OK, I'll make the best comparison I can. Let's take 1996. Of the 13 seasons prior to that year (1983-1995), the Roosters had only made the finals once (1987). Just about everyone here will admit that the 80's and first half of the 90's was probably the worst time in the Roosters history so you'd imagine our support would be at its worst given our fickle nature. 1996 was the year we signed Freddy (makes for a good comparison with Souths of this year given all the signings and the high expectations for the Bunnies).
So, on the back of such a long run of disappointing years the Roosters managed an average home crowd in 1996 of 16093 (not counting finals). The average crowd for every home & away game in 1996 was 11452. In comparison, Souths had an average home crowd that year of 4666 (no that's not a typo, they never even managed a home crowd above 10000 the entire year).
Now, let's fast forward to 2007. The Chooks have just had two shocking years and it's quite obvious that this year is looking just as bad, if not worse. They're favourites for the spoon. Our home crowd figures so far this year show an average of 14417 (even after this week's crap figure). Souths average home crowd is 18387 and the season average is somewhere around the 17500 mark for all games.
So, to summarise, after the Roosters worst run in their history, they managed to get about 40% more to their home games then the average crowd in 1996 (and nearly 400% more than Souths in the same year). In comparison this year (and in similar circumstances to the Roosters in 1996), Souths have managed slightly more than the season average and about 28% more than the Roosters. So, what's your point again?
Of course, I've noticed a couple of Eels fans giving their two cents (what a surprise). The Eels have just made 8 out of the last 10 finals series. Minor Premiers in 2001 and 2005. Completely unstoppable in 2001 (except by the Knights) and one game shy of the GF in 2005. Only just slipping out of the 8 this year but definately going better than the Chooks. In the middle of one of the bigger league bases in the country and have managed an average home crowd of 14885 this year - only slightly more than the poorly travelling Roosters. Considering they didn't have to put on a home game on Mother's Day, that's a fairly p!ss poor effort. Why don't we move them to Gosford? What about Penrith? They're going better than the Chooks this year. They've won a GF more recently, yet they've only managed to average 14729. Why don't we move them to Perth? Of course, these are ridiculous suggestions, but no more than ridiculous than the crap a lot of you are coming up with. Fair dinkum, you're like a bunch of old women. We get one sh!t crowd on a traditionally bad day for league crowds and you all go hysterical.
