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Play Offs Should They Be Scrapped.?


stratton

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I feel play offs in any sport are there so that if your are 7th with a few weeks to go, you can still make the play offs and become Champions (speedway, ice hockey and both codes of rugby), or get promoted (football). This keeps interest up and thus fans coming through the turnstiles. Then the play off matches have so much hanging on their results, more fans than usual are likely to attend, so yes, play offs are all about generating revenue.

Nothing to do with Sporting Excellence though.

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About peaking at the right time and coping with pressure - somewhat like the one off world finals.

Err NO!!!

 

It is supposed to be a League - not a Cup Competition which is what the Play Offs turn the League in to. The League, any League is about a Season's effort - not a one off Event.

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Tv want the play offs.

 

Consequently the BSPA would take no notice of what the supporters want.

 

The play offs are here to stay for as long as we have tv coverage.

Most of the fans want the plays offs ...it's a small number mainly from people over 55 who don't want them

be nice to have the cup final at the National Stadium and make it a big event - perhaps over a weekend with PL Ko cup final and maybe even NL final on the Friday night

If you going to bring the ko cup back at all levels that is not a bad idea thou I reckon who might have to have them all on the same day ...the only doubt is would enough fans travel that far north to make it work money wise

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Tv want the play offs.

 

Consequently the BSPA would take no notice of what the supporters want.

 

The play offs are here to stay for as long as we have tv coverage.

I think you are very probably right.

 

It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Edited by The White Knight
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I think you are very probably right.

 

It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

If he was correct then the Pl would not have play offs ...so he is incorrect and and shows it's no more that a myth .

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Err NO!!!

 

It is supposed to be a League - not a Cup Competition which is what the Play Offs turn the League in to. The League, any League is about a Season's effort - not a one off Event.

 

And this is where I feel British Speedway got it wrong; and I said at the time the Play-Offs were brought in.

 

For many years British Basketball and Ice Hockey were able to operate the two side by side. I've experienced the excitement of both scrapping for and gaining the eighth and final play-off spot and winning the league. Supporting teams that became National Champions in both those leagues meant everything a League is meant to be; it was the culmination of a season and the celebrations were awesome.

 

And then the excitement of the Play-Offs, losing in the 1st Round as League Champions and winning a 1st Rounder as the lower seed. The intensity of what a Play-Off game should be. And then the totally special feel of a Final (like the FA Cup Final used to be ... now I'm looking back to the good old days !!!)

 

It never felt fake. Yet in Speedway there was refusal to separate the two by officials and supporters. I love Basketball, but the NBA is an 82 match qualification competition. The NFL works better. It is built as a (16 game) qualification regular season with a limited number qualifying for the play-offs. Major League Baseball is similar, apart from a 162 (!!!) game regular season that too me removes all those positives of the NFL.

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Tv want the play offs.

 

Consequently the BSPA would take no notice of what the supporters want.

 

The play offs are here to stay for as long as we have tv coverage.

It is an odd one that isn't it. The public dont want play offs yet the self same public turn out in their droves to watch them. You might want to re think that one

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It is an odd one that isn't it. The public dont want play offs yet the self same public turn out in their droves to watch them. You might want to re think that one

Only the Supporters of those Teams involved which would be exactly the same in any other Cup Competition.

 

Of course, there are always those Supporters who do not mind seeing their Team win get the League Title by devious methods.

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Only the Supporters of those Teams involved which would be exactly the same in any other Cup Competition.

 

Of course, there are always those Supporters who do not mind seeing their Team win get the League Title by devious methods.

You really are so far removed from reality that your opinion is worthless I am afraid Ian

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]Most of the fans want the plays offs ...it's a small number mainly from people over 55 who don't want them

 

.

The over 55s ARE today's Speedway fans. Without them there,d be no speedwayT

SPOT ON although I am not quite there yet( 54yrs old) but my reasons for being against the play offs is that the whole thing is meaningless, that includes winning the league WHAT do teams get out of it except huge wage bills for top riders .I have never thought of not going to speedway because my team didn't win the league ( did in fact Ellesmere Port 1985) look how well that went .It is the quality of racing that matters and having value for money ,you don't need GP stars to make good racing equally matched riders,machinery and close racing make good speedway .

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I can certainly see the attraction of the play offs and the finals undoubtedly attract a large number of fans. What we don't know is what effect, if any, relegating the league matches up to the play offs into a qualifying competition for those play offs, has had on the dramatic drop in attendances at all those other matches. My feeling is that it has certainly contributed and may be a major factor in the huge drop in total number of fans that attend matches over a whole season. The season is now slanted towards simply finishing in the top 4 and being the form team at the end of the season, either through getting everyone into form at the right time or, making the right team changes in time for the play offs.

 

People argue that interest was lost in the league if there was a run away leader. That wasn't my experience. The league held my interest throughout the season, even if we weren't in contention to win it. I wanted to see how high up we could finish, I wanted to finish higher than local rivals and I wanted us to beat the teams likely to finish above us.

 

Maybe that is just me or maybe overall attendances wouldn't be as dire as they are if we still had league champions rather than play off champions.

 

Another hobby horse of mine is the knock out cup. Promoters tell us nobody is interested. What they forget is that they are largely responsible because of the way the competition was run in recent times. Sometimes months between qualifying rounds and finals fitted in at the end of the season, often in poor weather. It certainly have the impression that the BSPA regarded it as a fixture filler rather than a prestigious competition. I'm sure a properly organised cup competition would be attractive to fans if given a high profile, with each round to be completed in a set timescale and a final immediately before or following the play offs.

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SPOT ON although I am not quite there yet( 54yrs old) but my reasons for being against the play offs is that the whole thing is meaningless, that includes winning the league WHAT do teams get out of it except huge wage bills for top riders .I have never thought of not going to speedway because my team didn't win the league ( did in fact Ellesmere Port 1985) look how well that went .It is the quality of racing that matters and having value for money ,you don't need GP stars to make good racing equally matched riders,machinery and close racing make good speedway .

 

Here we go again..

 

The quality of racing.

 

The quality of racing means zip, nada, zilch.

 

Does Peterboro operate to big crowds? No they don't.. in fact they struggle consistently.. yet they're always praised for their 'quality of racing'.

 

Yet when Peterboro had a really successful period, winning trophies at the lower level, then again at the top level, funnily enough they were packing the fans in.

 

Scunthope.. always praised for 'quality of racing'.. are they turning fans away there at the gate?

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