You guys talk more about AFL then the actual a league 

I reckon you should look up the no-true scotsman logical fallacy.
Maybe in the 80s, 90s and 00s that was kinda true but I reckon it's changed over the last decade or so. I can tell you that I have zero idea who played last weekend, who's playing next weekend, and if you asked me who won the GF last year I would have to google it. I know plenty of blokes that are in the same boat as me. Zero interest. We also have no fears or problems telling people we have no interest in AFL. Now that FTA TV is breathing it's last breath, the AFL is pretty much only visible to me if I go looking for it. It doesn't show up in any of my online feeds. I don't watch the news on TV (and nearly zero FTA TV for that matter). The only time I ever see/hear anything about it is if I see some sort of billboard/printed advertisement or when someone I don't know brings it up in conversation. It's not even a matter of avoiding it anymore, it's just not visible anymore to people who aren't interested.

you'd be in the minority though and those around you.
I hear its on radio left right and centre, MCG quotes ex players are on everything etcetc....
Put it this way you may not care but 80% + still would.

I only have to talk to one or 5 of my melb biz associates lately and asking whats doing and its, fooody is back on its all good.

.........For some its trudging around suburban NPL grounds :) Ahhhh winter in the big bad southern metropolis ..... love it :)

You may be right JC but as LFC says that is still a bit of a minority.... FTA has been breathing its last breath for the last 20 years apparently but the same ol shit gets pushed down our throats sunrise, sunset.....  If you use public transport, drive a car down any public road or even stand next to anyone having a conversation in Melbourne for more than 5 mins you don't need to go looking for it mate.... 

For what it’s worth, I was the same when I lived there

You'll find the same in Tasmania and Perth. That's all they know.

Realistically it's probably a change that will happen at the generational level. Greatest and Silents watch FTA, but they are nearly extinct and mainly only watch murder mysteries. Boomers watch FTA, but they are also dying out now. Gen-X watch FTA, but not to the same extent and many of the younger ones and have largely adopted digital media. Millennials watch very little FTA. Gen-Z don't watch any FTA. Gen-Alpha will probably have watch some medium that hasn't been invented yet.
I think I also have one of those brains that is able to subconsciously block out things that don't interest me. People complain about web ads, but I just don't notice them. I don't need to use ad blockers, my brain seems to do it for me. The only time I use public transport is when I'm going to a football game, so the train is usually full with other MV supporters. Like I said, in my experience, AFL isn't as shoved down our throats as it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm aware of the saturation it has down here, but it's not the same as it once was.

Mate we quite literally have a public holiday to "celebrate" the AFL grand final, with a parade through the city the day before the match!!!!!! I rarely use public transport but driving through the city every second or third tram has AFL marketing of some sort (if not sport betting adds featuring AFL players at the very least). Its fairly easy to "block out" granted but it HAS permeated into every facet of life down here. 

Obviously GF is a different story, but regular season is just invisible to me. I'm fully aware of the saturation it has, I'm just saying to me it's largely invisible. I'm not around the city/inner city anymore. I only have a handful of friends and family that actively follow the AFL. I work in a small business (9 employees), none of which follow AFL. Many friends/family that were big fans of the sport but have since dropped off to be more occasional/TV followers. I only have one close friend who is actually a member of an AFL club, although every year he talks about dropping the membership because he just doesn't go to games much anymore. Both his son and daughter (7 & 9), play football and have zero interest in AFL (their mother's influence). I recognise i'm in a minority group, but it's just not visible to me anymore. Being born and raised here, I obviously know the rules and could name every team, but I'd really struggle to name any current players, and need to google who one last years GF. I would have known at the time, but have completely forgotten due to lack of interest.

Same for me and SA is just as bad as Victoria with saturation.

It's funny because for a long period of my life I was in groups of people that tended more towards music/the arts I could have said that 85% I know have LITERALLY never watched a game of footy.

Then in my life as a professional office worker I could say that 75% I have known or see at conferences only talk about the footy. 

In business circles sport is used as something to talk about among middle aged men with no personalities or interest/hobbies in life or younger guys who aspire to be that boring most of who couldn't kick a Sherrin more than 6 meters in their chosen direction.

It is 100% true though that since mobile social media and personlised news feeds etc you really can ignore it if you want to for the most part.

I grew up loving SANFL then The Crows but now if it wasn't for 3 of the 7 mates in our Messenger chat that rib each other a few hours a weekend I wouldn't even know when the crows were playing

Guys, I get you both and agree, it IS possible to "drown out" the noise.... Footy is a background hum sort of thing in my life too...  I follow from a very very removed position and thankfully, apart from the everyday necessity of having to "choose a team" my kids have no interest in it at all...  If pushed I would never say I am an "AFL supporter" but rather a very very casual "Tigers fan"

My observation of the crowd the other days was purely from a perspective of how ingrained it is to a large portion of the population down here.... Its a cult, a religion to these people... Their AFL club is part of their chosen identity and I truly believe the APL (and NPL for that matter) would be better served pushing the "club above everything" mantra rather than "you've gotta have a team" or "support the Aleague in general".

Davide, its a lot easier for your mob in Adelaide to do, as it would be in Perth and Brisbane but in Melbourne, with three clubs who have NO distinction between them the message seems (at least to me as an outsider) to be "just pick one of the Alegaue clubs for whatever random reason and support Australian Soccer. 

I'm in Perth.

Have no interest in AFL whatsoever, yet i will still know nearly every weekend when the Eagles and Dockers are playing. Can't escape it. 

Absolutely. People are very quick to point the finger at the FA or APL for not 'marketing' the game. However 'marketing' the game in general doesn't put regulars in the stands. It really is the responsibility of each individual club to build their fanbase and get them through the gates. I think this is a major thing that has been lacking in the A-League, but also football in general. Some clubs do ok, but many don't and all could do much much more. 

Wow, I can’t believe I agree with you for once. Apart from a spattering of a second/third generation Greeks/Italians/Balkans, AFL is primarily an Anglo sport and not accepting of other cultures or lifestyles. 

You could say the same with Cricket, except replace a spattering of a second/third generation Greeks/Italians/Balkans, with people from the subcontinent.


Yep. Passed down from families, but also tribal. Something that takes generations to develop. 

Not necessarily mate... I think the Sydney Aleague rivalry has proved this... they do it much better than MV/CFG/WU in Melbourne and the Westies vs the Easterners divide in Sydney seems to be a real source of differentiation for their fans.... Here in Melbourne a fans loyalty to one of the franchises only shows how long ago that fan discovered football and the Aleague (jumped on the latest thing) or lack of anything altogether... If WU for example made a real play for being a club for the disenfranchised west they could have been huge..... 

What AFl does really well is they forge an identity for their loyal fans... who despite also belonging to a franchise, essentially still feel part of the Bombers, or Hawks or Pies or whatever.... Its not just generational in the AFl either as there are many many instances of fans whose mum and dad support one club, brother supports another and spouse supports yet another.... They do, however, identify with the "stereotype" of the club if thats the right word.... 

Absolutely... This is also one of the key things the NST clubs need to wrap their heads around in my opinion... Its all well and good that they represent, with pride, their founding communities, but they need to appeal to a larger audience to successfully grow... Many of them know that but many of them also dont want to... 

It's probably the most unpredictable aspect of the NST. We know that any of the NST clubs will be able to put together competitive squads and get results on the field, but there is a massive unknown of how many are going to show up to see it. I would like to think that many of the clubs have realised that this is something new and not a return to the NSL days. Sure plenty of the old NSL fans will make a return, but it's the young blood that is going to be vital to any significant growth. For many people (especially the young ones), they have no idea who any of these clubs are as they just haven't been in the forefront of the football conversation for well over a decade. Although these clubs all have history, for many they are essentially new. Some clubs may have no problem getting new blood, but others could face some challenges if their approach is off.

It took the AFL 17 days to surpass the A-leagues entire season attendances for this current season.

That is frightening for football as a code in this country.

I was looking at non-VIC crowds for AFL gamse so far this season. Its pretty intimidating.

perth - 56,090
adelaide - 48,962
scg - 37,052
gabba - 30,047
gold coast - 13,122
giants - 9,691

then you add the MCG crowds.
people that say its just big in vic are kidding themselves. 

Both the NRL and AFL have had a huge post-COVID lift.

Yeah its certainly a challenge that ALL the clubs are starting to think about.... Leveraging "history" vs "new appeal" is something many will get very right but also I feel many will not.... At least now, hopefully, they are getting a chance to do so... 

It shouldn't be though mate, that's the point..... We have enough football mad supporters in this country to sustain a football pyramid, we just need to cater ONLY to them and not the mythical "general sports lover" the marketeers like to base their financial projections on.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought on average attendances the AFL is like the 4th best attended league in the World. From memory it was EPL, Bundesliga and the NFL that were higher.

AFL is never going to die.

Yes, the same big clubs have been going for 140 or so years. So it is passed on from generation to generation. I believe that in Melbourne even soccer people support aFL clubs!

Not quite as bad in Adelaide, although back in the VFL days everyone in Adelaide used to support a Melbourne club as well as their own Adelaide club.

I think the IPL has recently dislodged the AFL in the top 4.

Theres just not though unfortunately. 

Half of the A-league have unsustainable crowds attending each week, including the team that sits on top of the table. 

Theres not enough Stadia, there's not enough publicity, there snot enough exposure. 

Its the fifth bigger professional sport in the country and is actually going backwards in comparison to AFL, NRL, Cricket and Basketball. 

Its pure delusion to think the game has a future in its current trajectory

Nah, soccer/football will always be played in Australia in some capacity.  (Even at a professional level.)

Oh look, here's more people with the SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

He guys did you know AFL was bigger than soccer in Australia???!?!?!!

Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are unsustainable crowds?

Many teams in Scotland, Portugal, Korea (I could go on and on), average no more than 2k and have much more higher/dense populations compared to Australia?