Agreed, and foxsports next deal has to be allowed to play the game on the friday night that channel nine replay later, so fans can watch either game live.
The way the broadcast deal has been done is shocking.
Put it this way, now i no longer watch the add-feast second friday game, and i hardly watch the channel nine sunday game anymore, i did this weekend because of the tribute to Alex Mackinnon.
I cant wait for this TV deal to end, it has been a awful start to the year, and our crowds are holding really, not down too badly.
Also i coul;d not care if their was 50 million people in Perth, we only want 20 thousand, same as Melbourne, i will be happy when Storm are getting 20 thousand.
Our game is a TV sport, they are not even showing the game on tV, start now and in 5 years time, fans in melbourne and Perth and adeliade will be watching.
We have a backward code. it is like dumb meet dumber and somehow thought two wrongs make a right.
You said,,
Melbourne has half a million less people than Sydney and has ten AFL teams. Sydney has nine NRL teams. Go figure? Sydney deserves more NRL teams(the Bears at the Central Coast etc) and the game deserves genuine expansion not the dilution of its supporter base in Australasia's largest city.
Some of those afl teams are not teams at all, or supported. The reason why they keep such great support is market saturated by afl stories, i never read any papers from down south of barrassi line. It is full of nothing but afl.
I have seen empty grounds where they put up 18 thousand. Mate i counted them on one hand. They count club members, like Easts Tigers members in Brisbane, 20 to 30 thousand members, they would count that as their ground support.
Thats my story, i am sticking with it.
Your other story about losing generational support, i dont think ET gives a bullocks about the sharks, he is too busy fishing Papua New Guinea .
Besides, his sharks will still be alive, they will just be back in the NSW cup, and become a feeder team for the wellington sharks.
A means by getting "market saturation" is by having a high presence. This is how the AFL get such market saturation in a city with a lot less people than Sydney. More teams mean more market saturation and in Sydney the clubs are being diluted. A very apt recipe to weaken the game of RL in Sydney.
Generational support is a massive advantage for sports clubs and to throw it away is looking for the certain way to losing fans and cultural recognition.
These fans and culture are replicated exponentially Australia wide and this is the sought of damage you are advocating by not valuing generations of recognition and support. Simple as that.