I think alongside ticket prices and kick off times, another big factor is that we’re all just out of practice.
What I mean by that is that NZ went so long without live sport that the habit of going to watch it in person has been broken. People found new interests and/or adjusted their priorities.
I think this is true for lots of people. I have to admit that I've attended only 1 game this season, despite having bought a season pass for this (and every other) season. The 2 guys I usually go with also bought season passes but have failed to make it to even 1 game. I've tried hard to get them to attend. I've given up trying to get other friends along, like I used to. Anyway, we've helped to support the team with our cash but not any active support, unfortunately. My 2nd admission is that, the older I get, the more I enjoy watching games on the couch.
How did US women's sport get so strong? Title IX - universities which offered athletics scholarships to males had to offer them to females as well. Funding comes first - performance comes down the track. Pay up for a strong Wāhinix.
It’s a cultural thing too though right. NZ women’s teams dominate sports like rugby, cricket, netball, rowing/canoeing etc.
For the longest time Football has been a (if not the) “women’s sport” in the US, so all the best female athletes flock to it, and they become a powerhouse.
They kind of go hand in hand. Title IX - which has some flaws and criticism - means spending has to be equalised. If you look at the big three traditional American sports - American football, basketball and baseball - the latter two have women's equivalents in basketball and softball. Football doesn't exist for women, so that money can get equalised in women's soccer (as well as other sports like gymnastics etc.).
College football is massive business. Coaches at Power Five schools (the programs in the biggest five college football conferences: Pac-12, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC) get multi-million dollar salaries, for what is essentially amateur sport. Schools like Michigan, Alabama and Tennessee have 100,000 seater stadiums, and most games bring massive revenue. In this season's SEC 13 of 14 schools averaged over 54,000 and seven averaged over 85,000. So the schools spend heaps to get the best program to get bigger crowd revenue, and Title IX means those millions have to go over to women's soccer too. Even if professional women's soccer is never going to happen for the individual, the scholarships alone are plentiful so it's a genuine way to save a lot (or even full-ride it) with how expensive university can be over there.
Thing is, Title IX also prevents a lot of men's soccer programs from existing, especially at big schools, so it has possibly held men's soccer back quite a bit (alongside a lack of professional pathway until recently). Only 29 of the 65 Power Five schools offer men's soccer, compared to 64 of 65 in women's. It's even worse in other sports - volleyball is offered for women by 63 of the 65 but only five of the 65 in men's volleyball.
I think alongside ticket prices and kick off times, another big factor is that we’re all just out of practice.
What I mean by that is that NZ went so long without live sport that the habit of going to watch it in person has been broken. People found new interests and/or adjusted their priorities.
The kick off times have been a challenge for me. I am heavily involved in cricket which i have to prioritise. Sometimes Saturday and Sunday. I have missed games this season that i could have seen with a later kick off time. Still have my members ticket though, just havent had value for money this year.
How did US women's sport get so strong? Title IX - universities which offered athletics scholarships to males had to offer them to females as well. Funding comes first - performance comes down the track. Pay up for a strong Wāhinix.
It’s a cultural thing too though right. NZ women’s teams dominate sports like rugby, cricket, netball, rowing/canoeing etc.
For the longest time Football has been a (if not the) “women’s sport” in the US, so all the best female athletes flock to it, and they become a powerhouse.
They kind of go hand in hand. Title IX - which has some flaws and criticism - means spending has to be equalised. If you look at the big three traditional American sports - American football, basketball and baseball - the latter two have women's equivalents in basketball and softball. Football doesn't exist for women, so that money can get equalised in women's soccer (as well as other sports like gymnastics etc.).
College football is massive business. Coaches at Power Five schools (the programs in the biggest five college football conferences: Pac-12, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC) get multi-million dollar salaries, for what is essentially amateur sport. Schools like Michigan, Alabama and Tennessee have 100,000 seater stadiums, and most games bring massive revenue. In this season's SEC 13 of 14 schools averaged over 54,000 and seven averaged over 85,000. So the schools spend heaps to get the best program to get bigger crowd revenue, and Title IX means those millions have to go over to women's soccer too. Even if professional women's soccer is never going to happen for the individual, the scholarships alone are plentiful so it's a genuine way to save a lot (or even full-ride it) with how expensive university can be over there.
Thing is, Title IX also prevents a lot of men's soccer programs from existing, especially at big schools, so it has possibly held men's soccer back quite a bit (alongside a lack of professional pathway until recently). Only 29 of the 65 Power Five schools offer men's soccer, compared to 64 of 65 in women's. It's even worse in other sports - volleyball is offered for women by 63 of the 65 but only five of the 65 in men's volleyball.
Bit of a digression, but a fun one anyway.
Carlind always in with the best quality posts around. A very interesting digression.
I think the women's team actually offer a lot. They play with their hearts and although, it might not be working for them right now, a few seasons together as a major group and they just might turn it around. Sure it's early days but those of use whom were here for the first 4 tears of the Nix, know how poor they played defensively. Cut the women some slack. And to get their games in with the season ticket is a bonus - not that I bought one this year. I wasn't expecting to be living in Wellington past August but I'm still here.Good luck up in Auckland, hope they win (The Phoenix) and win well. 3rd place is beckoning!
Honestly, the women at NHS against Sydney were great, I was fetching a hot dog so I didn't see Sydney's goal, but in what I saw the Wāhinix were utterly competitive against one of the title contenders.
The game sched has been a bit of a killer for me this season, not just the time of day of the games. (I don't dispute that may be a factor).
We had a bit of a glut before Xmas when people also had some pre-Xmas and Xmas commitments. And then the Nix might not have existed for a month or two. Just about every game in Aus started at 9:45pm NZT. Too late for me mostly, and too late to get together at home and watch with the friends we'd normally go to a game with. So you knew the result the next morning and were only able to watch a known outcome. So maybe some highlights or a quick read of the thread to get a sense of how they went.
After Xmas if you missed one game because you had family commitments out of town it seemed like you'd not get to see the Nix for two months. We've always made the Nix a priority, within reason. It just seems to have been hard to build any sense of momentum this year following the team.
Maybe exaggerating a bit above, but it 's how it's felt for us this year. Not complaining, it just seems to have been a hard season to get any continuity following the team.
That said, hoping the guys can beat Sydney. We'll be up in Auckland for the next one there, but not this time.
And, I have been enjoying seeing the young Wahine Nix really start to find their way. Hopefully they can pull off some more good results this season.
100% correct Doloras. Many colleges only ran womens’ soccer and not mens’ as a result of TitleX, giving so many more females the opportunity to play at a higher level. when a Division 1 college football university has 95 male, gridiron, scholarships - that is a lot of extra women playing sport at that level.Doloras
How did US women's sport get so strong? Title IX - universities which offered athletics scholarships to males had to offer them to females as well. Funding comes first - performance comes down the track. Pay up for a strong Wāhinix.
A bit like goin* to the movies, you pay for the Monto
Doloras
How did US women's sport get so strong? Title IX - universities which offered athletics scholarships to males had to offer them to females as well. Funding comes first - performance comes down the track. Pay up for a strong Wāhinix.
Cool, feel free to pay that then, I'm sure your admission will cover the cost of the stadium hire.
I'm not interested in paying those price for the women's team, I think its far too high for what it is and I have too many other things to pay for in life.
Absolutely a strong women's team would be nice but charging an arm and a leg for sub par football isn't isn't way to engage support.
Anyway, none of this is a slight against the women's team rather my thoughts on better value for the memberships.
If someone could win Lotto and build a new 10,000-15000 seater stadium for regular season games, that would boost crowd numbers - always nicer to be closer to the action.
If someone could win Lotto and build a new 10,000-15000 seater stadium for regular season games, that would boost crowd numbers - always nicer to be closer to the action.
I'll add winning lotto to my investment strategy see if I can pull something off.
Trying to access mobile tickets and get 'Tickets for your event aren't available yet . Your ticket will display on this link at least 48 hours before your event.'.
If someone could win Lotto and build a new 10,000-15000 seater stadium for regular season games, that would boost crowd numbers - always nicer to be closer to the action.
I'll add winning lotto to my investment strategy see if I can pull something off.
You're under estimating how expensive a stadium would be. Win lotto several times over and you still won't be close.
Only 65 minutes more of parking the bus everyone...🙃 We've got this!
Zawada, has been (and I hate to use a Western United player to illustrate my point here) a Prijovic type signing from last season.
We all know how that ended up.
Hopefully Zawada can help lead us to the same promised lands, because he is in superb form. Would absolutely not surprise me to see clubs come in with some hefty offers for his services in our off season.
If someone could win Lotto and build a new 10,000-15000 seater stadium for regular season games, that would boost crowd numbers - always nicer to be closer to the action.
I'll add winning lotto to my investment strategy see if I can pull something off.
You're under estimating how expensive a stadium would be. Win lotto several times over and you still won't be close.
I'll give you a grassy knoll and you'll be happy about it. No lights!
Slightly mystified as to why Kosta was brought on as he he's barely been used. At least Kraev offers something in the air defensively as well as great skillset if we did manage to mount an attack.
