Even fans give Storm cold shoulder

[Kaz]

As if getting thrashed by the biggest margin in ARL/NRL grand final history wasn't a big enough slap in the face.

Dejected Melbourne players, still reeling from the 40-0 flogging by Manly, slipped back into the Victorian capital on Monday only to be ignored by their own fans.

About 30 people gathered at the airport to welcome home the likes of out-going Storm stars Michael Crocker and Matt Geyer. Then, to rub salt further into the Storm wounds, no more than 200 fans made the trek to Princes Park to celebrate Melbourne's almost-perfect season.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24456203-23214,00.html

 

[gUt]

lol that has to suck.

I was thinking that if everyone now hates the Storm, it might give some more Victorians a reason to get on board.

 

[Black Philip]

They're all still too preoccupied with gayfl

 

[Alec]

They must be finally jumpimg off the bandwagon.

 

[Kimlo]

LOLbourne, what a joke, they get 11k fans when there winning and 200 turn up when there losing.

 

[Hamm.0]

About 10000 turned up at the Broncos semi.

 

[mick]

Sad fact of life, and the downside to Melbourne not being successful.

As much as I dislike the Storm, I want to see them going well for the sake of RL in Victoria. Their new stadium, if it had been built 12 months ago, would've really helped their cause. If they fall in a heap next year and don't go so well, I can't see it having any great impact.

 

[gUt]

Apparently the GF got over 50% viewing figures in either Victoria or Melbourne, so that's a good sign.

 

[Coxy]

Difference is Rocky, the other one team towns had established league history. Melbourne had none. It's a foreign market.

After 10 years the Brisbane Bears (now Lions) barely attracted 5000 people to some games. The Storm aren't doing that bad.

 

[dukey]

But let's not compare the AFL culture in Melbourne to the League culture in Brisbane.

AFL in Melbourne is like a religion. People are completely and utterly obsessed. It's everywhere. And from what I have heard and seen, any other sport in Melbourne cops a battering when it tries to compete with the AFL in any way, shape or form.

League in Brisbane will never be like what AFL is to Melbourne, that's why the Lions have eventually been successful in Brisbane.

I have my concerns over the Storm surviving.

You are right about AFL being a religion for people in Melbourne, but the best part about that is, when Collingwood/Carlton/Essendon/Demons aren't winning, a lot of people don't have a second team. So if their AFL side is struggling, many jump on the Storm bandwagon. Victorians get excited over most sporting codes, and there is a lot of room for RL to grow in Mexico, but never to the AFL's size.
Other sports only cop batterings if they try to take AFL's 'greatest game in the world' tag its fans give it. The biggest problem RL faces is a lack of exposure. Despite their dominance the Storm rarely warrant more than a quarter of a page in the Herald Sun sports section, and hardly a whisper on the TV.
The amount of support for the Storm is surprising, actually. I get down into (country) Victoria fairly regularly and I see more people wearing Storm jerseys/jackets/hats than all the AFL sides put together. So it's not as if the game goes unnoticed down there.

 

[mick]

Difference is Rocky, the other one team towns had established league history. Melbourne had none. It's a foreign market.

After 10 years the Brisbane Bears (now Lions) barely attracted 5000 people to some games. The Storm aren't doing that bad.

What? There was no league in brisbane before the Broncos? [icon_lol1. [icon_lol1.

Rocky, mate, I wouldn't class the Lions as successful. Mostly supported by expats, got a lot of new fans after winning 3 years in a row and are kind of bumbling along now. There will always be a place for them in Brisbane and they'll do okay, there are indeed a lot of people brought up on the sport in Victoria and a few more who enjoyed the Lions great run.

But not many people wanna move to Melbourne. Can you imagine if we were getting thousands of people migrating south from NSW/QLD to Victoria? I seriously think the fact that AFL is a religion there, coupled with the crap home ground and the fact that people in general don't migrate to the area has really hurt RL's development.