Tweet
You completely miss the point. The point is that the etnrance of GWS into the Sydney market is meant to increase the size of the total AFL support base in Sydney and in turn, increase the Swans member numbers, i.e. if the pie is bigger, your slice is bigger even if you proportionate share decreases. Assuming the Swans continue their impressive form, I would not be surprised to see the the total Swans members is higher than it's average a few years from now.
-
Captain, I am detecting large quantities of win in this sector -
It's also bringing more AFL money and attention, and the Academy which is a more favourable recruitment setup in NSW than we've had before (even if we lose half the state from our zone).Comment
-
Also, the "screw the other team by not attending their home derby" thing is one of the most petty and smallminded things about SA football. I hope it never catches on in the Sydney Derbies.Comment
-
That's your opinion.
My opinion is that, given his reasons, Matt is not only still a Swans fan but also an outstanding member of his community- a teacher that puts their money where their mouth is for something they believe will benefit their community (and their pupils)? We should be so lucky for DET to be staffed by such folks.I knew him as a gentle young man, I cannot say for sure the reasons for his decline
We watched him fade before our very eyes, and years before his timeComment
-
This is starting to resemble a Bigfooty thread...Comment
-
I don't give 2 @@@@s about GWS, but I do care about the success of the game and more specifically the success of the Swans. Don't want to go to ANZ for no reason other than personal distaste? Don't want to give GWS your money to go to an 'away' game? Fine, but it is clear that you're not really a passionate Swans supporter.
For the Swans to be the sucess we want them to be they need continuous die-hard support, not snobby so-and-so's who care more about 'the principle of the matter' and making inconsequential points. Show your 'PASSION' and kick to boys off to a good start. Bring all your friends, colleagues, family members and every sports fanatic you know. Drink crap beer, scoff down some pies and enjoy the thumping before you in a stadium painted red and white.
Come on guys, in 2003 there were 70 000 of us. Out you come lurkers!
Comment
-
The irony is...this is exactly what it is about. Igniting the passion! I was in a newsagent in Stanhope Gardens (Western Sydney) last Saturday and with my paper they gave me the GWS fandana. I said to the staff member..."I will wait until tomorrow to get the better team's one...the swans!" To which a lady in the line behind yelled out, "Go GWS!" I said back to her, "Great to hear some AFL passion out here!"
This is what a rivalry is all about!Swannies for life!Comment
-
I've just received a call from a Mr. John Longmire, reminding me that Saturday's game is an away match for the Swans, and encouraging me to book tickets via Ticketek.
I tried telling Mr. Longmire I already had my ticket, but I couldn't get a word in edgeways. Then he hung up!
These telemarketers - how do they get your number!
Comment
-
Wow, that is great news. Sitting here in Melbourne we think that there is no GWS passion up there and it is just Sheedy flogging a dead horse. To hear that there are locals actually prepared to passionately support is fantastic.Comment
-
He was probably sick of everyone asking him about our forward line and Rohan's ankle.Comment
-
Hear, hear! Except no pies for me, so many calories! Would rather reserve the empty calories for my ciderI don't give 2 @@@@s about GWS, but I do care about the success of the game and more specifically the success of the Swans. Don't want to go to ANZ for no reason other than personal distaste? Don't want to give GWS your money to go to an 'away' game? Fine, but it is clear that you're not really a passionate Swans supporter.
For the Swans to be the sucess we want them to be they need continuous die-hard support, not snobby so-and-so's who care more about 'the principle of the matter' and making inconsequential points. Show your 'PASSION' and kick to boys off to a good start. Bring all your friends, colleagues, family members and every sports fanatic you know. Drink crap beer, scoff down some pies and enjoy the thumping before you in a stadium painted red and white.
Come on guys, in 2003 there were 70 000 of us. Out you come lurkers!Comment
-
The 2 articles linked to in this post are from the Daily Telegraph and the Blacktown Advocate. Not surprisingly, both of these are owned by News Corp and to me they read like unashamed advertising to generate interest in the game, rather than anything resembling journalism. We know that News Corp's influence in rugby league becomes much less now that they've handed control over to an independent commision. I'd strongly suspect they anticipate this will lead to lower NRL-related revenues in the future because they can no longer influence the official NRL media messaging, scheduling, etc. So they are ramping up their support for AFL in Sydney to counter this. Hence, they REALLY need GWS and AFL in western Sydney to succeed (as does the AFL as they are reportedly investing $150M into it). With such a vested interest, I can't take much of what the articles say too seriously.
What I do know about long-term club support is this:
- The average AFL club memebership is around 35,000, although it varies widely
- The average game crowd across all of last season (excl. finals) was about 38-39,000 ... so there is approx a 1:1 long term ratio of membership to game attendance. This is a useful metric
- GWS has 7,500 members but hope to grow it to double that this year (yet Gold Coast have only got to 11,000 to end of last year)
- Using the 1:1 ratio, GWS will be doing well to average anything close to 20,000 crowd per home game this season. This will not be sustainable and I see the AFL having to prop them up for quite a few years
If things were really looking so rosy for GWS support, News Corp wouldn't need to write glowing articles implying that GWS will be a success from day 1. Like some of the other posts, I too hope AFL can grow in western Sydney. However, the market is already too fragmented and I just can't see it.CIA Agent to Policeman: "Have you ever had anti-terrorist training?"
Policeman: "Yes, I was married once."Comment
Comment