How Many Of Us Are Losing Interest.?

[Sidney the robin]

He hurts me to say this but after first going to speedway in 1968 my interest in the sport is dwindling.I still go to the Abbey every home meeting but at times it is hard after getting home from work to get motiavated to go.I sometimes get there see a good race and the excitement comes back my interest in the sport also went from about 1990 to 96 but i stuck with it.But this winter is a very important one for me i am seriously thinking about picking my meeting's next year as i have other thing's to do now i hope i get the bug back when March comes around again.On Monday i taped the Wolves v Swindon match yet have not even got around to watching that yet that tells you everything does anyone else feel the same as me.?

[steve roberts]

Yes Sid I haven't been to a speedway since I re-located to York from Oxford back in 2004.

 

I used to walk to Cowley and the fact that it was so close was the incentive to still go despite the sport going in a direction that I wasn't particularly happy with but it was a chance to meet up with friends on the third bend and have a chat which kept me attending for so long. I gave up attending away meetings during the nineties after having travelled extensively around the country prior to that.

 

Now living in York I have no desire to get into a car and travel to my nearest track (Sheffield, Scunthorpe or Redcar) and couldn't justify the petrol money never mind the admission price based on 15(?) heats of racing.

 

However I have great memories of following the sport for over thirty years and regularly watch a DVD (I have an extensive collection) and enjoy looking back recalling some great moments. Not many kids of my age were travelling to London on a weekly basis as we did following 'The Rebels' at Wood Lane as well as watching 'The Cheetahs' and trips to The Abbey to watch 'The Budgies' and days out on the south coast at Arlington.

Edited September 6, 2017 by steve roberts

[Guest]

Yes Sid I haven't been to a speedway since I re-located to York from Oxford back in 2004.

 

I used to walk to Cowley and the fact that it was so close was the incentive to still go despite the sport going in a direction that I wasn't particularly happy with but it was a chance to meet up with friends on the third bend and have a chat which kept me attending for so long. I gave up attending away meetings during the nineties after having travelled extensively around the country prior to that.

 

Now living in York I have no desire to get into a car and travel to my nearest track (Sheffield, Scunthorpe or Redcar) and couldn't justify the petrol money never mind the admission price based on 15(?) heats of racing.

 

I am much the same as you steve roberts. I haven't seen a speedway meeting since the 2002-5 seasons when I visited Wimbledon. Before that I hadn't seen any speedway since the previous Wimbledon closure in 1992. I briefly watched - I think on BBC TV - a GP from Sweden on a Saturday evening about four or five years ago. I didn't think much of the actual venue. So far as the racing was concerned I knew so little about the riders taking part that in the end I switched to another channel.

I have thought several times about going to Rye House but the complications and several travel changes I would need to get there and more importantly home late at night - I live in the depths of 'sarf' London put me off that as well.

I still have a keen interest in speedway history - from the sport's beginnings probably into the early 1970s. But from then onwards it's all rather meaningless to me. Gone long ago are the days when I practically knew the composition of every team and the background of most riders. Times move on I suppose? And this is the opinion of a speedway follower who saw their first meeting at New Cross in April 1946 - it was New Cross v The Rest in a challenge match as I recall.

Edited September 10, 2017 by Guest

[BWitcher]

Too much time on this forum listening to the whinges and whining will certainly make you begin to lose interest.

 

Especially when it's populated by folks such as the last two posters on a thread asking if they are 'losing interest' when they lost interest 10+ years ago.

 

Sure the sport has issues, but personally, I can't wait for the next GP and equally can't wait to get to England for the play-offs.

 

However, please fix the doubling up issue for next year so teams can have a regular 1-7!!

[waytogo28]

Me Too Sid - others may say it is because we are growing old and may be also less interested in other things. I don't think it is as simple as that because I too have been watching man and boy since the early 1950s. With serious interest when Ove Fundin arrived at Norwich. I am not gaga and am very interested in other things and other sports. I live only three miles from the KL track and someone picks me up and takes me there so there are no practical difficulties about getting there. Buster even has a disabled section where I can sit on the bench ( with my own cushion ).

So it is the action I see on track which leaves me very disillusioned. Of the 15 heats there are very rarely more than four with any excitement over passing or possible passing. 75% are tapes to flag processions - dull as ditchwater or worse. Too many rules that do nothing to spice up the interest in my brain and entice me to remain in the habit of going. Gardening at the gate is longer than the race - I kid you not! Doubling up - ah well don't get me started on that! r/r or guests all too often. So 4 minutes of thrills for my time and money is inadequate - Thumbs Down for me.

 

Oddly I have NOT fallen out of love with the sport as I am eager for the next GP where I see much more ferocious determination in the racing ( of course for higher rewards ) and only last night I watched a LIVE Swedish match and a Polish League match which provided more ( a higher % ) of exciting races for me to enjoy. The BSPA have got it all wrong because as a die hard fan like me being turned off, they are unlikely to attract new fans who require more VFM in what leisure activity they pay for.

[Guest]

Too much time on this forum listening to the whinges and whining will certainly make you begin to lose interest.

 

Especially when it's populated by folks such as the last two posters on a thread asking if they are 'losing interest' when they lost interest 10+ years ago.

 

 

I thought the two Posts (by steve roberts and myself) made clear we have NOT lost interest in speedway. What they indicated is that we have lost interest in the present concept of speedway and its shenanigans! As I see it, both of us retain an interest in what we conceive as being "the golden era" for speedway.

[Hacksaw Jim Duggan]

Too much time on this forum listening to the whinges and whining will certainly make you begin to lose interest.

 

Especially when it's populated by folks such as the last two posters on a thread asking if they are 'losing interest' when they lost interest 10+ years ago.

 

Sure the sport has issues, but personally, I can't wait for the next GP and equally can't wait to get to England for the play-offs.

 

However, please fix the doubling up issue for next year so teams can have a regular 1-7!!

 

 

I was slightly perplexed to read the first two replies were from posters who between them haven't attended a speedway meeting for the best part of 25 years!!! That's not an interest lost - that is just people who attend speedway as often as someone who claims they still shop in Woolworths!

[Guest]

 

 

I was slightly perplexed to read the first two replies were from posters who between them haven't attended a speedway meeting for the best part of 25 years!!! That's not an interest lost - that is just people who attend speedway as often as someone who claims they still shop in Woolworths!

 

You appear to have misread the comments by steve roberts and myself. We make it clear that we have NOT lost interest in speedway (perhaps that's why we are BSF members! ). What we have lost interest in what masquerades as speedway promotion these days.

[Hacksaw Jim Duggan]

 

You appear to have misread the comments by steve roberts and myself. We make it clear that we have NOT lost interest in speedway (perhaps that's why we are BSF members! ). What we have lost interest in what masquerades as speedway promotion these days.

 

Oh I don't doubt you are interested in this forum, but you haven't attended a speedway meeting since 2005 - 12 years ago, that's not the actions of someone who has an interest in a thing, or is losing in interest in a thing - that is the actions of someone who lost interest in a thing about 12 years ago.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Hacksaw Jim Duggan

[Guest]

 

You appear to have misread the comments by steve roberts and myself. We make it clear that we have NOT lost interest in speedway (perhaps that's why we are BSF members! ). What we have lost interest in what masquerades as speedway promotion these days.

 

 

 

Oh I don't doubt you are interested in this forum, but you haven't attended a speedway meeting since 2005 - 12 years ago, that's not the actions of someone who has an interest in a thing, or is losing in interest in a thing - that is the actions of someone who lost interest in a thing about 12 years ago.

 

You are very wrong! You are judging me on my comments in this thread (which in no way indicate an overall loss of interest in speedway from its historical dimensions). And in other media that deals with speedway you may well find and enjoy the response that my comments about the sport that I make there.

[steve roberts]

 

Oh I don't doubt you are interested in this forum, but you haven't attended a speedway meeting since 2005 - 12 years ago, that's not the actions of someone who has an interest in a thing, or is losing in interest in a thing - that is the actions of someone who lost interest in a thing about 12 years ago.

I haven't attended a speedway meeting since 2004 for reasons clearly stated but it doesn't mean I have no interest in the sport as I meet many people at my place of work who go, or used to go, and enjoy 'chewing the fat' with them...and I also enjoy participating on this forum.

Edited September 6, 2017 by steve roberts

[Hacksaw Jim Duggan]

 

 

 

You are very wrong! You are judging me on my comments in this thread (which in no way indicate an overall loss of interest in speedway from its historical dimensions). And in other media that deals with speedway you may well find and enjoy the response that my comments about the sport that I make there.

 

 

The question in the OP is about losing interested, how much more interest can you lose? I am not judging you for it - just pointing out you haven’t attended a meeting for 12 years – that’s not a in process loss of interest, that is a ship sailed.

 

Appreciate you make historical commentary on the sport though, I mean it isn’t like you can talk about much in its recent history is it.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Hacksaw Jim Duggan

[Paulco]

It's hard to keep interested when you're watching processional speedway and riders missing cause they're riding elsewhere . But I haven't yet reached the stage of not going , I enjoy the wee group I stand with every week at Glasgow and I still enjoy doing away trips .

[Fromafar]

It's hard to keep interested when you're watching processional speedway and riders missing cause they're riding elsewhere . But I haven't yet reached the stage of not going , I enjoy the wee group I stand with every week at Glasgow and I still enjoy doing away trips .

 

I think the social side of the evening is probably the main reason a lot of fans still attend.

[moxey63]

He hurts me to say this but after first going to speedway in 1968 my interest in the sport is dwindling.I still go to the Abbey every home meeting but at times it is hard after getting home from work to get motiavated to go.I sometimes get there see a good race and the excitement comes back my interest in the sport also went from about 1990 to 96 but i stuck with it.But this winter is a very important one for me i am seriously thinking about picking my meeting's next year as i have other thing's to do now i hope i get the bug back when March comes around again.On Monday i taped the Wolves v Swindon match yet have not even got around to watching that yet that tells you everything does anyone else feel the same as me.?

 

I was (am) that man. When you dread racenight coming round, a sickly feeling as you leave the house for the track, you know something's not right. Many riders have felt this as they reach the last days of their career. But a fan?.

 

Quite a few attend speedway out of guilt, a haven't-missed-a-match-in-12-seasons guilt. Don't want to break the duck now guilt.

 

But a lot of people follow a drip-drip method. Miss one match and it doesn't hurt that badly, not as badly as you used to have cold-sweats over. Stop reading speedway news in full because it's mostly yawn fodder that also happens. Even the speedway you recorded last week gathers dust and eventually gets deleted. The sport you once wouldn’t miss, you now see it through the eyes of those who often scoffed when they knew you liked speedway.

 

Ex-fans have seen the light. Some, like me, stick with it through forums and because of the time they courted the sport. But today's offering from the sport is as random as the lottery numbers that spew out on a Saturday night. In fact, when the only definite thing is you, the fan, attending the track every week... perhaps the sport plays on the guilt factor of many left on the terraces and the spaces around them are like a receding hairline.

Edited September 6, 2017 by moxey63

[TheScotsman]

I think there is a difference between losing interest in the sport and losing interest in going to watch the sport.

 

I am still interested in the former and will happily partake in the BSF and speedway related Facebook threads and other online sources.

 

I have very much lost interest in the latter largely due to the shambolic state of fixture planning (1 week on / 3 weeks off seems to be a norm but it could be 3 matches on in 1 week and then 5 weeks off), but compounded by the actions of many of the managers/promotors of the venues nearest to me. (And the actions of Bustit Chapman of course.)

 

So I've gone from a season ticket holder at a venue 80 miles away 2 seasons ago, to a regular attendee (and BSF Massif original member) last season, to now being a keyboard whinger who might put in an occasional appearance if my own team is visiting or if I think there's a possibility of a close meeting on a decent track (unlikely) between teams not riddled with guests or r/rs (even more unlikely).

 

But I'll still follow the Updates heat by heat, match by match, so my interest in the sport hasn't gone.

 

Could I be tempted back to a stadium?

Yes maybe.

But an awful lot will have to change about the way the sport is run.

[foamfence]

I started going in the 1950s, I often went three times a week and would go to big meetings at Belle Vue, Wembley and Wimbledon, that carried on until Odsal last closed. These days there are no tracks near me, I have no transport and money is tight. When money wasn't 'tight' I was a sponsor and also a mechanic for a few years. So anyone younger who criticises that because I'm no longer a regular, should remember that I've probably been to more meetings than they ever will and I still care about the sport.

[moxey63]

I think there is a difference between losing interest in the sport and losing interest in going to watch the sport.

 

I am still interested in the former and will happily partake in the BSF and speedway related Facebook threads and other online sources.

 

I have very much lost interest in the latter largely due to the shambolic state of fixture planning (1 week on / 3 weeks off seems to be a norm but it could be 3 matches on in 1 week and then 5 weeks off), but compounded by the actions of many of the managers/promotors of the venues nearest to me. (And the actions of Bustit Chapman of course.)

 

So I've gone from a season ticket holder at a venue 80 miles away 2 seasons ago, to a regular attendee (and BSF Massif original member) last season, to now being a keyboard whinger who might put in an occasional appearance if my own team is visiting or if I think there's a possibility of a close meeting on a decent track (unlikely) between teams not riddled with guests or r/rs (even more unlikely).

 

But I'll still follow the Updates heat by heat, match by match, so my interest in the sport hasn't gone.

 

Could I be tempted back to a stadium?

Yes maybe.

But an awful lot will have to change about the way the sport is run.

 

Agree with that... well, much of!

[Aces51]

I sort of see both sides of the coin. During the dog track years I did sometimes use to wonder why I was still attending every match because the quality of racing was far removed from the Hyde Road days but obviously and despite the poor teams we often had, there was still enough enjoyment to keep me going.

 

However, since the move to the NSS and despite the best efforts of the BSPA to destroy the credibility of the sport by their often ridiculous decisions and inconsistent interpretation of the rules my enthusiasm for the sport is as strong as it ever was. The joy of watching close, exciting racing overcomes the politics and incompetence. It is a five hour return journey for me to get to Belle Vue but well worth the effort and the cost. I've said it before but the NSS has proved that given the right setting Speedway can be as thrilling as it ever was.

 

If only somebody sensible could take control of the BSPA.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Aces51

[RPNY]

To be honest I think this is just the age old generation argument. Most of us look at what went before us as being better than what it was today. Goes for pretty much any sport. "It's not like it used to be" is a much spoken about topic. I bet you can go back 10 years on this forum and see a similar thread and in another 10 years you will see another similar thread.

I bet on the whole Swindon, Belle Vue Wolves Rye House fans are enjoying their Speedway these days. Kings Lynn no so much. All comes down to how the club you support is run really.

Not to say the sport over here isnt without its problems. But as previously mentioned on here, the GPhas been outstanding this season. The UK playoffs with be epic with massive crowds. It's not all doom and gloom.