If you read the latest comments on the Club website from Nicholson and Davey, they are really lapping it up in Darwin. If we play there I think that we will actually secure a strong home ground advantage (and certainly perform much better than we ever have at Etihad). If we are going to play any (home) games away from the "G" I would rather it be somewhere which puts us at a genuine advatage over the players from other Clubs rather than Etihad where we always seem behind the eight-ball and will never have an advantage!

in 2016 when we are winning 90% of our games CBDees

It won't matter where we play.

Good sides just win games

Where it is does not matter!

It's a two way street... if the team doesn't perform, the supporters are loathe to go to games, but if the supporters aren't there to build an atmosphere that has both the intent of lifting the team and intimidating the opposition, then the team is likely to be flat and not perform well.

And here's a nice piece of light reading on the issue:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201112/the-psychology-sports-fans

yeah i agree with what your saying, i think our supporters have done a wonderful job clearing 6 million in debt and buying memberships in the last 6 seasons, hopefully with a few wins next season the so called fickle supporters will start pouring through the gates at the G.

you need to think before you post, you think you have a high IQ but your a lightweight, if your going to hang crap on people when you post at least get your facts correct Sheldon.

Rhino?

Rhino?

Thats a compliment, Rhino has more brains than most people on this forum, including yourself.

Just this as a point of view. I dont think the Club as such would ever blame us ( supporters) as it will be well aware of its situation. I do however like the analogy in a fashion. A context it summons is that of performance.

Like it or not for most of us in life there ARE choices. Ive often thought that there may well be far more potential members out there than is often suggested as a supporter base. The issue however is many have become disenfranchised over time , even to the point of it becoming a little institutionalised.

Not all supporters are, nor will they ever be, nor should they have to be , Die-hards. Surely there is more than enough room to accommodate those that would dearly love to enjoy supporting a team they all but secretly, and sometimes begrudgingly support.

I dont know too many that enjoy visits to the Dentist or mechanics or the doctor etc for they all entail a time endured when something is invariably wrong. There are many who would view going to a Melbourne game ( let alone buying a membership )as akin to this form of torture. But they have a choice and its measured by a popular yardstick; bums on seats.

I will confess i dont go to every game. Over the last ten years i think Ive only averaged half a dozen games per season. remarrying and having a growing business have affected this but in all honesty if we were travelling really well I might just be encouraged to reschedule a few things or push the love of my wife a bit and attend a few more. But i dont like going to the dentist and the mechanic is never cheap. Watching Melbourne over the past decade is like watching an amateur theatre group doing groundhog day. Its often not pretty. My days on this mortal coil are numbered. Theres more pleasurable things in life than masochism.

Now I like to think of myself as a pretty full on Demon tragic and yet I make decisions about attending. Now if i can then surely the extrapolation is to those that arent even over the line but umming and ahhing. They too will have more pleasurable options in life.

So whilst I applaud and agree to the notion that winning is the reward for supporting , as a fan, a supporter then I would suggest that supporters and attendance is the reward to the club for winning.

Becomes a bit chicken and egg really. I cant affect how the team performs , I can only pay and attend. The Club however can affect how the team performs and by consequence how it is supported .

The MFC in order to grow its membership needs to re-engage a fractionalised supporter base. At the same time it needs to grow potential support or as some would have it growing the brand.

Its human nature to want to emulate a positive outcome. We might sympathise with the underdog and applaud a valiant loser but very few actually want to be them.

The cost of basic membership is less than a capuchino a week, not much really. Im sure there are thousands of people who have a soft spot for the ol' Dees that drink coffee and wouldnt blink about 2-3 coffees a day but baulk at signing on.

So why. I dont think its money . So it must be what you get for it.Strangely its not really about winning as that simply wont occur all the time ( rarely ) its about being associated with a group thats fair dinkum, that shares similar values and aspirations as yourself.

I , in my work , and other pursuits , give it a fair go. I try. I put in what I have and sometimes go overtime and over board to try to get the result I aim for. Sometimes this is achieved, other times I dont. It must be my crab like nature but I simply dont understand the idea of giving in. This is what I want from my club. To see a team try and not give in. In the 48 years of my support its a pretty empty bucket. I choose membership but cant begrudge anyone for not doing likewise as there are simply other choices in life.

Some call them fair weather suporters, some call them fickle. I just call them decision makers.

I simply refuse to believe its impossible to have a membership of 50 or even 60000. But until the MFC represents what many people would choose to associate with it wont happen.

Like it or not winning is the materialisation of many of the values that people hold dear, especially in sport.

Fan tastic BB59..

Hit the nail on its head.

Thats a compliment, Rhino has more brains than most people on this forum, including yourself.

Yep... Rhino :-D

............................ Rhino?

Hmmmmn,,,

You sure?

Last time I checked, turnover of $35,000,000 (don't quote me) for profit of $137,000 doesn't scream viable business, and even that's after some amazing people kicked in another 700 large, and some nice accounting (all above board Caro, F%^& off)

Where are the dozens of posts accusing this guy of having an agenda?

Yeah I know, petty, churlish, cheap shot in a thread where this doesn't belong. Ban me if you want.

Not a myth at all. It's not the travel but the heat and humidity in Darwin that cause problems. Look at teams who play games there. I think there have been a couple of wins the round after (vs startup teams and such), but generally it's a loss.

45HG16 did some research on this a few years ago and it turned out to be not the case at all. Compounded with the fact that as PaulRB mentioned, the teams that have been playing there have been horse poo anyway Darwin or not.

45HG16 did some research on this a few years ago and it turned out to be not the case at all. Compounded with the fact that as PaulRB mentioned, the teams that have been playing there have been horse poo anyway Darwin or not.

Got it one Nasher