Are the Nix inclusive of all? And how can it be improved

This is a busy world, and few have time to follow more than one team with other responsibilities. I do find humor in the "euro snob" label.

The a league not is not a very good league with a genuinely medicore standard of play. I find the finals cringeworthy, but if people want to watch it, good for them.

When was the last time some nix fans went to Wakefield to see Tawa v Olympic reserves in the cap prem? Can we label them "trans-Tasman" snobs?

Plasticity is fungible. Critising football fans for the teams they follow is a nonsense.the nix are not owed supporters, they have to deliver a game day experience that people want to be part of.

I don't think its a case of believing that the nix are owed fans, I personally find it odd that the football community of Wellington wouldn't want to support the only professional team. The nix ownership have done some stuff to get community buy in, but I think they could do more - the warriors have built a massive fan base, firstly because the built a following of passionate fans, secondly cos they win more. Being visible is a massive part of being part of a community, I think the nix could do more during the winter months to have a bigger more visible presence with local clubs.

The biggest failure, imho, is the tv centric game timing for the Australian audience. Holding back attendance.

So over this rubbish frankly dont under stand the incessant need these days with having to put people into a certain box not just here but in seemingly every facet of life.Then unless each one of those boxes is treated the same as the other there is a protest about it.

Whats so wrong with everyone being a football fan no boxes no special treatment. End of the day the team starts winning on a regular basis and they will come no matter what color,religion or sexual persuasion they may be. If anything i can see some of this stuff putting one group off as they perceive that there has been more of an effort made to attract some one else.

Win and they will come.

Has  been mentioned on here since we started about engaging with the football community during the winter season.If they had done that from our first season then those young ones would now be 18+ imagine what that could have done for our support.Couple of years ago my grand daughter played football for a season think every 2nd or 3rd week  they had a tournament where there were hundreds of kids gathered. Thought at the time what a chance to promote the Phoenix but not once  during that season did i see anyone from the Phoenix.

Had a guy about 17/18 come and do some work for us. He saw my number plate and commented why would you go and watch them. We got talking and i said so you dont like football and he said no me and mates play and one of my mates is in the Academy. He said he dosnt go to Phoenix games he supports Liverpool and gets up to watch their games. When he turned 18 went into Four Kings one morning to watch one of their big games.

Have no idea at all how you can turn that sort of thinking into getting him to attend games. Our current thinking seems to be to give away free tickets and offer incentives. Some of the members i have talked to are getting thoroughly PO with all the freebies and cheap tickets. Its beginning to look like the Phoenix have forgotten about their season ticket holders.  

This thread has wandered miles off-topic, compared to the one that was shut down that it replaced. 

We've had the conversation many times about how we can grow crowds, and I think it's pretty obvious that the biggest factor is how much we win.  

I am very interested in a conversation about how we can let people who are less privileged, for reasons such as ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, know that Phoenix games are going to be a welcoming place for them, and make sure that's a reality.  Winning football games isn't going to address that. 

Napier Phoenix makes the good point that people who may not think that Yellow Fever is a place for them are unlikely to be around here to contribute to such a conversation, and that in itself is a problem IMO.

From my perspective, anyone who thinks that such a conversation is "pathetic", "rubbish" or "PC gone mad" can ignore it.  It really isn't going to affect them or their enjoyment of the Phoenix and no one is forcing them to participate. 

I think there is this risk here then on YF, that people have a lens that states that all fans have to be football tragics. Yes, live football is awesome. But if you only have 2-4 hours a week to devote to watching football, making the choice to watch a "better standard" team on tv, versus in person is a real world tradeoff*

I'm so woke I stay up all night

Understand your point Oska and for one of the reasons you made I will butt out of the discussion. I will say however maybe we áre trying a little to hard to manufacture fans in markets in which they just arnt there. Would suggest some people stand on the concourse at the end of a game think our crowds are more diverse than some care to admit

If there is a problem in this area, the Nix and us would definitely be happy to address it - but we actually need to figure out if there is a problem in the first place. From what this forum's bringing up it's little, if not nothing to do with exclusion of people based on ethnicity, gender, sexuality.

Yes there's the occasional "corner shop" wanker, but those are outliers - everyone in their right mind is against that behaviour in a stadium, so I wouldn't call it a huge roadblock in our crusade. We can just ostracise those people and move on.

And if there's a so-called Eurosnob that isn't so informed on the Nix, well we can try do our part to interest them in coming!

Did you invite him to come along and check out a game? You could recommend he stand in the Fever Zone, for an atmosphere that is pretty unique for live sport in NZ. I wasn't of course privy to your discussion, but a young 18 yr NZ male, may well enjoy it.

Failing that just say part of his work payment, has to be a free tix to a game. Never too young/old to be converted.

It's the same all over the world, there are always bigger fish and TV has made football far too accessible. The Nix's biggest problem (this season) is that these 730 kick off times are ridiculous for families (think lonegunman said it). Been trying to convince a nephew to come, he's keen, but that kick off time is too late. Need to stand our ground with aussie TV. Those that are blinded by fake EPL/la liga football will never be convinced. 

If anything people from overseas are likely to find the atmosphere at a Nix home game, too sterile/dull.

The Zone, are more likely to attract them, rather than deter them.

I totally agree with this, and to my mind the Zone is a very welcoming place where intolerant bullshark can be expected to get shut down.  

The point I want to make is that if people do raise concerns about inclusiveness we should be willing to listen and have a discussion about how to address possible issues, rather than shutting conversations down to avoid criticism, because those concerns don't align with our own experiences, or for some other reason.

Very well said

I don't know where these comments are to be able to read them, but this seems quite racist.

If anyone walks into a crowd and says there's too many people there with skin colour x then that's racism and it should to be called out.

Obviously I've not read the comments, so I hope I'm on the wrong track here, and that it was more "I wish there were more asian people here" than "I wish there weren't so many white people here". 

It's in the Rainbow Fever thread.

Thanks, had a look. 

Didn't that thread take a turn. 

I actually found some of the discussion at the end there pretty discriminatory and offensive. Dismissing someone's viewpoint based on their skin colour/gender/s*xual preference is not something anybody should be doing. 

Good on this 'older chap'. Awesome attitude. Did he get his shirt off? Probably a better bod than some.

I hope that's the spirit I have, in that future small window between cather changes at the nursing home. Heading down to the zone, or equivalent, in whatever city I pass my later years.

Agree. Especially 7:30 Sunday. With a 5 hour home journey and early start Monday, I couldn't stay for the game last time I was in Wellington. That's 6 less at the game right there.

Just a question...

Is the ethnic mix at Nix games, simply of a reflection of the ethnic simply a reflection of the ethnic mix in football clubs across Wellington / New Zealand ?  

Can we change the title of this thread to "Navel Gazing"?

Well said. I'm not a football tragic at all but I do watch the Nix and other A league matches and obviously the World Cup etc. Being two and a half hours away it's not really that economically viable for me to get down to home matches more than once or twice a season, but I will be at the game on Saturday and almost never miss a Nix match on Sky (I have flatmates who help pay for that) so I feel like I try to support the side as best I can.

I wish I was joining you Bennie

Pretty much how I view it. Wellington (central areas) themselves arent very culturally diverse, you just have to wonder around town to see it. As a newcomer to Wellington, I found it bizarre but you go out of the centre and it diversified. Just how the city is I guess. The club are doing great things on the community front and I'm sure it'll be a case of in time will bear fruit. I don't find the stadium to be a racist place, and it's a shame that the folk in the OP felt uncomfortable but christ, you can't force people along. The atmosphere itself is incredibly friendly. 

Totally agree. Walking around central Wellington still feels very pakeha. 

NZ is 74% pakeha. Does it seem "more pakeha" than that? 

I started working in the city 5 days a week in July, I hadn't spent that much time in there for about 10-11 years. My overall perception since returning is that other cultures, and people from other cultures, are far far more prevalent than I remember. It's been an awesome experience actually, makes for a far more interesting place (not that it wasn't interesting before). 

I suppose it depends on what you're used to. Comparing Wellington to NZ-on-average is perhaps less useful than a comparison to Auckland or Christchurch.

I'll never forget my ex-mother-in-law from Eastbourne visiting the Ōtara markets and commenting that "it's like we were in Rarotonga already". To quote from the classics, shut up, Palagi!

Interesting stats- they are from 2013 and people could identify as more than 1 group.

I'd say the CBD area of the Capital seems 74.1% pakeha! I last lived and worked in Wellington 15 years ago, so I'm probably a little out of touch, and I'm sure it's got more multi cultural in that time. 

Still I visit at least once a year, and doesn't seem to be as diversified as say Auckland. Though I do tend to stay with mates in Khandallah, when other friends in Newton tell me that their kid's school has something like 20 different nationalities. So as Doloras says all a matter of personal experiences.

But basically if the crowd at Nix games, does appear 'too white' to some - that maybe is just a reflection of the town, and the team's fanbase.

How to improve things? 

The Phoenix getting on a winning roll, and becoming the hottest ticket in town. Then hopefully some of those new "fairweather" fans, becoming hooked long term.

Also signing a player from J or K Leagues wouldn't hurt.

But the EPL/La Liga type snobbery battle, ie perceiving the A League as a shark league - will never be won with many of these folk. They won't even watch Burnley verus Everton, or Villarel verus Girona - so will never tune in locally. If you aren't in the Champions League you ain't worth my time.

Building Bridges

Haha the article refers to Jason Pine as the 'doyenne of Kiwi football' - 'Doyenne' means the most respected/prominent woman in a field. Subtle (and totally bizarre) jab at Piney, or poor choice of words?

Hah! I think they meant "doyen".

I have thought about this thread for a few weeks. Now that the tesam are living up to their potential and delivering a nice style of attacking football and getting the results, it really is time that football fans around Wellington stood up to be counted and turned up. We've made this excuse, that excuse and any other excuse but at the end of the day it is up to us to do the walking and show. A lot of users on here no doubtedly try and encourage friends along and our travelling fans are still making the journeys from some serious distances away. So to me, it is time for the locals to front up. I hear people at my work talking positively about our results which is good. Now they need to follow it up and see it for themselves at the Stadium. 

The rest of you on here show up regardless and it is to you I say, Thank you, your constant attendence is helping keep the zone and areas around it alive. It was so damn noisey at the last game, brilliant. Good to see Aisles 23 and even 24 getting more involved to. Roll on the 12th.

Sorry cant agree LG,why we think the Wellington public owe us something after about 5 good performances.Given we have under performed for for such an extended period.

Then take a look at our schedule 3 games at home reasonably quickly one of which is midweek which makes it difficult for those from the regions.Then they are gone till the 17th of March and you expect the casuals to come back.Lets hope the team can keep playing as they are and hopefully some of those casuals can be persuaded to come.

I think the wellington public in general do actually owe the nix a bit. Particularly the football community. I'll guarantee you that if the nix fold there will be a massive out cry from those who "watched" from afar. You only need to look at the number of followers on Twitter, facebook and instagram to see that the nix have a massive number of locals watching them - my biggest question is why do only 7000 of those actually turn up to games? Sure the results havent been great and the die hard fans will always be there, but the general wellingtonian sporting fans need to get to the games, show their support and let the city and the club know they want the nix to stay.