League, union and cricket have engaged with an annual struggle over how to make their game ‘more appealing’ to the casual or non-observer.
It would appear inevitable that when the search for the magic formula to attract such groups commences, a group of marketing people and their research teams are dispatched to engage with ‘the public.’
Not surprisingly, out of this research comes a conclusion that people want action, fast-paced engagements and ultimately lots of scoring.
(I say not surprisingly because if you polled people across topics ranging from their kids’ school performance to their experiences in the budoir, you would get the same outcomes.)
As a result, rules are altered, coverage tweaked and seasons adjusted to give people more scoring to behold. From four and five-point tries, to reducing goal-kicking opportunities and periodic sin binnings in the rugby codes, through smaller fields, flatter tracks and rules limiting bowler behaviour in cricket to create more and faster scoring, the three sports seem to be evolving in a time frame unrelated to the rest of the world.
I contend that these games will reach a point wherein they will create their own irrelevance. The majority of gametime now runs to a predictable format. Due to this, casual observers may get their ‘sugar hit’ of points, but the true followers grow disillusioned.
Keeping up with rules becomes time-consuming (powerplay anyone?), and people find themselves slowly disengaging from the game, as it ceases to resemble what they played and followed for years before.
There is an old axiom in politics that you have to ‘secure your base’, which recognises that while changing policies may appeal to those who don’t currently support you, it may also lose you the dedicated people who will actually keep your organisation alive. So when in doubt, appeal to your base, and build appeal from there.
In the rush to appeal to the non-believers, three of our major codes are growing unaligned with their base. They should be careful, for while it may pack stadiums for events, it reduces the connect with grassroots people who coach junior sides, run tuck shops, fund raise, and transport kids around suburban and country grounds.
Without their base, any organisation will eventually crumble.
clipper
Guest
Although AFL wasn't even mentioned, but they aren't immune to constant tweaking to make the game more appealing
Norad
Guest
AFL is the only Aussie sport. It is doing fine thanks.
turbodewd
Guest
One quick comment on the NRL. Ive noticed that avg regular season crowds have dipped for 3 yrs in a row (and round 1 of this yr continued the trend down). One of my theories is that Origin has, for some fans, become the only league they watch in an crowded sporting landscape. Origin talk used to be around the middle of the season...now its almost year-round! The explanation is simple - fans love to see The Best vs The Best and Origin is clearly regarded as that by the fans.
Michael gardiner
Guest
I must disagree that distinction could happen to Rugby League and cricket with their new rule changes they have clearly improved their games and appeal especially to those who like fast action and they have plenty of room for evolution. The only game I believe is in trouble is Rugby Union, for this game to speed up and improve they can only become more like RL.
Republican
Guest
Soccer has certainly bucked the trend to be sure. I also reckon our market is saturated, especially the footy market and taking into account our population. The anti has been upped in respect of commercial ruthlessness and the unrelenting and often tacky hard sell of brands v brands. While this evolution i.e. the commoditisation of sport has attracted a new demographic of interest to sport, these are the impressionable consumers replacing passionate supporters, a salient distinction to my mind.
Darren
Guest
I agree that the money drives it, but underpinning the changes is a desire to attract non-watchers. I am contentding that in a couple of generations the sports will have lost their entire base, and from there come irrelevance. If you consider the major winter codes globally, soccer is undisputably #1. While its not my preference, if I watch a game of EPL now the actual game structure, scoring systems etc is all the same as it was 30 yrs ago. The certainty of the product is exportable, whereas the codes I mentioned are losing that certainty. I would be comfortable in predicting that as we continue globalising, those sports with most reach or economically major bases will be the dominant sports in 30-50yrs. That is to say soccer, NFL, combat sports, and maybe basketball.
The Barry
Roar Guru
But if there's more money to be made on appealing to a constantly changing fan base than there is appeasing rusted on fans that will die eventually anyway then as long as the sport in question continues to re-invent itself then its future will be more assured. We find it abhorrent because most of us are the rusted on dinosaurs that like our shoulder pads big and our cricket bats skinny. Rugby league and cricket look vastly different from how I knew them growing up, let my fathers generation and they haven't become extinct yet. Theres no doubt they'll continue to evolve - and perhaps into games that we don't like or even recognise but I don't know about extinction when we're talking about billions of dollars being involved.
peeeko
Guest
enjoyable read, especially your second last paragraph, RU seems to be a little different but its supporters claim that it is not doing enough
Joey Mornier
Guest
I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but this is exactly why I could care less about basketball.
Gus Paella
Guest
It's the second law of thermodynamics. It's entropy brah, nature will tend from order to disorder in all things. And so it will be for australian sport, ring-a-ring-a-rosie down the drain brah, all holding hands, demanding from our sporting celebs a behavioral standard we cannot ourselves attain.... desperate to be offended...quoting Sagan but living F. Scott Fitzgerald. Bingo Bango
marcel
Guest
Yep..just look at Basketball. ..largely a meaningless procession of point scoring with an interesting 90 seconds to conclude the game.
Republican
Guest
Good read. Certainly concur with you that the culture of professional sport is commercially insidious in how it has impacted, even if only on a subconscious level, to disenfranchise respective codes grassroots. I see this devolution as a symbiosis of the media, vested commercial interests (mainly to do with multi national televisions seductive and toxic grip on sport) and we the not so discerning supporter. Ironically the very essence and virtue that define sport to engage us all is being compromised for reasons you have highlighted here. In this respect we are all part of the problem and any solution, unlikely to be forthcoming. Sport will continue to devolve in this way, while we will continue to prosaically evolve with it, so any major shift culturally will only be realised after we reach the crisis point of no return, as it ever was.......