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http://www.leaguehq.com.au/articles/2009/09/30/1253989954443.html
BEING a diehard NRL footy fan doesn't come cheap.
It will cost you about $1500 a year and that is before you fork out your hard-earned dollars to get to the game and feed yourself. If you are lucky enough to go all the way to the grand final, that is.
The team guernsey, at about $160, a season pass at $300 and an annual pay TV subscription worth $672 - for those nights when you can't make it to the real thing - are the big-ticket items on any serious supporter's shopping list. On top of that comes a $165 ticket if your side makes it to the grand final.
Other extras such as a flag, football, hat and scarf will further stretch the budget.
''People do pay … It really underlines the fact that sport is a big business and a very powerful magnet. You can be sure that parking, transport and meat pies will really add up also,'' a Choice spokesman, Christopher Zinn, said.
''What we've got is a much more professional, polished game and, of course, after the Super League issues, it's much more highly paid. For that to happen the money has to be raised somehow and a lot of that is from pay TV rights, merchandising rights and ticket sales.''
Mr Zinn said the NRL was competitive with other codes. Fans of the AFL and A-League pay similar prices for tickets and merchandise. And compared with what football fans in England pay for tickets, it is good value.
''I suppose the point is that where people are passionate, the cost does not dictate their choices so much.''
Long-time Eels supporters Diane Barry and Judy Archer picked up some accessories from Peter Wynn's Score this week. The pair, sporting blue-and-gold earrings and fingernails, bought a grand final shirt, sombrero and rosettes.
''I remember in 1977 when we were in the grand final my whole street was decorated in blue and gold. I was nine years old, we drew the first game and I remember when we lost the second game I cried,'' Ms Barry said. ''It's been a tense couple of weeks. I might cry again this week.''
The scene at Sydney Airport yesterday afternoon would have brought a tear to the eye of Melbourne players with only a handful of fans there to meet them.
Andrew Cooper, Vanessa Eastham and their eight-year-old daughter, Piper, were among the dedicated few.
The family, from Acacia Gardens, near Parklea, have supported the Storm since it joined the NRL in 1998, attending all the team's grand finals. They will be there again on Sunday.
''Last year there were a lot more people [at the airport] to welcome them,'' said Mr Cooper, who hoped to get his Storm guernsey autographed.
The Melbourne captain, Cameron Smith, was amused to learn the plane the team had travelled to Sydney on was called the City of Parramatta.
''Maybe the NRL decided to send that plane to pick us up,'' he said. ''But that's fine as long as we go back on the Melbourne plane.''
BEING a diehard NRL footy fan doesn't come cheap.
It will cost you about $1500 a year and that is before you fork out your hard-earned dollars to get to the game and feed yourself. If you are lucky enough to go all the way to the grand final, that is.
The team guernsey, at about $160, a season pass at $300 and an annual pay TV subscription worth $672 - for those nights when you can't make it to the real thing - are the big-ticket items on any serious supporter's shopping list. On top of that comes a $165 ticket if your side makes it to the grand final.
Other extras such as a flag, football, hat and scarf will further stretch the budget.
''People do pay … It really underlines the fact that sport is a big business and a very powerful magnet. You can be sure that parking, transport and meat pies will really add up also,'' a Choice spokesman, Christopher Zinn, said.
''What we've got is a much more professional, polished game and, of course, after the Super League issues, it's much more highly paid. For that to happen the money has to be raised somehow and a lot of that is from pay TV rights, merchandising rights and ticket sales.''
Mr Zinn said the NRL was competitive with other codes. Fans of the AFL and A-League pay similar prices for tickets and merchandise. And compared with what football fans in England pay for tickets, it is good value.
''I suppose the point is that where people are passionate, the cost does not dictate their choices so much.''
Long-time Eels supporters Diane Barry and Judy Archer picked up some accessories from Peter Wynn's Score this week. The pair, sporting blue-and-gold earrings and fingernails, bought a grand final shirt, sombrero and rosettes.
''I remember in 1977 when we were in the grand final my whole street was decorated in blue and gold. I was nine years old, we drew the first game and I remember when we lost the second game I cried,'' Ms Barry said. ''It's been a tense couple of weeks. I might cry again this week.''
The scene at Sydney Airport yesterday afternoon would have brought a tear to the eye of Melbourne players with only a handful of fans there to meet them.
Andrew Cooper, Vanessa Eastham and their eight-year-old daughter, Piper, were among the dedicated few.
The family, from Acacia Gardens, near Parklea, have supported the Storm since it joined the NRL in 1998, attending all the team's grand finals. They will be there again on Sunday.
''Last year there were a lot more people [at the airport] to welcome them,'' said Mr Cooper, who hoped to get his Storm guernsey autographed.
The Melbourne captain, Cameron Smith, was amused to learn the plane the team had travelled to Sydney on was called the City of Parramatta.
''Maybe the NRL decided to send that plane to pick us up,'' he said. ''But that's fine as long as we go back on the Melbourne plane.''
that is.. 
