Hell yeah.
In debates, it’s often useful to provide a few figures to give your argument that little bit of academic rigour to separate it from the rest of the noise, which is based on the “people I speak to” school of thought.
I’ll offer one: 20,059.
Not since Round 1 of the 2000 NRL season have so many people squeezed themselves into Blue Tongue Stadium, not for the Rugby World Cups, not for the A-League, and not for the countless other NRL matches which have looked to pick up a quick cheque from the people of the Coast and a quick beer at Club Troppo.
Just why so many fans chose to flock to this game when so many others have failed to capture the public imagination is a little bit of a mystery. But one worth investigating, especially seeing the club which took the game to Gosford could be justifiably seen as public enemy number one as they’ve spent a not inconsiderate amount of time bemoaning the part of their history which forced them to play there.
Most importantly, it was a quality fixture on a Sunday afternoon.
Many matches at Gosford seem to be the 5.30 Saturday fixture, as a club looks to cut their losses against opponents with smaller travelling fan numbers (Sharks, Storm, Warriors) or cash in on the Knights travelling fans.
So that is probably the first starting point for any future games. Make it a good one.
Fans who had travelled up from Sydney and were turned away at the gate must have thought they’d entered a parallel universe. I normally find fans have a big enough beef if they have to queue, let alone if they can’t get in.
There are obviously other compelling reasons to expand the game to the likes of Perth and Central Queensland. But as long as they can show the correct level of financial support, then you are a hard marker if you claim the Central Coast Bears have any other criteria that they need to fulfill.
But not only did the fans turn up, they were entertained with a game from the code’s top shelf.
Did Robbie Farah dive? I don’t know.
Far be it from me to judge whether a bloke is soft or not, as I take in the match from a very safe distance. Also, when we have just gone through the whole Paul Briggs farce, it’s hard not to be sceptical when the team doctors are wheeled out to talk about how crook a bloke was at halftime and teammates talk about how tough a bloke is.
At least the bookies weren’t offering a market on whether Steve Matai would knock anyone out.
The fact that I viewed the match from my lounge room also left me unable to answer the other key question in the wash up: Just how hard would it have been to get into Club Troppo and a buy a few schooners?
Col the Bear
Guest
could have been 92 and 93 you were referring to Terry.. 14.6.92 V Manly at NSO 18,076 Norths won 24-10 and round 1 - 14.3.93 V manly we won 19-4 , 17,691.. and who could ever forget the side of 91 that beat Manly in the 1st final of 1.9.91 at SFS Bears won 28-16 probably our sweetest victory crowd 32,878.. and refering to peters article I think you can see what the general concession is.. WE WANT THE CC BEARS...
bilbo
Guest
Understand what youre saying, but I am a RL fan overall, not just a Bears fan with selfish intentions. I have seen my club fall by the wayside under the guise of a stronger competition, and if that was what is required, so be it - I dont want to see a step backwards. I would love for the Bears to come back in the comp, perhaps relocated, or perhaps from the Central Coast, as long as we could be absolutely sure that it is a smart decision. Their stadium needs to be bigger - 25K should be minimum these days.
The Special One
Guest
Peter Peters having his word. Don't get into bed with Bears http://au.sports.yahoo.com/nrl/blogs/post/-/peterpeters/125/1
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
just in sociological sense im saying. people from the north shore think we're bogans, and we think they're up themselves, we're two different sets of people and the ryde eastwood hawks leagues are associated with balmain. in rugby we're eastwood etc etc i understand what you're saying but as a nordistrictian i take it as a point of pointing out they're different socio-cultural and economic areas
Col the Bear
Guest
Rugbyfuture it is part of the norths metropolitan representatives PSSA .. the district is made up of CC,NS,RYDE,Manly.. they wear red and black..
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
just like to point out that north ryde isnt north shore, but close enough i get your point (its called the northern districts)
Beowulf
Guest
THe NSW coal seam runs directly under Gosford Stadium - we could put a shaft down there!
Territory Terry
Guest
Maybe the CC Bears bid should be looking at mineral exploration too... We won the game I was at Col (something like 24-8, can't remember). It was a Sunday arvo and they just ended opening the gates to everyone. There was definitely more than 20,000 there - Rugby League Heaven...
Territory Terry
Guest
Uncle Clive pouring millions into CQ bid - and you're accusing us of pipe dreams!?
bilbo
Guest
But historically it has never been a part of League culture, especially in Sydney. Even in the sixties, where league broke the SCG records for attendances, the week to week attendances werent strong. The other aspect is that the NRL have strategically targeted TV rights as their bread and butter - with great success as the NRL now rates highly all year round. However, the down side to that is poor crowds - I wonder how the AFL's crowds would be influenced if all their games were shown on TV live, if they had a monday night fixture, several fixtures in non-traditional times (in NRL the midday Sunday fixture and 5.30 saturday fixtures receive much poorer attendances than strong timeslots like Friday night and Sunday afternoon). Also, league is a great TV game, and many people will elect to stay home and watch the game on TV if the weather is bad, if the transport is questionable etc. It is remarkable that the NRL have four of the top ten rating shows each year on TV when these games are not shown live into three states (WA, SA and Tas) and often given poor coverage in Vic.
Drifter
Guest
I do admit though, I enjoy being able to just walk up and buy a ticket on the day. Try that a Crows game at AAMI.
Drifter
Guest
I dont get that either. Maybe it's not part of the culture like other states to go to a game. I think in the last few years I've been to far more NRL games in Sydney than my so called NRL fan colleagues at work. And Im an AFL fan originally from SA. Really, these kind of discussion about expansion etc. would not be needed if the fans got off their bums and actually went to the games.
Drifter
Guest
I am relaitively new to the Central Coast (7 years) but this place is NRL mad. Sure the kids play soccer but the Mariners sure aint capturing the attention of the early days. The adult soccer fans prefer to watch EPL, thats what they tell me at the Tallies. It would be great for the coast and especially Gosford businesses etc. if there were big crowds every couple of weeks in the area. God knows the Gosford CBD needs something.
Beowulf
Guest
Is Uncle Clive an asset or a liability? The last few QLD franchises in soccer (and to an extent G.Coast Titans) have promised much but only been a drain on the codes. We don't need billions in dollars from miners - we have billions in dollars of corporate power in Nth Sydney, Nth Ryde and Chatswood whose markets are Australians, not China and India. As stated, am a fan of CQLD as you have lots of juniors like the Central Coast, and its a heartland for League, but you have no threats so no urgency to the bid. C.Coast's north shore catchment area is competing against soccer, union and AFL franchises. They'll be secured first then the code will be secure enough to expand to CQLD, Wellington, Adelaide, PNG.
Col the Bear
Guest
no we don't have the mines, but the CCBears will have a business plan second to none.. I'll let you wait in anticipation for that.. But it is going to knock your socks off.. wasn't there some issues the A League had with Clive recently over the Gold Coast team..it's escaped me for the moment. maybe you can jog my memory a bit.
Mick
Guest
lol, doubt it mate. Do the Bears have billions of dollars of mining investment pouring into their region? No. CQ does, and you can be sure that uncle Clive will be keen to throw some of his millions towards this team.
Col the bear
Guest
Due to health and safety these days terryI'd be surprised if that number is past as all the kids were inside the fence I was also there and sadly we lost to the dreaded maroon that day 11to8 but it was a heck of a game.and Mick we are doing everything in our power to make sure the cc and the ns finally get their team again
Beowulf
Guest
Nice one Mick! We all know CQLD's population is 400K, spread out over a size of half of Europe. Central Coast/north shore & Perth both have catchment populations over 1 million in a compact base around their stadiums & Central Coast's population alone will boom over the next 15 years to the same as CQLDs. Rocky has a pop of just 60k. The stadium has been promised by Anna Bligh, who won't be around much longer. Your number #1 supporter is Kevin Rudd. You don't have team colours, a nickname, major sponsors, financial members or a team playing in the junior leagues as the Reds and Bears do. If your bid was stronger, it probably would be ahead of the Reds as the 18th franchise after the Bears, but the Bears and Reds' bids are more advanced - they have stadiums, financial members, major sponsors, teams in the NSW junior comps AND the tacit endorsement of D.Gallop. CQLD will get in eventually, but you have to work bloody hard for it.....and build your stadium first otherwise you'll miss out in 2017 to Ipswich/Logan and Wellington. Its taken the Bears 10 years to be in the position they are in (if you're lucky, maybe only another 6 or 7 for CQLD) and we are all only talking about expansion because the Bears never gave up pushing for it. So stand aside, here come the mighty Bears!
Jeff
Guest
and those numbers are achieved without Local' derbies. Away fans rely purely on Channel None to see their Melb games, God I feel sorry for interstate supporters when they play us.
Mick
Guest
Bears are a pipe dream. Living in the past guys, look to the future: Central Queensland. The population is far bigger than anybody in NSW cares to know about and a stadium has been promised by the gov't if their bid is accepted. Surely the fact that you guys lost state of origin......again should be a wake up call. QLD is where it's at. Furthmore, mining would be than willing to jump onboard. They already sponsor sporting teams further north.