So Where The Bloody Hell Are They?

The standard of play is, generally, excellent. The games are exciting and often brutal. Many of the matchups are steeped in tradition with the trophies that are so keenly contested dating back decades. And yet week after week the atmosphere in each stadium is usually non-existent with empty seats vastly out-numbering the ones with bums on them.

I’m talking about the ITM Cup. The competition formerly known as NPC comes across as an after-thought; a competition the NZRU feels obliged to continue to run, albeit at a financial loss. Games are packed into an incredibly short schedule, top-level players only rarely make an appearance and overall it feels like the Cup has been relegated to a competition of secondary status.

I’m old enough (just!) to remember the epic battles of the 1980’s, like the legendary matchup between all-conquering Auckland and Canterbury in 1985. So this weekend when Auckland hosted Canterbury at Eden Park, I felt a tinge of sadness. There were approximately 50 spectators (not really, but there certainly weren’t many there) in attendance in an eerily empty stadium. Any cheers rapidly faded to echoes and every word uttered by the referee, the players or the ‘crowd’ could easily be heard by those of us watching at home. And that’s possibly the dilemma – it is easier, warmer, comfier and definitely cheaper to stay home and watch it live. On Saturday at Eden Park, adult tickets were $10 and children were free. And yet still the crowd numerically resembled that of a local club game.

There’s no doubt that society has changed immeasurably in the last 25 years. Going to the big match in the 80’s was an event that you looked forward to. That might still be the case but the intent of many spectators is different now. In my teens I didn’t go to the rugby to meet up with others and hang out; I went along to watch the game. That isn’t always the case these days; there are often as many people hanging out in the concourse as there are cheering on their team.

In the 80’s you might get to see the biggest games live, but many games were shown much later or the next day. And the concept of an HD picture was not actually even a concept yet. So watching it live was often the best available option.

Aside from technology and societal change, there is simply more competition for the entertainment dollar these days. Anything from advanced gaming options to 3D movies to other sports; all are competing for a slice of the increasingly limited supply of disposable income pie.

So what should the lads at NZRU do? There are options, but unfortunately none of these are clear-cut. Following are my suggestions.

1.       Continue the bargain-basement pricing for ITM Cup and Super Rugby matches. If I know I can take 2 adults and 3 kids for a total of $20-$30, I’ll go along. If I have to fork out $50, $70 or even more to take along my family, I’ll stay on my couch.

2.       Be creative with pricing. Keep the $10 adult tickets. But for $25 offer a ticket and a [insert the name of your favourite team here] t-shirt or cap. Or for $18, punters can get a ticket and a discounted food/drink combo.

3.       Bring back the curtain-raiser. When the Warriors faced the Bulldogs in Wellington the Junior Warriors played before the main event and it was fantastic viewing.

4.       Decrease the ludicrous price of replica jerseys. Anything up to $180 for adults or $120+ for kids’ jerseys are ridiculous prices. If I took my kids to a game and I could buy the three of them a jersey each for $150-$160 in total (once a season), I would seriously consider it.

5.       Get rid of the food and beverage providers. Bring in Maccas, Subway and/or other mainstream companies to provide food. I just hate spending $14 for a burger combo that is, with all due respect to the caterers, horribly greasy, sometimes cold and over-priced.

6.       In respect to the ITM Cup, make it feel like more than a competition that has simply been squeezed into the only available timeslot and has only been retained because it has history.

7.       And get rid of the confusing Premiership/Championship thing. If it’s a first division/second division split, keep it that way with one team being relegated at the end of the season and the top four in the second division playing off to be promoted. Each week it’s often difficult to tell which team is in which division due to the playing schedule – for example the top team in the Premiership can play the bottom team in the Championship and get the same points for a win as they would for beating the team coming second in the Premiership. Confusing, and it makes the whole concept of two divisions almost meaningless.

It’s not too late to get the crowds back. But it’s starting to get that way.

And That Was the End of That

S’pose I’d better mention the Americas Cup. The rich man’s competition that temporarily grabbed the people of our nation (including me) and screamed ‘WATCH ME’ is now at an end. And, fittingly, the winners (Team “USA”) had the most advanced (expensive?) technology and as a result of a tweak or five were able to sail away at will from good ol’ Team NZ. The finals series unfortunately became a pretty uneven contest and the latter stages became difficult to watch.

Outside of any sailing issues there were two aspects of this regatta that stuck with me.

Firstly, the economic benefits for San Francisco were not as great as had been envisaged. If that were also the case at the next regatta, which many had hoped would be staged in Auckland, it makes me wonder whether it was such a wise investment by our Government after all.  

Secondly, very few people outside of NZ actually care about this event. At one point in the finals series, the highest rating the regatta had achieved on American television was 0.9%. To put that in perspective, the 2013 U.S. Open women’s tennis final rated more than five times higher.

I think it’ll be very interesting to see if Team NZ continues. It’d be a massive financial gamble for anyone game enough to take it on.

Quote of the Weekend

Sky TV rugby commentator Scotty ‘Sumo’ Stevenson used to annoy me. But he’s grown on me, so to speak, and I now really enjoy his commentaries. He’s knowledgeable, humorous and quick-witted.

In the weekend just gone he was commentating on the aforementioned Auckland vs. Canterbury match. Auckland’s replacement halfback was the veteran Samoan international with the unpronounceable surname Junior Poluleuigaga. Sumo was doing an outstanding job, repeatedly mentioning Junior’s name without error or hesitation. He then pulled out this legendary comment when referring to a pass from Poluleuigaga to first five Simon Hickey;

“That pass was so fast, I hadn’t finished saying his name before the ball got to the first five”.

Brilliant! Oh well, I enjoyed it anyway…

I’m Lovin’ It

Liverpool Football Club are sitting in second place in the Barclays Premier League. Manchester United are 12^th. Outstanding, long may it continue!

Till next time,

SG