2015 Membership Thread - Can we get 35,000

[Go_Dogs]

18,970 from memory

Correct.

Disappointing crowd, especially given the standard of the game.

[GVGjr]

Correct.

Disappointing crowd, especially given the standard of the game.

In the back of my mind, I just wonder if some supporters are waiting for some more wins before attending the games. Perhaps when we are in contention for the finals more people will want to come.

To me we offer a unique package at the moment. Exciting performances (most games are close encounters), emerging young talent and a confronting game style. Despite the losses, I'm genuinely impressed with the way we are performing and enjoying watching us play. I'll cop the losses and still look forward to the next week.

I get the various challenges families face to get to the football but I just feel many others are just waiting for better reasons before attending which is a shame. It's going to be a lot harder to attract people to games in Ballarat if we can't attract them to Etihad.

I keep going back to the VFL Grand Final, the Sunday time slot was not an issue then and even allowing for the fact that most junior football had been completed people were busting a gut to get to the game. The passion is there with our members perhaps just not consistently enough.

We can't really control the time slots we are given but on field performances might get us a few more Friday and Saturday night games.

[soupman]

Pathetic crowd really.

We continually make excuses for our "fans", and blame shitty timeslots and low drawing opponents for the low numbers, but the fact is our fans are crap.

There was every reason to come yesterday:
-Beautiful day to leave the house
-Family friendly timeslot
-Playing a quality opponent who should be good to watch
-As proven by our performances against Adeelaide and Sydney, we were every chance to provide an upset
-We are playing exciting, attacking, high scoring football with manic pressure.
-Our side was full of young, highly marketable players who could be anything
-Food is cheaper at the footy now, and there is the added benefit that you could have a kick on the ground after the match.

This isn't a criticism of the club, they have done everything right from a marketing and enhancing the gameday package point of view these last few years. They've offered better membership options, made Etihad feel much more like a home ground and vastly improved all our media.

It's a criticism of our fans who like the Freo cheer squad yesterday are only up and about when they're sure they can take the glory. Too many are too happy to complain about what the club isn't doing and downplay what it's done right. They're the types to moan about how hard and painful it was watching us throw away the St.Kilda match when all they watched was the second half on TV because they heard we were thrashing them. Just listen to them proudly tell you how they turned the TV off in disgust when St.Kilda hit the front.

People bag out Richmond fans for getting ahead of themselves but at least they embrace good form with excitement, not skepticism.

This is obviously not meant to apply to the many fans that did attend yesterday, and who actually produced a pretty good atmosphere.

[LostDoggy]

None of my family (4 social club members) able to get to the game
* Myself and my boy at his footy
* My wife and daughter at her Netball
Family friendly means a lost of different things to people these day. Passion in our household isn't lost, capacity to attend when competing priorities another thing.
Go dogs

[soupman]

Yeah I know there were "good" Bulldogs supporters that missed it for genuine reasons. I've missed some through work, others will obviously have genuine excuses too.

But the point remains that despite us continually making excuses for them, too many of our fans are crap.

[bornadog]

Yeah I know there were "good" Bulldogs supporters that missed it for genuine reasons. I've missed some through work, others will obviously have genuine excuses too.

But the point remains that despite us continually making excuses for them, too many of our fans are crap.

In my estimation we only have about 20,000 core supporters. When we play a local team and it's our home game, then the local team may have about 10,000 attend so we get a crowd around 30,000. When we play interstate teams, they may provide 1 to 2 thousand.

To get any more than that, the local team would have to be a Collingwood, or Essendon, or we are in finals contention.

Yesterday we had a little less than our normal core. I could tell from the people sitting around me who reserve seats - a lot didn't attend, so our numbers were down.

[GVGjr]

I think there is one thing that gets lost on a number of our supporters. We crack the shits when players like Ward, Griffen, Harbrow, Higgins, Lake and Cooney look to extend their careers elsewhere and see it as a sign of betrayal but we now have the next crop of exciting players signing on long term with us and yet there is perhaps 10% of the supporters still sitting on the fence waiting to pick their mark.

I've said it a few times but it's vastly better to be sitting with our members than on the fence.

We all get the logistics nightmare that some families face to get to games but this is more about motivating the others that could get to the games but for some reason aren't coming.

[Dancin' Douggy]

The problem is though, these days, who wants to go into a concrete bunker on a perfect day.
Having the roof shut is a real turn off for me. I did go to the game though, but hated missing out on the beautiful sunshine outside.

[GVGjr]

The problem is though, these days, who wants to go into a concrete bunker on a perfect day.
Having the roof shut is a real turn off for me. I did go to the game though, but hated missing out on the beautiful sunshine outside.

On the flip side how many would go if it was an open roof and cold? We can't expect it to fit exactly what everyone wants.

[ledge]

I went with a pies supporter , he hates those circling LEDs around the stands and at ground level , you can't pick
Out the players on the far side with all the changing colours.
I get putting the lights in the next level Up but not the bottom fence.
Maybe that's another put off.

[bornadog]

31929

[comrade]

Came across a bloke recently who sums up the fair weather brigade.

Asked him where he was from and he mentioned he grew up in Footscray so I put it out there: 'you're not a Doggies man, are you?'. He's 50 odd and he kind of sighed and said, 'yeah, unfortunately'. I then go on about how exciting it is to support them and how we're not far off, and he looks at me and says 'yeah, well think what you like but they're mad paying that tall bloke over a million a year, I don't like that at all'.

I try and defend the decision and he concedes 'well, I say I'm a Dogs supporter but to be honest, I don't really watch them much anymore'.

Righto mate, like your opinion on Tom Boyd matters then.

[Prince Imperial]

I went with a pies supporter , he hates those circling LEDs around the stands and at ground level , you can't pick
Out the players on the far side with all the changing colours.
I get putting the lights in the next level Up but not the bottom fence.
Maybe that's another put off.

Years ago I had laser eye surgery that makes my eyes a bit sensitive to light. I sit on level 1 and have definitely noticed that watching the play on the other side of the ground is now noticeably more difficult.

[LostDoggy]

Maybe the answer to our woes in the short term is to market to the rest of the league's supporters: Leave your dreadful Carlton game and come watch some awesome footy, up close and personal.

I have had so many compliments and remarks from supporters of almost every team out there (the Essendon fans I know are still a bit shitty about Crammers, not to mention all the stick I give them about drugs) and I think that perhaps we could get some more neutrals through the door to help us bolster numbers whilst our less-perceptive members wake up to the tidal wave that is the current Doggies squad.

[Webby]

Few things:

1. Talk prior to the game was that Freo would spank us.
2. The A League GF meant that a lot of fans would either attend that game or just watch at home or at a pub. It was a Grand Final, after all, and as a western suburbs club, a lot of our fans do also like the round ball game.
3. I know it all sounds like excuses, but I really don't see the point in getting upset about it. I ended up having some beers with some Freo supporters post game and they said "Geez, you make some noise, you lot!" It was a compliment.

At the end of the day, that's all we can do. Turn up and make a disproportionate amount of noise.