What Sydney and NSW should have looked like

[flippikat]

Yes, relocation of clubs is the same as culling a club IMO.

I can't follow that reasoning.

The club history, the brand, the records still actively exist in the competition if a club is relocated instead of being culled - and if any fan of the club wants to, they can still actively support that club at the top level - especially if they have a good number of "away" games in Sydney.

It's up to the traditional fans to choose how they respond to the relocation- to either continue supporting the club that's moved to a new home, switch allegiance to a neighboring club that hasn't moved, or just walk from the game.

If a club is culled, that "keep supporting the club" option is removed- or in the case of Norths & Newtown, downgraded to supporting at NSW Cup level. It's not the same range of options.

 

[Matiunz]

I can't follow that reasoning.

The club history, the brand, the records still actively exist in the competition if a club is relocated instead of being culled - and if any fan of the club wants to, they can still actively support that club at the top level - especially if they have a good number of "away" games in Sydney.

It's up to the traditional fans to choose how they respond to the relocation- to either continue supporting the club that's moved to a new home, switch allegiance to a neighboring club that hasn't moved, or just walk from the game.

If a club is culled, that "keep supporting the club" option is removed- or in the case of Norths & Newtown, downgraded to supporting at NSW Cup level. It's not the same range of options.

Don’t watch a huge amount of AFL but the Swans seem to have kept and retained a decent amount of the old South Melbourne crowd to their away games

 

[flippikat]

Don’t watch a huge amount of AFL but the Swans seem to have kept and retained a decent amount of the old South Melbourne crowd to their away games

Precisely. And the generations of kids from the old South Melbourne area that have grown up after that relocation are probably supporting other Melbourne clubs in the AFL.

Point is, populations ADAPT to a changing landscape better than some would have us believe, particularly over the course of successive generations.

 

[Perth Red]

Don’t watch a huge amount of AFL but the Swans seem to have kept and retained a decent amount of the old South Melbourne crowd to their away games

Probably helped by their success but Swans say they have 12,000 paid members in Melbourne. That equates to about 20% of their membership base.

 

[T to the T]

I can't follow that reasoning.

The club history, the brand, the records still actively exist in the competition if a club is relocated instead of being culled - and if any fan of the club wants to, they can still actively support that club at the top level - especially if they have a good number of "away" games in Sydney.

It's up to the traditional fans to choose how they respond to the relocation- to either continue supporting the club that's moved to a new home, switch allegiance to a neighboring club that hasn't moved, or just walk from the game.

If a club is culled, that "keep supporting the club" option is removed- or in the case of Norths & Newtown, downgraded to supporting at NSW Cup level. It's not the same range of options.

Maybe it's a different culture in the UK to Australia, but the reasoning is ubiquitous here. I follow XXX team because they represent and play in my geographical area. If XXX moves to a different city, I no longer have any interest in them as they no longer represent me or play locally as they're playing out of, and representing, a different area. I recommend reading up on Wimbledon/MK Dons football clubs as an example of how clubs moving location is viewed here. Re-locating a side would be the end of my fandom.

The likes of the Swans and Lions in the AFL may get away with moving from Melbourne as 5-6 of their 'away' games would be in stadiums these sides would've been playing in anyway.

 

[flippikat]

Maybe it's a different culture in the UK to Australia, but the reasoning is ubiquitous here. I follow XXX team because they represent and play in my geographical area. If XXX moves to a different city, I no longer have any interest in them as they no longer represent me or play locally as they're playing out of, and representing, a different area. I recommend reading up on Wimbledon/MK Dons football clubs as an example of how clubs moving location is viewed here. Re-locating a side would be the end of my fandom.

The likes of the Swans and Lions in the AFL may get away with moving from Melbourne as 5-6 of their 'away' games would be in stadiums these sides would've been playing in anyway.

Ahh but you still have the OPTION of supporting them at the top level or not (which is not available if they're scrapped instead of relocated).. and in the AFL's case, some Melbourne fans of relocated teams have opted to do just that.

The point is - and I admit this is at the risk of sounding callous - relocation is playing the long game in the original market *as well as* the destination market.

If you're lost to the game because of your neighbourhood team relocating, the idea is that will be compensated by fans/revenue from the new market - AND the likelihood that future generations from your area will choose their own team, and the supporter profile in your area will adapt.

Did all the generations born in the (former) Newtown area since the mid 1980s turn their back on the game, because that area lost an NRL team? Has everyone in North Sydney's boundaries currently under the age of 30 refused to follow the NRL because a local team got kicked out when they were in nappies (or before they were even born)?