Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury suggested yesterday that he would be open to a nighttime AFL grand final after attending the Super Bowl.
I can see how this appeals to people and appreciate what a spectacle it could be, but I think it’s a bad idea.
First of all, why throw 115 years of tradition out the window? What excuse would the AFL use – “We’re doing it because we can”?
I fear that this will happen eventually.
Perhaps a twilight grand final at 4:40pm wouldn’t be so bad – the Hawthorn v Adelaide 2012 preliminary final in the 5:15pm time slot wasn’t terrible.
But what we will miss most with a night grand final is the whole grand final ‘day’ feel. For many of us, it’s the biggest day on the calendar, and a day we cherish every year.
I’d like to think we want to keep alive the grand final day BBQs, the task of chosing the first goal kicker and Norm Smith Medallist, and then the all-important 2:30pm bounce.
Again, I must ask both Pendlebury and those in favour the age-old question: “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
I see this as another ‘bright idea’ from the USA and it’s far too much of a glitz and glamour concept.
Why do we seem to want to blindly follow the Americans? Our big day doesn’t require over-hype and sparkly things.
Here it’s about the game; the main event. And this should not be overshadowed by annoying sounds and bright lights.
It’s a game, not an amusement park.
Is daytime not ideal for younger children as well?
I’m not taking a pot-shot at Pendlebury or Collingwood, because they’re not the first to raise the idea.
But please keep the day grand final in tact. After all, it’s the way it should be.
Bahn
Roar Rookie
Dude, the FA Cup Final's lost the afternoon kickoff as well! It's in the dreaded twilight zone (5:15 to 7pm, plus possible extra time). It was changed by the backdoor - the 2012 final moved because of Premier League games at 3pm - and it wasn't actually instigated by TV. But evidently the FA could ask for more TV money that way, so they've made it permanent. (Incidentally, the current head of the FA is former TV boss Greg Dyke.) http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/05/13/the-fa-cup-final-lost-its-lustre-long-ago/
Scott Anderson
Guest
I totally agree with your sentiment on Good Friday football. Cant wait for it, its gonna be huge. I'm not entirely convinced about a night grand final, maybe twilight would be good, but you raise some great points. The main thing I can think of at the moment, which noone seems to be mentioning, is how a later start would affect the day in general. At the moment it all starts at 6 or 7am with the Grand Final breakfast, then on the TV highlights/interviews/analysis/etc until the pregame entertainment. It just seems to work so well. Making it a night game potentially makes the whole day as it stands too long. That's not too much of an issue though, that stuff will all work itself out. I find many people who have a problem with a night GF simply disregard it as "blindly following America's lead". We seem to have this national idea that just because America does some stupid things, it automatically means everything they do is stupid. As I said, I'm not convinced about a night GF, but I'm totally willing to give it a try.
M.J
Guest
Maybe people should consider TV ratings as a reason NOT to host a night GF. As it stands every year apart from one date (September 30) the night following the AFL GF is an NRL preliminary final. I doubt the NRL would budge from that time slot, knowing that they will very easily take 1 million viewers away from the AFL showpiece to watch their code, so instead of a national audience of 2 million average the game would battle to attract 1.3 nationally which would be a disaster for the AFL and their push into northern markets. Plus Saturday night is the lowest rating night to start with, more people out partying than at home in front of the box. As for the so called spectacle, nobody cares about half time and pre game shows. Pre match has the TV in the background as conversations take place, and half time is spent restocking liquid supplies and having a kick or a half time sprint. Nobody cares about so called artists miming to backing tapes of their D Grade electronic doof doof crap. And night football isn't all that its cracked up to be either. Sure most prelims were close but many are blighted with below standard skills and mistakes. Cant really remember too many decent night finals apart from the 07 prelim in recent times.
josh
Roar Rookie
It's a public holiday the following Monday.
Knoxy
Guest
Absolutely. I'm not a fan of the Sunday twilight games and it annoys the hell out of me when Channel 7 cut straight to the news after a match. Thank goodness for foxtel. :D
AREH
Roar Guru
Think you're probably right TV will dominate the AFL It even does now. ie. Sunday Afternoon games pushed to 3:20pm in order to allow Channel 7 to broadcast live, which is then immediately followed by the 6pm news
AREH
Roar Guru
That's true, we have that ability But sadly I gradually see it fade away as time goes on
Slane
Guest
Meanwhile, the AFL capital is also one of the most diverse cities on the face of the planet. The host of numerous world class sporting events(all attended at record levels) and the most supported A-League team in the country.
cowelly
Guest
Nah not a good idea. As a RL supporter, I don't really care that the NRL grand final was moved. They moved it back to the day and I couldn't have cared less. I think SOO may have made us all get used to the idea of big games at night. However, we don't have the big GF day like the AFL does - maybe because Origin and a few other events in the year have taken the gloss off the grand final. To be perfectly honest, I don't care what the crowd number is, who the band is that is playing there or who the opposition is.. All I care about is seeing THE COWBOYS win the bloody thing!
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Just stand in awe as an ALF type actually realised *any* other sport existed.
Slane
Guest
You win.
Gyfox
Guest
What the AFL has is the GF Breakfast & 17 other functions in the morning, followed by lunches. The day builds up at the ground & in most Melbourne pubs & backyards (weather permitting!) NRL's Sunday night GF has nothing to compare & all the kids have a late night before school. Does Union actually have an Australian GF?
Australian Rules
Guest
The 2 best teams still do "go at it", but you're right that the GF was corporatised many years ago. Prelims are the best games of the year - a win gets you to the big dance, and then anything can happen. The loudest sporting events I've ever been to were the 2011 and 2013 Prelims at the MCG.
Australian Rules
Guest
You mean like the ALeague blindly follows other Australian sports by having club nicknames, a salary cap, and finals at the end of the H&A season? The AFL has a much older history than the NFL, and holds on to its traditions better than most sports in my opinion.
HarryHP
Guest
Surely a prosperous Australian Football League would be better placed to help clubs that really need it. Yes I know that sounds a bit like socialism and that clubs should be helping themselves, but I still think the extra money generated from increased TV rights is worth it.
Franko
Guest
Entertainment seems to be the big push at AFL house for GF day. Better bands, more glitz, more spectacle, presumably the end goal is to have ad's specifically made for AFL GF day, like the superbowl has 'superbowl' ads now and the $$$ they command. In all honesty, I just want to see the two best sides going at it, with as many of their fans there as possibly. It seems the amount of fan tickets shrinks every year as more and more 'packages' become available. Prelims are the fans finals, the GF was sold some years ago.
Franko
Guest
Staying sober from Grand Final breakfast to 3pm is hard enough, let's not add a few more hours... :(
Nezza
Guest
Well said Ryan! I am a marriage celebrant and it is the only day I refuse to work as I don't want to miss the game (why would anyone want to get married then anyway?). Always want it to stay as it is, particularly as my stress levels were high enough by 2.30pm in the years the Saints were playing! And if ONE DAY I get to celebrate, I don't want the day to be over nearly as soon as the game is over! Keep some semblance of tradition please AFL .... but I am probably dreaming.
Football United
Guest
The AFL want to blindly follow the Americans at everything else, it is inevitable they will change this as well.
alicesprings
Guest
It will be a key bargaining chip with the media rights negotiations soon to commence. If they offer an extra $100m over 5yrs if would be mighty hard to refuse. It will make for a long last saturday in September however. Will be fascinating to see how the media rights play out, just with CPI the rights should go for $300m/pa. I would be buggered if they went for over $350m/pa that said they did achieve a 60% rise with the last lot. An increase of 60% would see the AFL hit the $2B mark!! WTF. For the record i don't see anything wrong with a night/twilight grand final. Kick off at 630pm?