Low Attendance

[Demon Dynasty 15,365]

2022 AFL Regular Season Home Match Attendance

Team Games Total Average  Richmond Tigers 5 277,499 55,500  Carlton Blues 6 282,203 47,034  Collingwood Magpies 6 269,286 44,881  Essendon Bombers 5 196,719 39,344  Melbourne Demons 6 228,300 38,050  Fremantle Dockers 5 170,361 34,072  Adelaide Crows 6 197,580 32,930  West Coast Eagles 5 162,576 32,515  Hawthorn Hawks 6 184,030 30,672  Sydney Swans 6 168,266 28,044  Port Adelaide Power 5 137,079 27,416  Geelong Cats 5 132,908 26,582  St Kilda Saints 6 153,412 25,569  Brisbane Lions 5 118,628 23,726  Western Bulldogs 5 109,417 21,883  North Melbourne Kangaroos 5 73,565 14,713  GWS Giants 6 66,265 11,044  Gold Coast Suns 5 51,178 10,236  ALL 98 2,979,272 30,401

 

[sisso 2,383]

I go every week and I don’t notice that we are “super quiet” and the opposition are noticeably louder, I think people on here just complain about anything when we start losing 

[Kozzie4PM 765]

9 hours ago, fr_ap said:

It's not really a valid excuse, but we're just not a desperate lowly supporter base. It's cliche, but there's a real class divide. Chelsea have the same thing in the EPL. 

If you go to a Pies, blues, bombers or tigers game, the types of people who attend are just so different to ours  Swathes of kids from struggling suburbs with faces painted. Grown men in worn down trackies and the 90s AFL bomber jackets, for whom you get the impression this is their single affordable outing for the week. Groups of 12 year olds with mullets or dusty cuts up to no good. To many of these people, their team winning is absolutely everything. Theyre raucous and raw in a way most Melbourne supporters would never understand. We get negative and groan, but our excitement just doesn't rival theirs when the whips are cracking. When kids attend our games, they're let down even if we win. The nervous energy in the crowd, the feeling of being in the place to be when there's 65k+....kids yearn for this. Crowds beget crowds. 

We don't have that working class, passionate supporter base. I'm not sure we ever will - certainly not without 10 years of sustained success bringing a new generation through. 

I don't buy this. I think it's a result of being an established contender. Anything less than a flag is a failure this year. There isn't much that can be achieved week in week out. Therefore there isn't much excitement at this time of year. But when you're middle of the road desperate to play finals, every game is a mini-elimination final with a better atmosphere. When you're the best side in it and you beat some team of nobodies by 28 pts it's just never going to be going off. And we're the reigning premiers so it's not like beating team x proves we're the "real deal". We already know we're the real deal. In the past dees fans have been accused of getting overexcited after a win. 

[Dr. Gonzo 22,412]

1 hour ago, sisso said:

I go every week and I don’t notice that we are “super quiet” and the opposition are noticeably louder, I think people on here just complain about anything when we start losing 

It definitely feels that way to me but maybe that's just where I'm sitting. In the AFL members it is sparse or full of opposition supporters and we generally have opposition supporters to our left in the Ponsford and to our right in the Southern Stand (although some of those bags are MFC reserved seating I think). Perhaps it seems louder in the Northern Stand but overall it feels like we are generally less loud than the opposition supporters.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Dr. Gonzo

[Macca 16,173]

We aren't a loud bunch and that's not going to change in the foreseeable future.  It's who we are

However, we are quite loud during finals at the MCG so there's that.  The place was rockin' in '87 and during the finals under Northey.  Similarly during Neale's reign.  But big games and finals only to my observations.  We also got amongst it during the 2 finals in 2018

But I believe our age demographic needs to change before we see more raucous support.  And that could take 10 years or more (so long as we have a sustained run of contending)

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by Macca

[Go the Biff 3,127]

8 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

It takes years to build a Serious and loud Supporter base. Not one season, we have got some new supporters but we have to keep winning big games

That will come. 
The Boys are now learning that defending greatness is harder than getting there. 
Goodwin defended in 98

Yze did it as a coach 2013-15

Let’s see how strong the MFC is right now

Reckon you're spot on here @Sir Why You Little.

Winning a flag does some great things for a supporter base. What it doesn't do is double it overnight.

57 years with little success has lost us a few generations of supporters. I suspect Hawthorn are the chief beneficiaries. That will take a long time and a lot of success to recover from.

I was going to come off the long run-up on this but rather than boring folks with my waffle, will instead list a few observations

1) With the exception of Carlton, crowds are down across the board. It's not just an MFC issue.

2) In the last couple of years, circumstances have forced matchgoers to get their footy fix on TV. A lot have found that for various reasons, they like it

3) At a time when the AFL should be doing everything possible to make it easier for people to go to the footy, they seem to be making it harder. Ticketek etc.

4) We have over 60k members. I'd love a breakdown (for all clubs) as to how many of them are full season ticket holders. A spike in membership doesn't necessarily guarantee a spike in attendance. I know several members who through occupation, location, health status etc who know they can rarely if ever attend matches. But they are happy to buy memberships they can't use to "do their bit for the club". I know others with limited game memberships who are picking & choosing which games to got to. And our crunch games are in the back half of the season

Given the trend, I actually think we're doing ok attendance wise

[Sir Why You Little 34,430]

6 minutes ago, Go the Biff said:

Reckon you're spot on here @Sir Why You Little.

Winning a flag does some great things for a supporter base. What it doesn't do is double it overnight.

57 years with little success has lost us a few generations of supporters. I suspect Hawthorn are the chief beneficiaries. That will take a long time and a lot of success to recover from.

I was going to come off the long run-up on this but rather than boring folks with my waffle, will instead list a few observations

1) With the exception of Carlton, crowds are down across the board. It's not just an MFC issue.

2) In the last couple of years, circumstances have forced matchgoers to get their footy fix on TV. A lot have found that for various reasons, they like it

3) At a time when the AFL should be doing everything possible to make it easier for people to go to the footy, they seem to be making it harder. Ticketek etc.

4) We have over 60k members. I'd love a breakdown (for all clubs) as to how many of them are full season ticket holders. A spike in membership doesn't necessarily guarantee a spike in attendance. I know several members who through occupation, location, health status etc who know they can rarely if ever attend matches. But they are happy to buy memberships they can't use to "do their bit for the club". I know others with limited game memberships who are picking & choosing which games to got to. And our crunch games are in the back half of the season

Given the trend, I actually think we're doing ok attendance wise

Yep. Agreed 100%
What the Flag did last year was get kids putting on Melbourne Jumpers and 60+000 Members. Which hopefully is a solid base to grow from

[Go the Biff 3,127]

31 minutes ago, Macca said:

We aren't a loud bunch and that's not going to change in the foreseeable future.  It's who we are

However, we are quite loud during finals at the MCG so there's that.  The place was rockin' in '87 and during the finals under Northey.  Similar during Neale's reign.  But big games and finals only to my observations.  We also got amongst it during the 2 finals in 2018

But I believe our age demographic needs to change before we see more raucous support.  And that could take 10 years or more (so long as we have a sustained run of contending)

 

 

2018 when Mich Hannan was racing towards goal was seriously loud.

On a fairly bleak May Sunday in 2008, inspired by little Aussie Woneamirri, a crowd of less than 20k sounded like 120k. The joint was heaving. One of my favourite days at the footy. That said, I'd rather not have to give the oppo 50 points head start to generate atmosphere. 

[Lucifers Hero 36,991]

While we have 60,000+ members it is worth noting that many are 3 game, armchair, country or interstate members who simply can't get to every Home game.  And of course quite a lot would be kids or older folk.

Would those groups add up to 10K - 15K.  No idea.

Clearly about 10 - 15K are 'new members' who have joined the ranks in the last few years and may not have a ritual of going to footy games live.

So forgetting the issues with transport, tickets, covid, game time etc I feel it is a bit simplistic to say: where are our 60K members?

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,394]

On 6/5/2022 at 11:01 AM, DeeZee said:

We’ve always been a quiet crowd and even our Cheer squad doesn’t seem to have the same voice as a lot of other teams.

60,000 members plus MCC and only 15-30k turning up, what’s the problem?

Are they content now that we’ve won one?

I prefer to take the glass half full approach. That means there's a whole group of people prepared to outlay money for membership whether they attend or not.

I'm more interested in getting more non-members to games. Firstly, the best chance to convert them to members is if they become invested in the club and attendance is the best way to do that (although winning would help) and secondly, it's additional revenue.

The bigger issue here is not about MFC members, MCC members or non-members attending or not attending Melbourne games, though. It's what is the AFL going to do about it? What process will they undertake to identify why, exactly, numbers have dropped across the board? And how do they fix that? Is it the game? Is it the umpiring? Is it the scheduling? Is it the floating fixture? Is it Covid? Is it the ticketing process? Is it the cost? Is it competition from other sports and events? Is it the effect on consumer attitudes of streaming TV? Has the AFL given too much to its broadcast partners at the expense of those who might otherwise attend games? 

I think this is the biggest task facing the new CEO of the AFL. By far.

  

[praha 10,270]

13 hours ago, Go the Biff said:

2018 when Mich Hannan was racing towards goal was seriously loud.

On a fairly bleak May Sunday in 2008, inspired by little Aussie Woneamirri, a crowd of less than 20k sounded like 120k. The joint was heaving. One of my favourite days at the footy. That said, I'd rather not have to give the oppo 50 points head start to generate atmosphere. 

I always think of the 2008 comeback against Freo. The game against Brisbane that same year as well. 16k and very loud.

If Sydney had been premiers and on top and the roles were reversed, I suspect we may have been louder. As it stands supporters are getting up and about because they're beating the colossus. Freo and Sydney both paying close to $5. Rank outsiders by a fair margin and no one tipping them. If the Pies get going on Monday you can bet they'll be louder than they were yesterday vs Hawthorn. Everyone is eyeing us and wants to take us down.

We still don't get respect, neither as a club nor a supporter base. We may well lose on Monday but true respect earned will be how we back it up in the second half of the year. As it stands our reputation as a club is on shaky ground  Harsh reality. 

[Sir Why You Little 34,430]

17 minutes ago, praha said:

. As it stands our reputation as a club is on shaky ground  Harsh reality. 

Wow, I wouldn’t quite go that far at 10-2 and still on Top as Reigning Premier. 
Personally I don’t give a Flying F what other Supporters think of us. They hate us… i hate 17 other Clubs quite happily 

[Engorged Onion 9,255]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jun/06/why-has-there-been-a-downturn-in-afl-crowds-this-season-its-not-just-covid-to-blame

[Lucifers Hero 36,991]

9 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jun/06/why-has-there-been-a-downturn-in-afl-crowds-this-season-its-not-just-covid-to-blame

All very good reasons.

This gave me a good laugh:  "Given the choice between a night on the couch with Brian Taylor and the gang, or (risk) having your head split open by a wind instrument, what would you choose? Actually, don’t answer that question".

[poita 3,573]

I've said this before, people just don't go to the football any more. Covid hasn't helped, as people have become used to watching games from the comfort of their lounge rooms. The AFL are also largely responsible for this with their appalling scheduling of matches and the exorbitant costs of attending.

I know a number of very proud Richmond supporters who happily attended for years as a family when they were an average team. Now 90% of their games are at night, all are reserved seating and they can't justify paying a small fortune to attend and having the kids up until midnight, even as the competition's dominant team for several years. This is our future if we keep winning and growing, and it alienates a lot of people.

Now people are more likely to buy a three game membership, attend a couple of marquee matches for "the experience", and spend more time queuing for beer than watching the game. But you can be sure that their Instagram followers will know all about it. 

I enjoy the experience of being at games and will happily attend each week. But I can understand why people aren't going with the costs, the travel, the scheduling of matches, the safety issues, and COVID / flu issues. This is a long term trend and the AFL need to make the game more appealing to families, or they will lose the next generation of supporters coming to games. Maybe they are happy to have teams playing in front of empty stadiums as in the NRL, but I can't imagine the clubs or players will be happy.

Are Melbourne fans worse than any others? Probably not really, it's just that Collingwood and Richmond have the benefit of locking in marquee fixtures a couple of times a year. Certainly the lack of crowd noise in recent weeks has been a stark contrast to previous years, and is representative of a crowd that doesn't really care about what's happening on the field. It is very disappointing when a small, but dedicated Freo supporter group is making more noise than the home crowd.

 

 

[Tracca 608]

On 6/5/2022 at 7:41 AM, praha said:

That's AFL Members. Melbourne has among the lowest number of AFL members in the league. It's always a dead zone. I'm an AFL member but I walk around now and sit or stand near the cheersquad or in Olympic Stand.

Yeah it is, where the cheersquad is the two bays on either side of the CS are usually full up. we sit olympic stand M53 and the bottom level is full most of the time. AFL members side is always pretty empty

[waynewussell 4,088]

Apologies if these statistics have already been posted in this thread.

Melbourne v Sydney, MCG Saturday 4th June 2022, Attendance = 32,753

Melbourne v Sydney, Average Attendance, 2000 - 2021 = 32,337

the 2022 attendance was better than 9 off the 15 games between the clubs at the MCG since 2000

Problem? What problem?

[Demon_spurs 1,658]

You know, 32k for a crowd against an interstate game wasn't really that bad. The Hawthorn - Collingwood game got 43k, for two Melbourne based teams with a combined membership of 150k. 

[Fork 'em 6,507]

On 6/5/2022 at 12:36 PM, titan_uranus said:

 Now that we've won it, I think there are parts of our core supporter base who have lost the desperation and passion that the 57 year drought brought to all of us. A bit of "oh well, so what if we lose it this year, we won it last year!".

Yep ... Might watch it again now to cheer me up.

[Kozzie4PM 765]

22 minutes ago, Demon_spurs said:

You know, 32k for a crowd against an interstate game wasn't really that bad. The Hawthorn - Collingwood game got 43k, for two Melbourne based teams with a combined membership of 150k. 

34k for the dogs vs cats game.

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,126]

They should’ve gotten more than last year’s game given we have a premiership under the belt this time around.

[Wodjathefirst 2,273]

35 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

Apologies if these statistics have already been posted in this thread.

Melbourne v Sydney, MCG Saturday 4th June 2022, Attendance = 32,753

Melbourne v Sydney, Average Attendance, 2000 - 2021 = 32,337

the 2022 attendance was better than 9 off the 15 games between the clubs at the MCG since 2000

Problem? What problem?

The problem as I see it is the lack of noise and passion coming from our mob.  Particularly sobering when we are ‘out noised’ by interstate supporters. 
And I know we lost both those games and the follow up comments that we had nothing to cheer for etc, but that doesn’t cut it with me. 
Pretty much the same outcome for most of the other games we played this year thus far.

I guess if you support Melbourne our crowds are different- sadly it is what it is.

[JTR 2,627]

NO Victorian team draws a big crowd vs interstate sides.

So far this season there have only been two such games with a higher crowd than we had on Saturday night.

Filth vs Adelaide in R2 (37,000)

Carlton vs Port in R5 (33,000)

[Brownie 5,159]

2 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

All very good reasons.

This gave me a good laugh:  "Given the choice between a night on the couch with Brian Taylor and the gang, or (risk) having your head split open by a wind instrument, what would you choose? Actually, don’t answer that question".

That's it for me. The AFL GameDay experience and ridiculous crowd activation is pretty annoying.

Hard to get a drink and food and it's eyewateringly expensive.

You can just stay home and get activated by BT Derwayne or Huddo and Brayshaw yelling at you the whole time. Why leave the couch?

Hang on...... What if the AFL had BT's commentary come over the PA LIVE AT THE GROUND!!!! Woweeee.

Am I about to get banned from the site for this suggestion?

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,394]

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

They should’ve gotten more than last year’s game given we have a premiership under the belt this time around.

Make of it what you will from the following facts:

Melbourne v Sydney Saturday 4 June 2022 at the MCG starting at 7.25pm - 32,753

Melbourne v Sydney Saturday 8 May 2021 at the MCG starting at 7.25pm - 35,567

Going into the game in 2021, Melbourne was top of the ladder, Sydney was fourth. In 2022, Melbourne was top and Sydney seventh.

On 4 June 2022, very cold and some showers. On 8 May 2021, the day had reached 19.8 degrees and there was no rain.

Arguably 2021 would have been more "Covid-affected" in the sense that I suspect more people would have been avoiding activities involving crowds.

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by La Dee-vina Comedia
Corrected year