Two Thirds of Football Fans Considering Switch to Rugby

[SlickMongoose]

I support both Spurs and Bristol Rugby, but if i'm going to watch a live match, it'll always be the rugby. It's cheaper, much easier to get tickets for and the atmosphere is nicer.

Of course, this survey is a load of crap. 2/3rds of football fans are not going to switch to rugby. And frankly i'd rather they didn't.

 

[mkkid]

Football is closer to imploding than many think, if any sport gets too predictable in who wins the silverware, eventually supporters will get bored, if stadiums start to empty and some in the prem are already showing large sections of empty seats the corporates will be less interested and the bubble may burst.

Like fordy I've been a season ticket holder for a fair while and I enjoyed the 80's much more, yes the attendances were lower but it was proper hardcore support and the clubs were much more even and small and mid range clubs won trophies which is what a sport is all about.

So true,i love sky to go tits up,i think football is slowly losing its popularity.Stadiums,seem to be full of 40 year men.My st, is in block 48 at spurs,there only seem to be about 9 kids most weeks and thats out of about 500 people.We have a generation of fans that dont watch live football anymore and that will eventually bite the game in the ass.
Ive been season ticket holder,since 82.You use to be able to go with all your mates without tickets and go to Arsenal,Chelsea,West Ham away.
I strangely enough,I keep ticket stubs,i got one from Arsenal in 88 for £8.50.
Now its 49.00 pounds,i have to times that by 2 as i have to buy an adult for my son as he hasnt got enough loyalty points and food and a programme,you are looking at about £120 for 90 minutes entertainment,this is a game we have no chance of winning.I just cant justify it any more.

 

[llamafarmer]

Are you a Bath fan? Do you go very often?
My Dad is a ST holder at the rec, so I go maybe four or five times a season.
The problem is that you just don't get the same sort of atmosphere as at a football match. Maybe its just that differences in numbers, I dont know. Even the Bath vs Gloucester game didnt have the best atmosphere despite being a top of the table clash.
I'm warming to it the more and more I go though.

I'm from near Exeter originally, so they're my team, but I always liked Bath growing up as well. I rarely get to the Rec, but I go to Exeter with my old man a fair bit. They have a really nice new ground and it's a great place to go and watch a game.

I agree about the atmosphere, it's a different experience to the football, but it's nice to have a Guinness in your hand during the game and to be able to mix with visiting fans throughout. And there's definitely something special about a game at the Rec on a sunny day in autumn.

 

[orkneyspur]

I played rugby for 20 years. Didn't stop me following Spurs for 15 years home and away though.
Couldn't be bothered to watch rugby from the terraces though, football all the way.
And what's this crap about switching to rugby because football is too dear. Go and watch a lower league football team. Nothing wrong with having a fave second team in the lower leagues and they can do with cash and the support.

 

[Flatters]

:lol:

 

[LSUY]

I can understand why some fans are going to rugby more than football.

You can watch top quality rugby at a cheaper price than you can top flight football. Very few things beat sitting in the Stoop with a nice ale in hand watching the 'Quins go marching on.

The Harlequins - Gloucester game at the Stoop is the perfect example of how much club rugby is improving over here.

 

[t79boy]

the prawn sandwhich brigade can fook off for all i care...thats who they have interviewed !

 

[LSUY]

the prawn sandwhich brigade can fook off for all i care...thats who they have interviewed !

:roll: Its not the prawn sandwich brigade that is leaving, its the genuine fans being priced out that are. I know at least five people who had season tickets at Stamford Bridge throughout the 1980s and 1990s but attend more rugby games now simply because it is cheaper to take the entire family to watch London Wasps instead of Chelsea. Then their is the added bonus of not having two or three new kits released every season.

Its not a conincedence that the atmosphere and attendances at football games are getting worse whilst the atmosphere and attendances at rugby games are getting better.

The Premier League and FA have sold football's soul. One of the main reasons the sport developed in this country is because it was a cheap way to entertain a working class family. Wigan now charge more per ticket than Barcelona.

Teams like Middlesbrough, Wigan, etc., don't sell out their stadiums because they aren't fashionable teams for the prawn sandwich brigade to support and have ticket prices up so high that the genuine fans that supported them through the lower leagues simply can't afford to go anymore.

 

[Kendall]

Agreed. That Leicester vs Wasps game the other day had a cracking atmosphere, even though the home team were losing for pretty much the whole game!

 

[liberty]

I'm considering going to watch Saracens with my mate who goes a lot. However, now I've got a Spurs season ticket it's going to be unaffordable. I'm 90% sure I'll be renewing my ST for next season but if I make a couple of Saracens games before the season is over I could be swayed. I want to start playing rugby again. It's a great sport.