Moffo - posting for the mighty bags
The problem with footy grounds
Greetings humanoids, I speak to you from a time far away. A time where the football experience has become a complete one. We all love our footy, that cannot be doubted, but the game is now viewed in luxury and the atmosphere is spot on. Long gone are the days of cheap seats, baseball stadiums, cold meat pies and hot beer
Ah yes, I am dreaming. We all can dream though, cant we? One cant help but lament the fact that in 2003, we are still enduring all the aforementioned failings. When will they get it right?
Much of my anger and lament stems from a visit to the baseball stadium (I refuse to call it a footy stadium) a few weeks back to see my beloved dogs take on the cowboys. We won, that was good. But the rest of my experience was an eye opener. As for the first time in my rather short existence, I had the pleasure of sitting in a corporate box. All the Crownies you could drink, all the caviar that you could digest and all the benefits that come from mingling with people in positions of power and influence. It was a great way to experience football
However, I spared a quick 10 minutes to walk around downstairs. I felt out of place, for the first time in perhaps 100 matches that I had been to, I wasnt out in a plastic seat, putting up with drunks and howling winds. It felt wrong in a way. I have always felt like a diehard fan, Ive sat in the rain, Ive watched footy behind barb wire, Ive watched footy with brawls going on around me, Ive travelled 100s of kilometres to see my team play, hell, I even stood in mud once at North Sydney. So what was I doing in a corporate box? Surely they knew as I walked around the ground you could tell through my eyes that I had sold out. Many a familiar fan can be seen Dogs games, week in and week out. Some are quite affluent; others are camped on struggle street. I had seen many of them before. Some were old, some had probably been there since 1935.
And I hate the treatment they get
For a life of support and loyalty, what do they get? A bloody terrible experience in terms of comfort and atmosphere most of the time. This compares to the corporate fan that would rarely go to a game, but gets the best seats in the house with servants waiting to respond to their every whim. Why oh why, in times of such progress and innovation, do we have to be subject to such a miserable experience in order to watch our footy team go around? I cant speak for all grounds; I have not been to Townsville or Auckland. But what I have seen is spas at grounds in the US, hotels at grounds in Canada and luxurious seating at grounds throughout Europe
So why should I be subject to a baseball experience when I go to watch the dogs play? Why should Cronulla fans be subject to overhanging power lines when the Sharks play? Why should I be subject to howling winds if I wish to watch a game at the Olympic Stadium? There is only one answer. They/I shouldnt.
The footy experience is more than the game they are watching. Its the atmosphere and the comfort. Its the feeling of enjoyment. And when I walked around the Baseball stadium a couple of weeks back, I saw none of this. Most of these people were watching the game in sufferance; a bad seat, a 90% chance of cold food and a 100% likelihood of it being overpriced. Nothing in it inspires the fan to attend the game. Watch it on channel nine they think, and who would dare blame them?
So in heading back to the corporate box that had become ours for four hours I thought, why cant this corporate experience be expanded in some form to incorporate all those who attend a game. Make them want to go a game and come out happy. Perhaps it would boost our crowds. Perhaps it would leave clubs with more money so that baseball stadiums can become a thing of the past
But as I said before, perhaps I am dreaming
Cheers,
Moffo