Is Footy a Fad?

[Greg J]

NOTE: This is not a rave about price rises. I am just raising a philosophical point.

DEFINITION : By fad, I mean something that a lot of people spend their money on, for their simple pleasure.

Is Footy a Fad?

Because if it is, interest will drop rapidly once it is perceived to be too expensive.

I have just signed onto the footy channel for six months. It will cost me $12 a month extra. It would have been $15 a month (during the footy season) if I had of taken it month to month.

Next week, if I make it to the Hawthorn game, it will be $220 for my membership (will we be up to a game of footy after our day out at the Blue Diamond, JLC?). Else it will be the following week.

Currently, I do not think twice about the outlay (as I am single and employed and irresponsible). But what if my circumstances change? What if the prices continue to rise? What if I no longer get as much pleasure for my dollar?

What happens if this is en masse? Will the fad fade?

Their certainly will be a lot of people who will lose money. And I am not talking about the coaches, managers, and players. No, I am talking about all the big and / or long term contracts and deals that have made around footy. The TV rights, the ticketing rights, the catering rights, the stadium's etc.

Kinda makes you hope the fad will fade. People will always follow footy, I am just wondering what will happen, if it is not in the same numbers.

Will Foxtel get their money back by gauging $100 or so out of their interested subscribers? What will happen if they do not? Will they put the price up, or down? I wonder how many people they got signed up? Remember, every Rugby game will be broadcast free of charge. Hah, they would have to pay me to watch it. Why do we have to pay and they do not? Because there is more interest in footy, its followers continually get taken advantage off. But surely their interest will drop, as more and more realise it, and object with the wallets.

Well maybe it has been a rave about prices.

Greg J

[ck_nd]

Hey Greg, interesting topic you have posted there... as for your rave on prices, the very reason I decided not to get foxtel (and not just the footy channel but the whole foxtel package as I don't have cable at all atm as I don't really watch that much tv) is that why should I pay for a delayed telecast of a game (we kinda got screwed in NSW) that will go free to air (albeit a little later than foxtel). Here I am referring predominantly to the friday night matches, especially our blockbusters (back to the "stress free" online outer with me!)

I would rather save the money that would be spent on foxtel and go down to melb and catch a game live than watch it on tv (be that live or delayed). Personally nothing beats being at a game live.

As for the fad fading... well I remeber swans games back when they were like total crap and footy being kinda relatively "new" in Sydney where there were like a few thousand people at the scg which holds around 30,000 - so it was well, empty. Part of the swans video scoreboard post goal celebration includes the sound of tens of thousands of people cheering - when the stadium is practically empty, ummmmmm -- hullo... where is everyone?? oh, thats right the cheering is coming though the speaker system LOL!

I would hate to see the fad fade, not just for economical reasons - because for me part of the football experience is sharing it with thousands of other people who have that same passion (swans cardboard cut out patrons who hate noise at the footy excluded i.e. the ones who whinge that you are being too loud when all you are doing is expressing your concern with the umpires call or tell you to quieten down when you are cheering your favourite team on (what are we supposed to do? chinese whispers?? psst, Go Pies! pass it on. LOL))

Lose interest in footy... I can't see that happening to me - even if my situation changed and I ended up with husband and kids in tow. (Hubby would either have to be very tolerant or a fellow total footy nut to put up with me - so I can't see a problem there, I won't settle for second best (suppose that's why I am a Pie)).

What would I do if footy prices became too high... probably take a second job to feed my addiction.... I have done enough and seen enough in my life to realise that I have to live my life to be true to myself and not short change my life - so if I drop dead tomorrow my last thoughts aren't about regretting all the things that I DIDN'T do. If something as simple as going to the footy brings me joy, I can't find one reason not to go for it.

Opps, looks like I am on rant mode...

Go Pies! You are doing us Proud.

Carol

May the Wings of the Magpie touch every corner of the Nation!

[Rowdy26]

up till the age of about 12, i never had the opportunity to attend matches on any regular basis. I might have got to one or two games a season, but even that was only after constant nagging and begging. Having parents who werent really into football, and living more than an hour away from the MCG did little to feed the passion i had for the pies and afl footy. I was left with radio and vivid dreams and imagination.

Then, i was fortunate enough to meet someone upon entering high school who attended matches on a weekly basis. Becoming good friends i began tagging along with him and his die hard Maggie family. Finally i was able to feed the passion i'd long since had. For more than 10 years now we have attended just about every official magpie game in victoria, barring unexpected mishaps, and during this time recruited another maggie like myself who would join us on a weekly basis.

The last decade was probably one of the worst in the Mighty Magpie history considering the promise it intially showed. If footy was a fad, and if Collingwood was a fad (which i am definately sure its not), then no doubt i would have dropped off and found other things to do with my weekends.

However watching those running around in the black and white stripes giving their absolute best week in week out, even though they werent winning, it definately gave you a sense of pride and belonging and made you determined to hang in there knowing that eventually a light would shine in the distance signalling that once again we had returned. Collingwood is about the history, its about the present and the joys the future will bring. Its an addiction, but its more than just that. Its a passion that will live on and will only get greater as our history gets greater, and the present and future continue to glow brightly.

Other teams may come, they may go, but if we continue to believe in the club, make our feelings known to others, make people hate the club as much as we love it then Collingwood will definately be here to stay. The passion will far outlive any fad that may or may not be bestowed upon football.

Unfortunately money does rule, and this will be the first year in more than a decade that i can no longer attend games with the family that i religiously attended games with every week for the simple fact that i am struggling to even afford a membership at this stage let alone upgrade it. Other organisations may continue to slug us with price increases and additional costs... it really is quite ridiculous when you sum up how much a day at the football really costs.

However, i have no doubt (even if i have to take shortcuts and can't sit with those who've always been there) that i will still be at the games cheering on the pies in this great and unique Australian game... one that is both a passion and a lifestyle to so many and definately not a fad.

[London Dave]

Foxtel will make a bundle out of the footy. Its exactly what happened here to make Sky explode into enormous profitability. Multichannel TV is live sports driven, and always will be. Packer and Murdoch are using sport (and our devotion to it) to destroy the opposition product.
In the future, there will be a Collingwood pay channel, that will broadcast all games live, and replay them etc ad nauseum, interviews, historical features, etc (Joffa's hour long phone in perhaps?). Every club (almost) will. Whether its delivered through broadband internet, cable or whatever, I don't know, but the future of it is pretty clear. It will probably take longer to happen is Oz cos of market size etc, but it will happen. 250,000 subscribers @ $10 a month, ppv games, targeted advertising (interactive?)...the market is there. The clubs will end up taking media rights to their games, in a sense marginalising the AFL. It may take the bigger clubs to start it, but the big clubs aint gonna keep subsidising the others. The pies did it for donkeys years, and got screwed continually. I'd be very suprised if the pies havent done some strategic analysis/planning in this regard.

Is it a fad, maybe, but people know that they can turn a buck out of our 'irrational' devotion, so they will. Now, are you more likely to fork out the dough is it goes to the pies, or to Rupert and Kerry?