ch958 Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 So when the crowds were massive none of that stuff happened ? yes but the audience was not so sophisticated we used to swallow meaningless challenge matches and second half races called 'Devil take the hindmost' and sing 2 4 6 8 who do we appreciate but that was 30 years ago - people won't put up with the amateurish crap we did 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) yes but the audience was not so sophisticated we used to swallow meaningless challenge matches and second half races called 'Devil take the hindmost' and sing 2 4 6 8 who do we appreciate but that was 30 years ago - people won't put up with the amateurish crap we did I know you don't go to speedway anymore but trust me the crowd is anything but sophisticated ...listening to most of the speedway fans on here mainly the old ones to be fair I expect bringing back second halfs and singing 2 4 6 8 would be the sort of think they would like to bring back Edited August 3, 2015 by orion 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shale Searcher Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Advertising, there just bloody isn't any!!! Promotors don't seem to want to splash ANY cash, no matter how small on advertising, they spend most of the evening trying to get the regular paying punters to advertise in the programmes, sponsor heats etc, yet seem unwilling to fish for new spectators.... They seem content to keep the sport at a level that turns them a break even situation, or the lucky ones turn a small profit without further cash risk.. If they have 1000 attending at £xx.xx they seem to go into some sort of shell.... When I first started going to speedway in the very early 70's, there were adverts in the local paper, just about every bus had a fixture card/s (90cm x 25cm) featuring the next home meeting, Inc relevance, star riders, address, start time, in fact I did start collecting them! Local radio were involved.... It just doesn't happen now.. you either seem to be a speedway nut, or don't even know it exists. And I don't buy into this guests, R/R, tac ride devalue the sport, puts newbies off etc.. Speedway needs new supporters, but speedway seems to only try and attract ex speedway fans, it needs to try and get new ones, and needs to look at completely different areas/media to do it, otherwise you will only find people that are looking for it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Blachshadow Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) So when the crowds were massive none of that stuff happened ? That isn't the issue though. You posted it would be a long time before a newby would worry about guests and R/R, my point is they'd pick up on it straight away since most matches now run at least one six man team and/or have a (G) against one (or more) of the riders. I really can't imagine anybody new standing there and not asking about it. Edited August 3, 2015 by Vincent Blackshadow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 If Speedway promoted the sport as being extreme and highlighted the dangers then guests, R/R and doubling up could be sold as positives. Your newbies might be impressed that the sport is so dangerous that there just aren't enough riders to go around when the injuries start to hit teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 yet again why newcomers be worried by guests etc . when i went to watch swindon town i took a group of people from work who really enjoyed the match and wanted to go again thou there were 7 loan players playing in the match . it just a myth that people are worried about guests and one person in a bib when they go to speedway for the first time 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Blachshadow Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) yet again why newcomers be worried by guests etc . when i went to watch swindon town i took a group of people from work who really enjoyed the match and wanted to go again thou there were 7 loan players playing in the match . it just a myth that people are worried about guests and one person in a bib when they go to speedway for the first time Obviously we move in different circles. I've never taken anybody for their first time who've been content to just watch the bikes go round - at least not for a team event. They've always had questions to ask, team make-ups included. Edited August 4, 2015 by Vincent Blackshadow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 it is simply not credible to ride for two teams in the same country - end of argument really. Long time fans may accept it (though i never have) but we need a new audience and they will not accept it i'd rather teams got hammered with their own riders - it happens often enough anyway 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 The PL will have to run with more NL riders then, the promoters won't like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkafag Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I can’t even begin to twist my brain in the shape it has to go to work out how speedway in this country would work if riders could only race for one side. I do have to admit though it is a great alternative to R/R and guests…midseason when riders are inured it can be 3 or 4 v 5. Try explaining that to a new fan. Edited August 4, 2015 by sparkafag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I can’t even begin to twist my brain in the shape it has to go to work out how speedway in this country would work if riders could only race for one side. I do have to admit though it is a great alternative to R/R and guests…midseason when riders are inured it can be 3 or 4 v 5. Try explaining that to a new fan. Most of speedway's problems possibly started in the mid-1950s when guest riders were introduced. IMO it heralded the start of clubs NOT having their own rider pool available. Things have just escalated since then - in 10 years time we could have our own version of what has happened to competitive team racing as in Holland, South Africa and New Zealand. Edited August 4, 2015 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) The PL will have to run with more NL riders then, the promoters won't like that! the promoters will like that - they'll be better able to make ends meet I can’t even begin to twist my brain in the shape it has to go to work out how speedway in this country would work if riders could only race for one side. I do have to admit though it is a great alternative to R/R and guests…midseason when riders are inured it can be 3 or 4 v 5. Try explaining that to a new fan. R/R, new signings - not easy i admit either find an answer or forget team competitions Edited August 4, 2015 by ch958 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkafag Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 R/R, new signings - not easy i admit either find an answer or forget team competitions They have found an answer which means there isn’t the need to forget team competitions. While some may have turned their back on the sport as a result of R/R and guests others haven’t. The idea of destroying what is there purely to appease people who no longer wish to attend seems somewhat ass backwards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I mentioned speedway to a friend who is a National sports journalist. He grinned and suggested its links towards one of Walt Disney's original cartoon characters! The clue is in 'MM'!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 The question was not if new fans would ask about guests and and rr but would they come again because of it .other sports have silly rules but if the action is good they will come again .so not sure why speedway would not be the same . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I mentioned speedway to a friend who is a National sports journalist. He grinned and suggested its links towards one of Walt Disney's original cartoon characters! The clue is in 'MM'!!! I can never understand why ex speedway fans bother to come onto a speedway forum just to run the sport down and not only that but seem to take delight in doing so at every opportunity. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I can never understand why ex speedway fans bother to come onto a speedway forum just to run the sport down and not only that but seem to take delight in doing so at every opportunity. Dont think he Majority are ex-fans.Some die - hard fans are showing concern IMO ,while they might be in the Minority on this Forum,the rest have just walked away without complaining IMO . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Blachshadow Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) The question was not if new fans would ask about guests and and rr but would they come again because of it .other sports have silly rules but if the action is good they will come again .so not sure why speedway would not be the same . Fair enough. If it's not the idiosyncracies of the sport's rules that's keeping them away it must be the lack of good action. Other sports do have their 'silly rules' (your words), but matches don't start with lop-sided teams and team-members aren't borrowed on an ad-hoc basis from opponents. For someone that follows, or, indeed, plays other sports, that's an alien concept which some may find laughable. Especially in a professional sport where a particular team's player is asked to stand in for his team's nearest challengers (for a trophy) and do his utmost to knock his own team off of top spot. Edited August 4, 2015 by Vincent Blackshadow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMac Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) Advertising, there just bloody isn't any!!! Promotors don't seem to want to splash ANY cash, no matter how small on advertising, they spend most of the evening trying to get the regular paying punters to advertise in the programmes, sponsor heats etc, yet seem unwilling to fish for new spectators.... They seem content to keep the sport at a level that turns them a break even situation, or the lucky ones turn a small profit without further cash risk.. If they have 1000 attending at £xx.xx they seem to go into some sort of shell.... When I first started going to speedway in the very early 70's, there were adverts in the local paper, just about every bus had a fixture card/s (90cm x 25cm) featuring the next home meeting, Inc relevance, star riders, address, start time, in fact I did start collecting them! Local radio were involved.... It just doesn't happen now.. you either seem to be a speedway nut, or don't even know it exists. And I don't buy into this guests, R/R, tac ride devalue the sport, puts newbies off etc.. Speedway needs new supporters, but speedway seems to only try and attract ex speedway fans, it needs to try and get new ones, and needs to look at completely different areas/media to do it, otherwise you will only find people that are looking for it... Most advertising would be a very expensive waste of money - the cost of local paper advertising is exorbitant in relation to how many people it will bring in. National advertising is not even an option. The weekly write-up (with pic) each track receives by way of local newspaper coverage is, in itself, an 'advert' for the local speedway. Meetings are previewed, forthcoming fixtures and start-times published. Do you think there is anyone living in relatively small towns such as Berwick, Scunthorpe, Workington, King's Lynn, Swindon, who aren't aware that they have a speedway team on their doorstep and have done for many, many years? Does anyone who reads, for example, the Sheffield Star not know that the Tigers race at Owlerton and have done on and off since 1929? I can see the sense, though, in distributing fairly cheap-to-produce flyers in towns where speedway is staged, especially those who are lucky enough to be able to draw on tourist visitors. Perhaps 'kids go free' offers would bring a few newbies in, if only for a week or two. yet again why newcomers be worried by guests etc . when i went to watch swindon town i took a group of people from work who really enjoyed the match and wanted to go again thou there were 7 loan players playing in the match . it just a myth that people are worried about guests and one person in a bib when they go to speedway for the first time Again, a poor comparison. Football clubs tend to loan players for the whole season, or half a season, and occasionally for a month or two. Footballers stay with one club for a certain period. Those players don't flit from one team to another, as speedway guests rider do from one night to the next. Edited August 4, 2015 by tmc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Speedway has the biggest advertising tool available, live coverage on a regular basis on TV. However, they don't use it. To attract new, young fans you need to make it appear to be the place to be.. broadcasting meetings in front of one man and his dog send a clear message, this isn't worth bothering with. If every week the tv fixture was played out in front of a big vibrant crowd it again sends a clear message.... this is something worth looking at. It's not complicated. There have been signs just lately that after 15+ years they are starting to work it out.. Sadly 15 years of damage has been done in that time! TV meetings should not be dreaded by supporters.. they should be looked forward to, welcomed.. Brilliant, we're on TV next week, the atmosphere is going to be amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.