PLEASE get rid of the stupid "loud-o-meter"

[Dave The Man]

[Scribe]

A complete and utter embarrassment.

I've spent the last 10 years laughing at opposition clubs that required a cue on a scoreboard to cheer and make noise, always believing that Collingwood was better than this. At Collingwood, we don't need a f****** cue.

I've been a Legends member for the past seven years and live within walking distance to the G. If this is what is in store for the rest of our home games, I will never attend a match again.

I cannot, for the life of me, believe the club let this through.

[BBHS]

When the artificial crowd noise is louder than the actual crowd its pretty pathetic.

[Siceman]

Yep, Holden are targeting kids to go and buy their cars.

[King Monkey]

[swoop42]

As promised email sent.

I've done my small part now please do yours if you feel as strongly as I do not only about this stupid gimmick but the way our game is heading in terms of game day experience for supporters.

Copy of email sent:

Dear Sir.

I have felt compelled to write to you after attending last Sundays game against Adelaide where I witnessed a continuation of the tacky gimmicks that now inundate your loyal Collingwood fan base at our home games.

I have sat back and bite my tongue why the AFL and by extension our own club continue to destroy the fabric of our great game by the implementation of American styled so called game day “entertainment”.

I will sit back no longer.

I’ve been prepared to put up with the lame 80’s style kiss cam, the music that blares through the speakers so loud that makes it hard to even communicate with the person sitting beside you, the hip hop dancers and the instagram snaps taking up the scoreboard that should be showing replays or live action of the game.

However you have now thought it appropriate to introduce a gimmick (and that’s all it is) which totally ruined my game day experience like no other before it on Sunday.

This so called loud-o-meter sponsored by Holden was a disgrace and whoever is responsible for allowing it and thinking it was a good idea to begin with should be highly embarrassed.

This device only acted to get in the way of actual human vocal support and totally stopped any momentum the crowd was generating with their chants before it rudely butted in. When our side fought back and gained the lead in the final quarter, when the boys needed our support the most at such a critical stage this gimmick only managed to drown that out and once it was done playing it’s stupid revving engine sounds the crowd had fallen silent.

I can’t remember a Collingwood crowd ever being so quite under such circumstances in my 30+ years of attending games and it all comes down to this idiotic little gimmick.

Please get rid of it immediately, it was counter productive to its intention, is not needed and more importantly not wanted!

Don’t believe me then please take the time to click on the link provided and read the forum topic on Nick’s bulletin board, a home for passionate and long time Collingwood members and supporters and you’ll quickly see I’m not alone in my strong views on this.

http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.php?t=74651

Please Ed, please Gary stop messing with something that wasn’t broke to begin with.

You are not only hurting the game day experience of our supporters, your killing the very fabric that made the game of football so great.

If it continues not only will the soul of Australian rules football continue to die a little each year, crowds will turn away and importantly people like me will not be renewing our membership.

I ask you Ed, I ask you Gary.

If you can’t hear the barrackers are shouting then what’s the purpose of us all?

[Dave The Man]

^^^

Very Well Said

[King Monkey]

Nice one Swoop.

[swoop42]

At least I've received a reply that the email has been passed on to the relevant department.

Who knows what will come of that and if the general feeling on display within this thread will count for anything but at least I've had a crack as did you by starting the thread.

It would be good if someone from the media would pick up on the sentiment displayed in this thread and run with it to some degree in an article.

This is an AFL issue not just a Collingwood one and I'm sure supporters of other clubs are feeling as disenchanted by there own club for one thing or another as we are.

Anyone know the email address for the AFL?

[collie dog]

Well done swoop42, but I reckon it will be filed in the round filing cabinet under Eddie's desk. I doubt they listen to us anymore.

[Dave The Man]

[KenH]

Yep agree it is not needed and is embarrassing!

[Andrew17]

It would be good to give them suggestions as to what would make a good day at the football (apart from us thumping a team by 100 points with a 10 goal third quarter).

It's pretty obvious that the marketing people at Collingwood/AFL are lazy and copycats to boot. They get their job, go overseas, watch the baseball, watch the EPL, watch the basketball and then bring their rubbish culture and enforce it on us.

What would make a Collingwood home game different to a Collingwood away game at the MCG?

This is what I think should happen at our home games.

Get rid of music leading up to the bounce of the ball - don't need it, it's a rubbish idea. I want to soak in the players manning up or focus on a bit of push and shove and scream at that rather than have rap or heavy metal blaring at me.

Paul Lazer - He MCs every game at the MCG, he doesn't barrack for Collingwood - go away. For our home games I'd replace him with someone who barracks for Collingwood. I think Darren James would be good and it would be traditional because his dad was the voice announcer at Victoria Park.

Ads after a goal - sure, have a Holden ad after the goal with a logo flashing in the corner as we replay our goal for the sixth time on the big screen. No o-meters, no fake crowd noise.

Introduce a free mini-record/magazine made by the club for every home game. It would have players names, numbers, nicknames where they came from, a section to mark the score, a puzzle section for the kiddies, etc, and every second page can be an ad for our sponsors. We get something free and entertaining and the sponsors get their ads. It can even be published in black and white to save production costs.

A presidential state of the round address. Would it be hard for Eddie to record a two minute speech where he welcomes you to the Collingwood home game, revs up the supporters, turns red from shouting and all the time he is standing in front of a podium with... our sponsors logos on it. Most of our supporters would like him, most supporters from other clubs hate him, so why not play on it even more. You would know it's a home game then.

An interview with a player whilst the players are warming up. For those of us old enough to remember, think Mike Williamson, in the foyer of VFL Park members, interviewing a player standing with his bag and kids, about to go into the rooms and get changed. Film it in sepia to make it like the old VFL park scoreboard.

There's got to be more stuff like this.

In my opinion all of these ideas are more subtle than what happens now, are more traditional and will keep the uniqueness of the game, and at the same time give our sponsors fair promotion.

[swoop42]

^Great stuff.

Now how do we get you on to the board?

[Andrew17]

I'm not sure I'm rich enough, famous enough, and a yes person to be voted onto the board. I also only get to see one live game a year and the rest is on TV (when it's shown up here). My perspective is from someone who remembers how much fun it used to be to go to the football and the snapshot of what I see has changed each year I come back home for ANZAC day - and that's a different day to what everyone else sees at a more normal home game.