!) victory for the Swans.

[ShockOfHair]

On the topic of Swans' popularity, some stats:

The 2005 grand final was the highest rating AFL event ever, followed closely by the 2006 final.

It ranks no.4 on the list of high-rating shows programs since 2001, according to the list below, published in 06. It is still ahead of the Beijing Olympics and last year's final.

Up to 2001, when the ratings system changed, the highest-rating AFL game was the 1996 Swans-North final. It ranks 13th in the all-time most-viewed Oz programs in the 20th century - ahead of the Holocaust mini-series, behind the moon landings. Di's funeral ranked no.1.

Should save time in winning pub arguments.

The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: Entertainment

AFL Grand Final Scores a Grand Audience - TV - Citysearch

[Nico]

Frankly I think it is a bloody disgrace that any club only gets $2 out of $25. That is a filthy 8% for putting on the entertainment.

The pricks who short sightedly took $40million for AFL Park have genuinely rogered the Melbourne Clubs. 2 Staduims left and both couldn't give a rats about the clubs because the AFL have allowed themselves to be taken by the short and curlies.

As far as I am concerned rather than take money off clubs like Brisbane and Sydney as they did, they should now be reinstating that, and subsidising the salary caps of all clubs and capping the "Cap". If the clubs are going to be continually in the red then something has to give. We don't have the population to support ever increasing salaries for players and it follows that there will not be an ever increasing number of sponsors.

My real concern for the comp is that sometime soon TV stations are going to say enough is enough, and the bidding wars will stop and the AFL will be begging for something.