Has anyone else noticed an increase in active, vocal support in sports outside of football? It might just be me, but there seems to be more willingness of fans and in some instances sporting bodies to promote fan engagement and support at live events. This comes after a long period of pushing sport towards TV friendly entertainment without regard for match day attendance and experience. Are we at the point of the pendulum swing where sports move away from being TV centric and cater strongly to the live fan experience?


Last season in the AFL there was a big push from the Adelaide teams to create an imposing crowd atmosphere. I think other teams looked on with envy and are wanting to emulate that. In addition, the sporting administration are slowing implementing measures to encourage live attendance instead of caving into every wish of the TV stations.

In the cricket, in particular the big bash, there is constant talk from the commentary teams about the crowd getting behind their team. I never noticed this as a focus in previous seasons. I've not been to any games outside of a test match to comment first hand though.

In the tennis now, there seems to be a lot more cheering and chanting during games, between points. Maybe this is due to an increased enthusiasm from the current group of Aussies playing?

I have no idea how either of the rugby codes are fairing, but would welcome observations.