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Fake ex-AFL fan

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Joined April 2010

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Fake ex-AFL fan hasn't published any posts yet

Incorrect. The problem with your posts are that you make your points with a knife, a twist, and a crooked smile. Think about offering something that is interesting, debatable and useful to the site. The author plays no part in moderation. Thanks, Roar Mods.

Melbourne's A-League media battleground

This plan reminds me of that well known cartoon where two scientists are looking at an incredibly complex formula on a blackboard. On the right hand side is the solution, and at the step just before that the words ‘and here a miracle occurs’ are written. It would be great for League if all these things happened, but listing a few pie in the sky ambitions doesn’t make it a plan. Still, better to think big than small.

Examining 25-year plan for future of NRL

You make the mistake (as many increasingly do) of confusing mild dislike with hate. It’s relatively easy to dismiss ‘haters’ as somehow possessed of a dark irrational loathing for someone/thing, which therefore excuses us from considering the points being made. Therefore if people suggest that Hewitt’s not a particularly likeable character whose on-court demeanor makes him difficult to support, they’re a ‘hater’.

Why does everybody hate Lleyton?

Don’t do it people, don’t respond to him! Think of ICF as one of the crazy old winos you see in inner-city parks. Mostly harmless but best ignored. Just look the other way and keep walking…

GWS Giants to stumble into historic first season

Ouch! Being trounced by a competition with even less history than theirs, the gap between soccer and the mainstream Australian sports seems to be getting even wider, not narrower as soccer fans had hoped with the signings of a couple of ageing hacks earlier this year.

AFL's massive tax break won't stop them crying poor

There must be a conspiracy to explain some of the terrible A-league numbers. For example, the biggest soccer audience for wk 1 on Pay TV was Adelaide v Brisbane with 73K, whilst the corresponding BBL game on at the same time gathered an audience nearly 400% GREATER!!!

Real concerns for the FFA , as it appears that their Harry Kewell led early season increase in TV ratings and crowds was a dead-cat bounce, with both sets of figures back down near historical lows. Melbourne in particular has seen a massive drop off, with the victory struggling to half-fill its purpose built rectangular arena, while the heart continues to attract NBL-like crowds.

AFL's massive tax break won't stop them crying poor

But the good thing is ICS you’re not remotely obsessed or fixated upon the AFL and its affairs! I look forward to the next in your regular series of hard hitting exposes about why it’s unfair that Australian Football is so much more successful than soccer in Australia.

AFL's massive tax break won't stop them crying poor

And remember that Auburn stands for ‘Alabama usually beats you rednecks’!

Aussie punter set for BCS Championship game

The tricky thing about public funding of sports stadia is that it can be challenging to quantify the benefits. Personally I’d prefer it if all sporting bodies built and maintained their own without recourse to the public purse, however from another perspective sports fans are tax payers and deserve to have some government largesse thrown their way, particularly when they’ve been historically neglected (e.g. fans of league, union and soccer in Melbourne).

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s not as if these stadia are then provided free of charge – teams have to pay rent to play at them and the government remains the landlord. I assume that the finances are structured so that the anticipated earnings over the lifetime of the facility (let’s say 25 years for a modern stadium) fund both its maintenance and eventual replacement. So if the WA govt throws half a billion at an AFL ground in Perth (which will still be used for big soccer and rugby matches), it’s the fans of the Weagles and Dockers who’ll pay it off anyway – it’s not like they get in for free.

Are we spending too much on stadiums?

I get the impression than if the whole team needed kidney transplants after eating a particularly spicy vindaloo on the next tour of India and Clarke offered up his own organs in carefully segmented parts to save their lives, some people would still label it as ‘typical selfish gen Y behaviour, spreading his body parts around like that, clearly just doing it to gain attention’.

Clarke finally earns the respect he yearns for

OK I’m going to say it, shoot me down if you must, but I’m starting to feel that the whole McGrath foundation / pink test thing is getting just a little out of hand. Yes breast cancer research, treatment and screening is a worthy cause, but do we really need giant banners of Jane McGrath displayed on the ground and pink cap presentation ceremonies, it just strikes me as a little mawkish.

Australia vs India SCG Test: live scores and commentary, Day 3

Oh dear, someone’s feeling a bit threatened…

AFL happy to throw cash at reality TV

Great work by Ricky, so pleased for him. Regardless of this innings I don’t think we’ll be seeing him play too many more test matches in Australia and it’s fitting that we remember him making a big score, not scratching around for runs clinging to his place in the team.

Australia vs India SCG Test: live scores and commentary, Day 2

I agree that Sydney and Melbourne are two different cities, I’m just trying to point out the obvious trade off between teams wanting their own local grounds and fans wanting top quality facilities. Money isn’t unlimited so something has to give.

NRL needs venues in Sydney's sporting patchwork quilt

I hear what you’re saying Crosscoder, but modern stadium upgrades don’t come cheap. It’s going to cost close to $200m to upgrade roughly half of the SCG. Extending the cover at the SFS sounds nice and smiple, but keep in mind this is a fully integrated structure, not a collection of stands that can be rebuilt piece by piece so I don’t see how you’ll get away with anything less than a complete rebuild to bring it up to scratch, you’re looking at another $200M+ there.

As for a modern 40K stadium in the west, again you’re looking at $250M+. Add in improving cover at Homebush plus ‘grants’ to Manly/Sharks/Tigers/Penrith/Parramatt/Tigers and you’ve got no change out of $1Billion. State Govt economic responsibility not looking quite so strong now.

NRL needs venues in Sydney's sporting patchwork quilt

isn’t the real issue the willingness of NRL clubs to accept a higher degree of ground rationalization than they currently do? Keep in mind that all Melbourne based AFL clubs play out of only 2 stadia – the MCG and Docklands. With average crowds in the vicinity of 40K, this allows a high standard of spectator facilities to be provided but at the expense of any genuine tribal affinity with the ground.

Would Leage fans accept all games being played out of only 2 stadia, and if so, don’t you already have two pretty decent ones in the SFS and Homebush? Would Penrith and Campbelltown-based fans accept traveling into Parra to watch games, keeping in mind that we already hear that the difficulty of getting around Sydney is part of the explanation for why Melbourne gets better sporting crowds across all codes?

NRL needs venues in Sydney's sporting patchwork quilt

The good thing is that I don’t feel the need to choose. Focus on the test match during the day, then enjoy the T20 on Foxtel in the evening.

There's much to like about the BBL

But Matt, what about all those disenfranchised passionate state cricket fans???

Agree that overall it’s been a pretty good start to the BBL, good crowds and excellent TV ratings. Far from detracting from the test series against India it seems to have established a positive feedback loop – people view the test on TV then head along to watch their local BBL team in the evening.

There's much to like about the BBL

I think you’re being a bit harsh Mr Pig, Pattinson did carry on a bit but overall I thought this was a pretty well behaved test match from both sides. So he bowled a few short deliveries at the Indian tail enders, this isn’t against the rules you know, nor the spirit of the game.

On a couple of occasions I thought it was the Indians who were looking to create an issue – backing away just as the bowler was about to deliver the ball, making a huge fuss because the bowlers’ sleeve brushed them as they were running between wickets, making plenty of comments but then being quick to complain when the match started going against them.

Australian cricket looks ugly, trying to win at all costs

And a happy new year to you too Congresswoman Bachmann.

Football fans must actively work toward acceptance

And away we go…

Football fans must actively work toward acceptance

I can see how this particular discussion is going to go, so I thought I’d start by saying that I believe the situation is not nearly as negative towards soccer as is often imagined by it’s fans. I read the print and online versions of various newspapers and generally find coverage of the a-league to be overwhelmingly focused upon the match results, tactics employed etc. Much as it is for all sports. But then I visit The Roar and someone has found an obscure article that is critical in some way of the A-League and the usual suspects launch into a frenzy of indignation about the war against soccer, how the mainstream media is afraid of them blah blah blah and all of a sudden it sounds like a Michelle Bachman rally.

If you do enough googling you’ll find someone or something that offends you. All soccer fans are managing to achieve at the moment is to give increased prominence to otherwise unremarkable content that probably deserves to be ignored. Every week or so I see an article in the Sydney media about the AFL’s ‘invasion’ of Western Sydney and how they’re out to ‘destroy’ all other sports in the region as if such a thing is possible. Editors know that stuff attracts hits, don’t contribute to the problem by creating links and adding comments – all you’re doing is telling Google’s algorithms that it’s important and worthy of prominence!

Football fans must actively work toward acceptance

I have only one thing to say in response: Come on Arsenham City United! I used to be such a passionate fan until Sepp Blatter and his cronies awarded the WC to Qatar, that plus those yanks who bought our club after the old owner lost his local chain of pubs in the GFC, I just don’t quite feel the same anymore…

Why A-League fans must stand up to anti-football brigade

Kasey – it’s claims like this that mark you out as clearly a fake ex-AFL fan. The idea that a fm of the Crows would turn against the sport because of comments made by AD and EM, both of whom are almost universally disliked by fans ( with the exception of Collingwood FC fans for the latter) is clearly nonsense. It’s like me claiming I used to be a massive Liverpool fan until Sepp Blatter and some president of a club I don’t support said such and such and so I decided to start following basketball. Clearly nonsense, much like your story.

Why A-League fans must stand up to anti-football brigade

Soccer, he said Soccer! Lets get him boys!!!

Why A-League fans must stand up to anti-football brigade

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