There’s a perfect storm brewing in the world of professional sport and the A-League has been one of the first competitions in Australia to feel the full effect.
Here’s a question: what device are you reading this column on?
Because if you’re like me and you’ve got places to be and things to do on a Monday morning, you’re probably reading it on your phone.
How good is it? Never before in human history have we had access to so much information at our fingertips.
And if you’re anything like me you probably spend every spare second browsing social media, watching football videos and reading The Roar.
Maybe it’s become a bit of a habit. When I’m watching TV on the lounge at home, I’ll often impulsively pick up my phone and start scrolling through social media.
And while Twitter in particular allows us to share our thoughts with millions of other football fans in real time, is that necessarily a positive social experience?
There was an interesting video that ironically went viral on social media a few weeks ago, in which a college gridiron coach named Pat Fitzgerald was asked why game-day attendances had declined at Northwestern University in Illinois.
“These things,” said Fitzgerald as he held up his phone to reporters.
“I think phones, I think technology has been (the cause of) the decline in attendance,” he added.
And if you watch the whole two-minute video, Fitzgerald speaks at length at why he believes modern technology is the “root cause” of why younger fans no longer attend and watch college football games the same way they used to.
It’s a problem English football will soon have to reckon with.
Having priced younger fans out of Premier League games with astronomical ticket costs, English officials have effectively raised a generation of fans who have only experienced football by watching it on a screen.
And while their parents and grandparents might have the disposable income required to actually get into a top-flight game, what happens when the next generation is supposed to come through?
Will they start buying tickets to something they couldn’t afford to watch as kids, or will they simply watch all the action unfold on their phones?
(Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Or will there be so many alternative entertainment options available by then, they won’t watch it at all?
You’d think today that with so many kids glued to their devices, local communities might welcome the chance to get them active outdoors.
But our phones have even changed the way we think and act in our communities.
Melbourne Victory have put forward an ambitious plan to transform an under-utilised part of Footscray Park in Melbourne’s western suburbs by building a multimillion dollar complex complete with three pitches.
The plan has generated some controversy, at least in part because it potentially means fencing off some of the land from dog walkers and members of the public.
There are no doubt pros and cons on either side of the debate, but you wouldn’t know that from the behaviour of the “Save Footscray Park” online community, who seem to spend much of their time deleting dissenting points of view.
That’s one of the things technology has done to us. It’s made it easier to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals in a virtual space, but all this tribalism has come at a cost to our civility.
Tribalism is of course one thing we need in the A-League.
But with all the talk about marketing and metrics, has anyone stopped to consider whether the old-world way of doing things actually speaks to an army of young fans with phones in their hands?
What if they’d rather just spend time on their devices than come to the football?
Maybe the question then, heading into the new season, is whether the football on offer will be compelling enough to convince fans to look up from their phones.
r0bsta
Roar Rookie
Maybe someone could develop an augmented reality a-league experience...
Des
Guest
Yeah sure, we believe you. Notice you haven't complained about the Western Bulldogs redevelopment of Whitton Oval, all done at taxpayers (including the taxes of millions of football fans) expense! Hypocrite!!!
Waz
Roar Rookie
Not wanting to get in to the EPL debate but no, not “over 40’s” lol. The old models are dying and the new media is already taking hold; so the new media has to create engagement, which has to create fans who will attend games. But if I had to guess, I’d say we’re heading for lower crowds world wide in the future - but greater engagement for those sports that get it right.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I can see it now, Griffo. 'The Mass Debate: The Mike Tuckerman A-League Show.' And the first comment after every upload is Fadida bagging me relentlessly for being too negative.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I'm going to print this one out and stick it in a frame, Greg.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
David, you've inadvertently proved my point. In your first sentence you call this article "ridiculous" but your last line reveals you're not even interested in the "premise of the article". What you're interested in is the use of Footscray Park. Which is fine, that's entirely your right. But here's what I wrote: "That’s one of the things technology has done to us. It’s made it easier to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals in a virtual space, but all this tribalism has come at a cost to our civility." And your first reaction to an article you are only one-tenth interested in is to call it "ridiculous" because you happen to disagree with a paragraph about the use of Footscray Park. Plus ça change.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I agree, although it still begs the question of who is attending these games that produce these highlights packages. Only people over 40?
Timmuh
Roar Guru
The price point is an interesting one. In the future could there be "online memberships"? It would take the A-League to make les from sales to Fox/Kayo and FTA in order to offer an "A-League" only product at a lower price point. And a single club only lower still - and could ACL games be included in that, given how difficult it can be to get to those home games. Could a club like Newcastle use that to better connect to the whole Hunter region, taking their potential fan base from Canberra size to Adelaide size? Or would the price point be so low as to not bother with, especially given it would to some extent cannibalise the more lucrative options.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Reading this on a phone: the pocket computer connected to the vast, human, information repository. Package content how the end users want it - mini matches cut right allow some to consume more games in less time. Or to communicate with a wider community than those around them while a game is on. If fans won’t look up from their phones/screens at the game around them, then bring the game to the screen in front of their eyes.
Griffo
Roar Guru
My thinking is that virtual reality will play a part in viewing football online where remote cameras will fly around and view the action ‘up close’, immersing viewers directly in the action...with fans feeding excitement to creat a virtual crowd noise. So stadiums may be near empty but the online fans can feed into crowd noise :lol: Beyond that small cams in players to get that ‘players eye view’ - this has already happened with refs and some veteran matches. ;-) Also great way to submit ads directly into view...
Greg Rieper
Guest
Great article, talented journalist..............
Onside
Guest
Not unlike asking people to use steel wool, after the invention of dish washing machines.
RF
Roar Rookie
"if you’re anything like me you probably spend every spare second browsing social media, watching football videos and reading The Roar" Good grief no.
Kannga2
Roar Rookie
Some people Lester like . just like to be outraged and often miss the point As David Brent would say “ A problem shared is a problem halved, so is your problem really yours or just half of someone else’s.. “. Wind up through the hills for fifteen days
lesterlike
Roar Rookie
That video is just peak Boomer whinging about Millennials killing things whilst completely missing the point that they created the stupid system that priced them out. Idk anything about American College football but i have a feeling that people there have found better value things to do with their money. It's no surprise that the majority of Premier League crowds are old balding blokes when the generations that were supposed to come after them got aggressively priced out in 90's. There was no smart phones back then to ruin society but it didn't stop young people moving en masse to raves and other music gigs instead of going to the Football during the Madchester era.
David
Guest
As a sports lover, and also a resident of Footscray, this article is ridiculous. This ‘under-utilised’ park plays hosts to community events such as the ever growing NYE event. It hosts weddings and birthdays. It is also one of the limited green spaces for the public, in a community that will grow exponentially in the coming years. I’m all for sporting clubs thinking outside the square but it’s not the councils park to give away. I honestly can’t see the how this little jibe has anything to do with the premise of the article.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Good article Mike and highlights in many ways we don't need to play in mega stadiums.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Good signing
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Great answer by that football coach. I'm not sure concentration spans are long enough in young people, to watch a full game on a small device like a phone. Highlights yes, but the full game? and besides, you miss too much detail. Let's not forget, kids love their wide screens too, which are getting bigger and bigger. As for the A League, I'm pretty sure streaming to devices will be advantageous.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: Reno Piscopo will join Wellington Phoenix this season - "During the Italian off-season, the Olyroos striker has been based in Melbourne as he assessed his options. So it was a surprise he didn’t sign with either three Victorian-based A-League clubs. But Phoenix swooped and have picked up a genuine Socceroo striker of the future." - https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/transfer-news-ex-inter-milan-aussie-signs-for-a-league-club-529768