The Monday Soapbox - R21

[ledge]

I will say at least the AFL realised having games at Ballarat in the middle of the year is stupid.
At the beginning or the end, yes it’s still cold but having it in the middle of the year risks games getting called off due to snow or ice or the ground being slippery.
Night games should never be played there either.

[Sedat]

I will say at least the AFL realised having games at Ballarat in the middle of the year is stupid.
At the beginning or the end, yes it?s still cold but having it in the middle of the year risks games getting called off due to snow or ice or the ground being slippery.
Night games should never be played there either.

That Port game in July 2018 was the coldest place on earth at the time. And AFEL scheduling that game for a 3.20pm start so it finished in near darkness at 6pm was peak "AFEL not giving a shit about the fundamental basics because they cash the bonuses from TV rights money and other lobby groups". A bit like Jarryd Roughead getting scraped with metal bolts protruding from the ground near the boundary at ANZ Stadium, but all good because Mike Fitzpatrick was an investor in the stadium.

[angelopetraglia]

So the clubs have converted casual supporters who are regular attendees to members, and non-attending supporters to members rather than attracting new supporters and making them members and having them attend games. Kinda makes sense.

100%. Well said.

Also. Due to things like 3 games Memberships. The barrier to entry for Membership has been lowered. The clubs with their active social media and email marketing that results in a much more intimate direction connection to the club supporter base, can give more reasons to be a member rather than just attending games. They can tug on that human emotion, that deep down all humans want to belong to something bigger than themselves. e.g. Bevo's brief

So Membership used to be just for those hardcore supporters who would go every week and saw it as value for money. It now is much deeper and more meaningful that that. There was the whole emotional push from all AFL clubs, to be a real supporter you had to be a financial member. Also, the ability for clubs to connect directly with their supporter base I think has widened the net to those casual footy supporters who may only go to a couple of games a year but want that feeling of belonging to the club.

Also, we are all wealthier and the ability to roll memberships over via direct direct debit from credit cards has made the renewing process easier.

[Axe Man]

I will say at least the AFL realised having games at Ballarat in the middle of the year is stupid.
At the beginning or the end, yes it?s still cold but having it in the middle of the year risks games getting called off due to snow or ice or the ground being slippery.
Night games should never be played there either.

I mean there is also a risk a swarm of killer bees attacks the players or a meteorite crashes into the ground. I know it gets bloody cold in Ballarat but I'm not sure there's much risk of a game being called off during the afternoon because of it. And every ground has a risk of being slippery, other than Marvel, at absolutely any time of the year.

I do agree that scheduling the Mars games early and late in the season is the sensible thing to do. What isn't sensible is that we still don't know what day and time the game is going to be in just over 2 weeks.

[ledge]

I mean there is also a risk a swarm of killer bees attacks the players or a meteorite crashes into the ground. I know it gets bloody cold in Ballarat but I'm not sure there's much risk of a game being called off during the afternoon because of it. And every ground has a risk of being slippery, other than Marvel, at absolutely any time of the year.

I do agree that scheduling the Mars games early and late in the season is the sensible thing to do. What isn't sensible is that we still don't know what day and time the game is going to be in just over 2 weeks.

Funny you mention the bees , every few years they get a cricket swarm and I can tell you now you can’t see the road for crickets when it happens. Imagine if that happened during a game, it would definitely be called off.

[jeemak]

What about the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you?

[Axe Man]

What about the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you?

They are a significant risk along with sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.

[EasternWest]

It's ok, EW, this is just a whinge thread and a bit of fun, because we know the AFL will never listen to us.

Now whingeing is something I can manage.

[josie]

They are a significant risk along with sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.

And the ill-tempered, mutated sea bass.

[Rocket Science]

[hujsh]

To do what they've done in some of these arenas around the world, it's going to cost billions of dollars in some instances, and that will be an issue in Australia because the majority of funding is public funds.

Priority should be to get this technology in Sedat Park ASAP of course.

I don't care how many children are stuck in 'temporary' classrooms or how underfunded our hospitals are. The people of Geelong NEED this