A fundamental problem with modern sport is that many of the teams possess uncertain identities. This makes it difficult for supporters to form emotional connections with them and with matches involving these teams.
Context is what makes sport the fantastic spectacle that it is. For a match to have meaning to the supporters and the players, it has to have significance.
Context can firstly be defined by what’s at stake in a particular match.
The difference between a Nadal-Federer exhibition match and a Wimbledon final is not only what the match means to the fans, but what it means to the players. The tension before the final is palpable, and regardless of the outcome, the context creates a drama all its own.
Secondly, context can be defined by the identities of opponents. One of the reasons new teams struggle to pull crowds is because they have not yet created their own identity.
For example, it has been difficult to draw crowds to the Asian Champions League because teams such as Kawasaki Frontale and Guangzhou Evergrande lack identity for the Australian public.
Those teams have their own avid supporters with an intimate knowledge of their side, but the real context is only formed by including an intimate knowledge of the opposition. This causes emotions to run deep, and often results in the clash between the two sides being seen as ‘great’.
Clubs consisting of players who are defended to the hilt by their supporters are a rarity these days, although they do exist in pockets. They are usually sides that identify themselves as locals.
The Queensland Reds, for example, fielded a team a couple of weeks ago that was made up entirely of their academy squad members. The Geelong football club also has a local focus, rarely trading players in from other clubs.
When there is a large transfer of players between teams, it is extremely difficult to keep one’s emotions in check.
Imagine, for example, a Penrith supporter last year rattling off the 25 reasons he hates the St George Illawarra Dragons, and in particular “that pretender” Jamie Soward, only to be told that Soward is to be the Panthers five-eighth in 2014. This was surely emotionally difficult for him to come to terms with.
Team identities can be successful even if they are overwhelmingly negative. The Brisbane Broncos have been an amazing team for the NRL, loved by some of those living north of the border but also loathed by many.
This loathing often gets people through the turnstiles to express their dislike of the team. The Broncos, Manly, Canterbury and the Crusaders are teams whose matches are always well supported – not only at home but by the supporters of teams they play against.
Understanding the nature of teams that people love to hate is crucial to any competition. After all, everybody loves a good villain.
A team’s identity also has to be recognised and embraced by their own fans. Getting the fans to buy into what the team says about them is a strategy which marketers would define as brand engagement.
Collingwood fans are one of the best examples of this. No other team in Australia has the kind of instant recognition between team and supporter that Collingwood does, so much so that being called a bogan elsewhere is the same as being called a Collingwood supporter in Melbourne.
This draws me into the argument of changing names, a la North Melbourne to the Kangaroos, to remove geographical boundaries. This idea is crazy, because it only results in long-term supporters being isolated from their association to the team and confuses the rest of the world.
I am sure the 659 million Manchester United fans do not mind not living in Manchester, and they would probably storm the city if the team changed names.
Ninety-nine per cent of teams in the world focus so much on the here and now of winning that they don’t see the long-term picture.
They need to ask questions like how many people would show up if we were coming last?
How many of our players do our supporters see as part of the fabric of the team?
If we are winning, why isn’t our stadium full?
The NFL’s Green Bay Packers have sold out every regular season game since 1959. They went below a 50 per cent winning record in 16 of those seasons, and have the smallest market in the NFL. They now have a stadium with a capacity of over 80,000.
By contrast, between 1982 and 1994 the LA Raiders won a Super Bowl and had only three seasons under 50 per cent of wins, but by 1994 the attendances were as low as half that of the Packers in the largest city in the USA.
The greatest or best-known sports teams are those that have formed an identity for themselves over the years. It is this identity that supporters of the team hold onto and embrace when following the team through a particular season or tournament.
As players are now transferring from one club to another more frequently, maintaining an identity becomes difficult. For teams to maintain a large support base, they need to formulate and mould an identity for themselves which supporters will recognise and buy into.
Importantly, this identity must arise organically out of a real connection between club, playing group and supporter base, as nothing is more unappealing than an artificial, top-down corporate image forced upon a side to generate interest.
So which teams do you love to hate, and which teams do you struggle to care about?
Football_illiterate
Guest
great article ben! i have been thinking about this a bit lately especially with respect to the crowd situation in league. i can only look on in awe and amazement at the passion and inclusiveness evident in soccer clubs and their fans around the world with.. the best example of a club actually standing for something to allow fan emotional investment in my mind is with athletic bilbao in the spanish primera league that has an official recruitment policy of only contracting players who were born or learned their football in Basque areas. They are a very successful club that have never been relegated from the Primera and were runner up in Europa League in 2012 and constantly compete in the domestic league with a budget and player pool far smaller than their rivals.. They are also not a sporting corp but a member owned club. Then of course there are also the ownership structures evident in the bundesliga where all clubs must be majority owned by fans which has given its comp the honor of the highest average crowds in football around the world and the second highest across all sports.. Interestingly they also have the second lowest ticket prices in the major leagues across europe. as a rugby league fan all my life i can only hope the NRL start to look globally at the most sensible and logical structures that will allow the successful operation of a sporting competition.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Actually that should read1/4. Most of their crowds are 10-12,000 in a 52,000 capacity. BANDWAGON
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Lets see if this passion lasts when the Wanderers start to lose hey? When they has about 3 loses in a row crowds when sub 12,000 and who knows what they would end up being if they had a string of seasons near bottom. At this stage the Wanderers are the biggest band wagon club in Australia bar the Roar this weekend who have no problems selling out a 'home' GF but struggle to 3/4 fill their home ground at the best of times.
Lachlan
Guest
A feeling of "representation" is so important. I think in Sydney a lot of rugby league fans are a bit disenchanted. Wearing the jersey used to be about tribal loyalty to the part of Sydney (or Australia) you came from. That's broken down a lot recently. People more around the city a lot, and so do the players. I still proudly wear the Roosters colours, but outside of finals time (or state of origin) there's just not much passion. Same goes for Rugby union too - it's hard to get passionate about the Waratahs. On the other hand, the A-league has been going gangbusters in Western Sydney with the Wanderers - probably because the fans picked the name, jersey colours, and the club values. The club really represents the region really well, and that's why they have such fanatical fans - they're expecting 10,000 of them up at Lang Park on Sunday.
Pete75
Guest
I agree Ben. I also tend to think that a consistent identity through visual identity is important. Changing jerseys/colour every season is stupid. People identify with the colours, logo and jersey as much as anything.
Nick
Guest
I'm still recovering...
Ben Darwin
Expert
Thanks Chopper, Whilst I think geography has some really strong drivers in the end people follow people. If you ask people why they follow certain teams it won't be because they live somewhere but more based around a family connection or admiration of a player. What can drive this is contractual stability. I don't really know where green bay is but i know who Vince Lombardi and Brett Favre are. The more consistency you have in a lineup the more people are likely attach themselves to the team its identity.
Chopper
Guest
I am not suggesting culling any of the Sydney teams - but the teams on Sydney's fringe should expand their outreach into the Regional Areas. * Newcastle Knights represent both Newcastle and the North Coast which have a combined population of around 700,000. * Canberra Raiders represent both the ACT and NSW Riverina which have a combined population of around 700,000. * St George Illawarra represents the Illawarra, South Coast and a small part of Sydney which have a combined population of around 700,000. * Sydney Metropolitan (excluding Penrith and Campbelltown) has a population of 3.5 Million, and it can be represented by 5 teams. * Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers need to push into neighboring Country Rugby League territories.
boonboon
Roar Pro
Sydney is 11 times as big as Newcastle yet only has 7 more teams - Rugby League needs to widen its appeal in Sydney and less teams won't do that
boonboon
Roar Pro
Nothing at stake - mate mayby for you but I'm a country boy and that was all I wanted to achieve was to play for country and it was and still my favourite game of the year. Much more important the Origin because when you come from the Country you hate city people more the QLDers
Chopper
Guest
Ben, what is the best way to forge an identity for a sporting team ? Prior to 1982, all of the Premier NSWRL teams were based in the inner Sydney and their identities were often class based. But the demographics of those old suburbs have changed drastically since the 1970's and 80's, so the class-based identities are no longer relevant. Geography must play an important part in forging an identity and the 8 regional NRL Clubs (Canberra, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Brisbane, New Zealand, North Queensland, Melbourne, St George Illawarra) have a significant advantage over the 8 Metropolitan Clubs of Greater Sydney. The Sydney Metropolitan should have no more than 4 Clubs - corresponding to the regions defined by the 4 compass points (Manly, Souths, Parramatta and Canterbury). That means Penrith need to identify themselves with the Blue Mountains and Western NSW - and provide a junior pathway for Country Rugby League. Wests Tigers need to fully embrace the Macarthur - Campbelltown - Southern Highlands region. The Cronulla Sharks will struggle - being sandwiched between St George and Ilawarra. Sydney Roosters will also struggle, since most of their old junior territories are part of South Sydney nowadays. Perhaps a relocation to the Central Coast for one of these clubs ?
Ben Darwin
Expert
Pickett , thanks for response. i would say that this year barcelona were able to field a team entirely made up of academy players and were up 6-0 at half time. Local many of them were not ,however many were very young upon signing. Is a player local if he moves with his family at age 12? Ben
Ben Darwin
Expert
Great points julian , the issues your talking about is what we have been studying for the past year . looking at all clubs around the world and which ones have been the most successful and at the same time not had to break the bank. My question to people is this, how many clubs have one titles by importing players and still been able to turn a profit within a couple of years. What happens if they dont win? We know that importing players costs more so lets say club a spends 20% more than the market to win a title. are the fans happy and proud then? What about if its 50%? Where does buying a title get you in the 10 or 15 years after that? These are the questions we are looking into. The rooster did have 21 players in their squad for who the rooster were their first professional club in the nrl. Whilst local juniors helps i think it is unrealistic in this day and age.. Winning attracts crowds loyalty keeps them when your losing.
Muzz
Guest
Interesting read Ben and i enjoy your articles. Great post, Julian.
Julian King
Roar Guru
Ben, I 'd rather have a club of imports if it meant winning, than a club of local juniors that can't get off the bottom of the table. We can romanticise about local talent, and in an ideal world there'd be nothing prouder for a club than to win with "local juniors", but not all clubs are born equal. The premiership winning Roosters of 2013 were bereft of local juniors, but that didn't dull the passion of their supporters. Their membership has risen dramatically on the back of their grand final success. Clubs attract fans for a plethora of reasons. Communtiy roots is one, star players are another. The Western Sydney Wanderers are a success as they are premised on the passion that their region has for the game. Coupled with the fact that Western Sydney is the gretest well of footballing talent in the country, you have an unstoppable force. They are the ideal type, however, they are also the exception. Souths fans have adopted Inglis as one of their own, despite not being from that area. Swans fans accepted Tony Lockett as one of their own. All we can ask as fans is for our representatives to "buy into" the club culture and when they pull on that jersey, to have a red hot go.
Pickett
Guest
Boris, you have to get with the times. This ain't the 1960's or 70's or even 80's no more. The romance and nostalgia of the true blue local junior who'll play for Saints, Parra, Souths or Easts is a recipe made with the Wooden Spoon. The boundaries are now not just suburban , but inter-state and indeed international. How many 'true blue' local juniors do you think play for the NY Yankees, Real Madrid, Man U, Dallas Cowboys?
Cadfael
Roar Guru
If handled properly I can't see why we couldn't have the islands playing. There are many players with backgrounds from Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. These games could be worked in with playing SOO at seasons end. Then playing these games together with SOO as the early matches.
Ben Darwin
Expert
Jim i do agree the that the notion of the potential of something happening was sometimes the most exciting thing at the State of Origin in the 80's 90's. My brother was at Lang park though when the crowd threw beer cans on the field and he was with 30 other 14-16 year old kids dressed in blue fearing for his life.
Ben Darwin
Expert
Boris , cant agree with you more.
Ben Darwin
Expert
Thanks Bakkies , i am working on an article on the Melbourne Heart situation. i like a name to be organic. I found some amazing name yesterday on Philiipino basketball. Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Rain or Shine Elasto Painters San Miguel Super Coffee mixers Whats going on there?