Dust2
02-22-2010, 02:48 AM
This post by Super got me thinking: Can financially successful clubs sustain (and maybe improve) their success if their ability to improve is hindered?
Absolutely guaranteed to be fed up in time. You already started to see it in Toronto last year when the stadium was half empty most of the second part of the season. The bigger the draws and attention in local markets, the greater the expectations you'll see as well. It'll pass though in time when people figure out that drawing 30-40,000 per game gives you little to no advantage over teams who draw 9,000. So, yes, people will leave.
The answer to a proper, respectable league is to allow financially successful clubs to spend more on the on-field product. This is the ONLY way these clubs will remain financially successful - otherwise fans will in time turn their backs on the product, and so will sponsors. It'll happen in Seattle, and it'll happen in Toronto. Fans and sponsors will want to know that all this cash we're putting into the clubs makes a difference, and that clubs/cities with virtually no interest in the sport does not have the same chance of winning - which is illogical to footy fans with at least a LITTLE bit of experience watching the game on the world stage.Is Super right in that fans of financially successful clubs will have higher expectations and if they are not met, some of them will lose interest in the teams?
Absolutely guaranteed to be fed up in time. You already started to see it in Toronto last year when the stadium was half empty most of the second part of the season. The bigger the draws and attention in local markets, the greater the expectations you'll see as well. It'll pass though in time when people figure out that drawing 30-40,000 per game gives you little to no advantage over teams who draw 9,000. So, yes, people will leave.
The answer to a proper, respectable league is to allow financially successful clubs to spend more on the on-field product. This is the ONLY way these clubs will remain financially successful - otherwise fans will in time turn their backs on the product, and so will sponsors. It'll happen in Seattle, and it'll happen in Toronto. Fans and sponsors will want to know that all this cash we're putting into the clubs makes a difference, and that clubs/cities with virtually no interest in the sport does not have the same chance of winning - which is illogical to footy fans with at least a LITTLE bit of experience watching the game on the world stage.Is Super right in that fans of financially successful clubs will have higher expectations and if they are not met, some of them will lose interest in the teams?