Melbourne Supporters & Our Kids - I Need Your Advice

[Guest Dr Who]

Ok - I believe in honesty & open honest feedback - but I always look for the good. Now I'm not trying to upset anyone - so if you cant say anything positive please dont.

But I'm having a massive problem with Melbourne supporters at games - they are turning off our kids. Sadly, kids have been very difficult for us to attract.

At a few games this year - my daughter turned to me and said "Dad why is that man screaming & abusing our players?" I said ignore him he might not barrack for us.

She said "no dad he is wearing the same scarf as us" - James Frawley who she has met on a few occasions & James has been brilliant with them. Nice enough to spend at least 1/2 an hour teaching them to hand ball 1 on 1 - Made a mistake and it cost us a goal - the guy went off his tree - I wont repeat what he said. It 100% scared my daughters - they where obviously distressed - we had to move, she wanted to go home.

Then in another game a bloke sitting in-front of us - (we sit near the cheer squad because the kids want to sit there) spent near the whole first half sledging Joel MacDonald - I had to tap him on the shoulder and say "mate please he is on our side now". He wouldn't stop - so we had to move again.

My daughter recenly said to me - Dad I dont want to go to Melbourne games I get scared. I now want to barrack for Buddy Franklin.

My daughters dont give a damn about winning, they play sport they understand losing - 1 of my daughters took nearly 1 year to see her first win - but thank god she has stuck. But my other daughter I'm concerned about - but neither will now go to games.

They hate the aggression shown at Melbourne games. Now bizarrely they have been to other games where Melbourne have not played and we never seem to have a problem.

Oh I should add in the first game they could not understand why Melbourne supporters where booing our players - I explained - I think they bought it.

Looking forward to you thoughts - please dont be negative.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Dr Who

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

It's always going to be a problem, and it won't start to get better until we do as a team. Even if we do become a good team supporters will still become frustrated, angry, and abusive towards our players simply due to the competitive nature of the sport. Perhaps try sitting in less crowded areas, or even near opposition supporter groups so that your daughters don't hear the abuse slung by Demons supporters onto their favourite players.

[Chook 15,022]

It's a blight on our supporter base. I reckon Melbourne supporters are the quickest to bag their own players, and it's really embarassing. When I was about 15 years old, I went to the footy by myself for the first time, and had to listen to two 20 year olds bagging the Dees at every turn. All the while, they were wearing Melbourne scarves and jumpers. Finally I gathered the courage to turn around and ask them "Are you really Melbourne supporters. Because you don't sound like it." "Yeah," they replied sheepishly. We ended up winning the game but those two blokes were nowhere to be found.

The fella you're talking about has obviously become Jaded™ over the years and is no longer a real Melbourne supporter at all.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Chook

[dee-luded 2,959]

Ok - I believe in honesty & open honest feedback - but I always look for the good. Now I'm not trying to upset anyone - so if you cant say anything positive please dont.

But I'm having a massive problem with Melbourne supporters at games - they are turning off our kids. Sadly, kids have been very difficult for us to attract.

At a few games this year - my daughter turned to me and said "Dad why is that man screaming & abusing our players?" I said ignore him he might not barrack for us.

She said "no dad he is wearing the same scarf as us" - James Frawley who she has met on a few occasions & James has been brilliant with them. Nice enough to spend at least 1/2 an hour teaching them to hand ball 1 on 1 - Made a mistake and it cost us a goal - the guy went off his tree - I wont repeat what he said. It 100% scared my daughters - they where obviously distressed - we had to move, she wanted to go home.

Then in another game a bloke sitting in-front of us - (we sit near the cheer squad because the kids want to sit there) spent near the whole first half sledging Joel MacDonald - I had to tap him on the shoulder and say "mate please he is on our side now". He wouldn't stop - so we had to move again.

My daughter recenly said to me - Dad I dont want to go to Melbourne games I get scared. I now want to barrack for Buddy Franklin.

My daughters dont give a damn about winning, they play sport they understand losing - 1 of my daughters took nearly 1 year to see her first win - but thank god she has stuck. But my other daughter I'm concerned about - but neither will now go to games.

They hate the aggression shown at Melbourne games. Now bizarrely they have been to other games where Melbourne have not played and we never seem to have a problem.

Oh I should add in the first game they could not understand why Melbourne supporters where booing our players - I explained - I think they bought it.

Looking forward to you thoughts - please dont be negative.

Selection panel: I think that if the supporters see the Selectors actively dropping players for continual mistakes & bador poor play, then the supporters may be less oriented to get overly involved is this type of frustrated behavior.

I think it comes about because the selectors aren't on the same page as many supporters wishes. so It takes a shift towards the supporters a bit or the club needs to explain they're reasoning better to the supporters to get them onside.

[Melbournepotter 383]

'Jaded' is probably a good word to describe a lot of our support. This year I have noticed myself calling our players morons for some of the stupid errors they make. I'm a paid up member but it probably shouldn't happen i guess. However, after many years of watching the demons, I am short on patience. After all the pre-season training skills practising etc, I get to see our players look up and then kick it straight down the throat of opposition players, standing in the clear, or fail to find a player 3 metres away with with a handpass. The first few times I can put up with, but when it continually happens, the frustration comes out. It's difficult and we probably shouldn't let it get to us as much, but we are passionate and simple skill errors are frustrating.

Anyway I hope your daughters keep the faith. Some better footy from Melbourne would make things a lot easier for all of us, and hopefully make the football a better experience for your family.

[Guest Gotzy15]

Ridiculous post and ridiculous feedback. Chook how on earth can you stereotype our supporters to be the quickest to bag our players? What about Essendon supporters with Brent Stanton who is actually a gun? What about Hawthorn supporters with Schoenmakers? What about dogs supporters with Gia? All teams have well behaved supporters,ferals,supporters with no teeth,supporters who are CEOS from toorak and supporters who are drug dealers from sunshine etc etc. To put all Melbourne supporters in the same bracket is just horribly ignorant.

Dr Who I'm sorry that is just football. People are passionate about their team and the game and there will be vocal supporters who have a right to let off some steam (providing there is no racism) and it will happen at any football match anywhere (not just Melbourne games as youre hinting). If anything it should be easier taking kids to MFC matches when there's 30000 as opposed to 80000 at Carlton,coll and essendon matches. If your kids are not old enough to understand then maybe it's best to watch the game on TV until they are.

[rpfc 28,736]

All clubs bag their players when they are not playing anything that resembles footy.

We promise to be better behaved when the players show up.

And the kids will like us when we win.

[Guest Dr Who]

Thanks to all. What worries me the most is when

A/ we bring their friends they never seem to get into the Melbourne spirit I've had upto 5 kids wearing the red and the blue but they just don't stick. Yet funnily they all love singing our song & clapping along to the tune

B/ when my kids go to other games with their friends they never have any problems.

I've just noticed in the last 12-15 months mfc fans getting more frustrated more aggressive - I'm sorry but it's scaring our kids away

Oh and I should say opposition supporters rolling their eyes & laughing at some of our supporters more and more.

Do we promote our big name players as well as we shoud?

I hope you are right winning will make the dif but I think it might be too late for many. But I will keep trying

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who

[Bonkers 994]

Try sitting with your kids in the deezone or whatever the club has called it. I'm not a Dad so I don't know where the family friendly areas are. All I can say is that football is football & you are always going to get all cross sections of society saying pretty much whatever they like to at the game. Best advice to shield them from it is take them to a family friendly area, maybe you could ask the club in an email what they suggest or sit where no one else is sitting. Cheers.

[Kiss of Death 755]

Richmond supporters <endofthread>.

At least our fans were probably paid up members.

I'm guilty of going off my rocker sometimes, but mostly screaming out that players should be better than that/ripping into the blind maggots etc.

Leave the open abuse to the opposition supporters.

Sometimes when I'm straight up sick of all that kind of thing I'll go hide down on the fence near the wing etc. and avoid the cheer squads. Especially against teams like Richmond and their abusive grog squad morons. I'm not a fan of people threatening to bash me for vocally supporting my club.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Ridiculous post and ridiculous feedback. Chook how on earth can you stereotype our supporters to be the quickest to bag our players? What about Essendon supporters with Brent Stanton who is actually a gun? What about Hawthorn supporters with Schoenmakers? What about dogs supporters with Gia? All teams have well behaved supporters,ferals,supporters with no teeth,supporters who are CEOS from toorak and supporters who are drug dealers from sunshine etc etc. To put all Melbourne supporters in the same bracket is just horribly ignorant.

Dr Who I'm sorry that is just football. People are passionate about their team and the game and there will be vocal supporters who have a right to let off some steam (providing there is no racism) and it will happen at any football match anywhere (not just Melbourne games as youre hinting). If anything it should be easier taking kids to MFC matches when there's 30000 as opposed to 80000 at Carlton,coll and essendon matches. If your kids are not old enough to understand then maybe it's best to watch the game on TV until they are.

Essendon as a club are very successful, moreso than us. They are vitriolic to some of they're players, yet still succeed. Notice they're players go hard at the ball. Worth a try??? Not a bad attitude?

[dee-luded 2,959]

Thanks to all. What worries me the most is when

A/ we bring their friends they never seem to get into the Melbourne spirit I've had upto 5 kids wearing the red and the blue but they just don't stick. Yet funnily they all love singing our song & clapping along to the tune

B/ when my kids go to other games with their friends they never have any problems.

I've just noticed in the last 12-15 months mfc fans getting more frustrated more aggressive - I'm sorry but it's scaring our kids away

Oh and I should say opposition supporters rolling their eyes & laughing at some of our supporters more and more.

Do we promote our big name players as well as we shoud?

I hope you are right winning will make the dif but I think it might be too late for many. But I will keep trying

Dr, Horse before Cart please.

[Guest Dr Who]

Richmond supporters <endofthread>.

At least our fans were probably paid up members.

I'm guilty of going off my rocker sometimes, but mostly screaming out that players should be better than that/ripping into the blind maggots etc.

Leave the open abuse to the opposition supporters.

Sometimes when I'm straight up sick of all that kind of thing I'll go hide down on the fence near the wing etc. and avoid the cheer squads. Especially against teams like Richmond and their abusive grog squad morons. I'm not a fan of people threatening to bash me for vocally supporting my club.

The tigers is one team I've noticed a massive change in their supporters attitude they are very positive. Plus if you go to auskick their numbers are growing there are kids in tigers jumpers everywhere I think they might be a damn close second to collingwood. Which flies in the face of the winning "theory"... I should add we are behind teams like West Coast, Adelaide & Brisbane!

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who

[RalphiusMaximus 6,088]

I've noticed this trend too. We seem to have a lot of "supporters" who go to the game to have the joy of yelling abuse at their whipping boy of choice. I was at a game last year where a guy a few seats away spent the entire match yelling insults at Liam Jurrah. On the weekend I repeatedly heard someone yelling "You're soft as [censored] Watts!" It's apparently very easy for the beer-swilling supreme athletes in the stands to throw stones. I'd love to see them out on the field showing us how it's really done.

[Guest Dr Who]

I've noticed this trend too. We seem to have a lot of "supporters" who go to the game to have the joy of yelling abuse at their whipping boy of choice. I was at a game last year where a guy a few seats away spent the entire match yelling insults at Liam Jurrah. On the weekend I repeatedly heard someone yelling "You're soft as [censored] Watts!" It's apparently very easy for the beer-swilling supreme athletes in the stands to throw stones. I'd love to see them out on the field showing us how it's really done.

Yeah thats exactly what I've found. I honestly thought the Melbourne supporter thought Joel MacDonald was still playing for Brisbane - it was unbelievable.

But what it does is two fold - a/ we lose respect from opposition supporters & b/ our kids see & hear it

At the Richmond game a Melbourne supporter was having a go at Watts - an opposition supporter asked him "What is watts going to do when he wins a premiership for Melbourne. silence - Switch off the play-station and go to bed" 50-60 Richmond supporter burst into laughter - Richmond supporters laughing at us WTF - even I had to chuckle.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who

[Supermercado 2,802]

Good luck to the kid following Franklin then going to a game and sitting in front of people going off their tree about Kyle Cheney and Cameron Bruce.

It happens everywhere, and it shouldn't but unless you're going to tell people off or lag them to the crowd behaviour hotline they're not going to stop. Given that most of our games are half full at best there's always spots up the back where you can get away from people and I'm sure the kids don't care if they're not sitting on the fence. Top deck of the Ponsford has been very short on nutbag behaviour in the last couple of years.

[Pates 9,660]

It's a difficult one, when a team is in the bottom 4 in the competition you're always going to get abuse at players. But I reckon another component of it that our club has been down to so so long, and it's definitely taking it's toll on people, and please don't take this the wrong way but I'm over watching the Dees lose every week.

I love them, I'll continue supporting and continue my membership every year, but I've got a lot of pent up frustration related to our last 5 years.

Still, these are our future fans getting turned away so I guess speak to the club to see if there are areas that are more family friendly and hopefully your kids can start to enjoy the footy more.

[Guest Dr Who]

It's a difficult one, when a team is in the bottom 4 in the competition you're always going to get abuse at players. But I reckon another component of it that our club has been down to so so long, and it's definitely taking it's toll on people, and please don't take this the wrong way but I'm over watching the Dees lose every week.

I love them, I'll continue supporting and continue my membership every year, but I've got a lot of pent up frustration related to our last 5 years.

Still, these are our future fans getting turned away so I guess speak to the club to see if there are areas that are more family friendly and hopefully your kids can start to enjoy the footy more.

I know this is going to sound radical - but I feel much of its Alcohol driven. IMHO Melbourne should make a stance on alcohol & make the whole ground apart from Dinning rooms - Alcohol Free at our Home games.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who

[saka888 54]

Here is some great advice... put yourself and your daughters on the MCC waiting list.. and enjoy all the games... including finals..

[Supermercado 2,802]

Who's paying the (presumably ludicrous) amount of compensation to the catering contractors?

[Jesse Christ 2,884]

I know this is going to sound radical - but I feel much of its Alcohol driven. IMHO Melbourne should make a stance on alcohol & make the whole ground apart from Dinning rooms - Alcohol Free at our Home games.

How am I supposed to enjoy Melbourne games without alcohol?

[Guest Dr Who]

Who's paying the (presumably ludicrous) amount of compensation to the catering contractors?

Probably the same people that paid the (presumably ludicrous) amount of compensation for the actions regarding one of our ex-sponsors.

Wonder if we could sell it as short term pain - massive long-term gain.

Just a thought - gives us a massive point of difference, true family values at a sporting event. Surely these great loyal supporters that many spruik around here can go without alcohol for 3-hrs a week to see their beloved Demons.

Might even get a massive grant from the state or federal government if we lead the way.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who

[Guest Dr Who]

Here is some great advice... put yourself and your daughters on the MCC waiting list.. and enjoy all the games... including finals..

Yeah I've thought of that - it solves my problem. & I like the idea - at this stage that's definitely the way I'm heading (but the kids do love sitting 50 metres from the cheer-squad they do like waving their flags & being closer to James Frawley)

But does it solve the real problem - or what I see as a major MFC problem.

[Range Rover 1,935]

Do you really think supporters at other clubs are any different Doc? Get real.

I do agree with yo on the alcohol ban, though. Open the bar after the game.

[Guest Dr Who]

Do you really think supporters at other clubs are any different Doc? Get real.

I do agree with yo on the alcohol ban, though. Open the bar after the game.

If you asked me that 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago I would have said no.

But the last 12-15 months there is a massive shift.

But today I'm not so sure - Do we stand alone? (I hope not - but I think we might)

Do we stand above or below GC17 & GWS with premiership upside?

Edited April 25, 2012 by Dr Who