keepturningleft Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Ivan Mauger has publicly rubbished the '81 final. No opinion on that, just thought I'd mention it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 6 hours ago, moxey63 said: I wasn't there but enjoyed the racing on ITV and later, on video. Proper speedway racing, when it could pull crowds. Same here. Bit like at Cardiff: great occasion, met fans from pretty much every other club, sat next to some Poole fans, enjoyed the day out. Only when watching the racing again (at Wembley though Cardiff ain't always stellar) on TV then on vid & DVD did I realise not all of it was as memorable as I thought at the time. Still least I saw a World Final live, though I forgot my blooming camera.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Snackette Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Has it ever been any different? I remember when I first went to speedway in the 60s my old Dad telling me that the racing was much better "before The War"!! As was football, cricket and virtually everything else as well!! The only difference was that unlike now, there was a few more folk watching! Remember.....Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 I always say that the first few years of watching speedway are probably your best. It's like with music, you tend to compare things with what you've already experienced, and the things you're currently experiencing when you look on them in 10 years, will probably be better in your memory than you experienced. Looking back on old photos always bring a nicer feeling than when they were taken. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 16 hours ago, keepturningleft said: Ivan Mauger has publicly rubbished the '81 final. No opinion on that, just thought I'd mention it. Only because he wasn't in it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Watched the Fleetwood v Leicester FA cup match on tv today and the commentator mentioned that the home teams ground is built on the old speedway track site, also that he watched speedway at Bristol. This got me thinking about the Fleetwood Flyers so I did a quick search and came up with this www.fleetwoodtoday.co.uk/lifestyle/dramatic-end-for-fleetwood-speedway-1-1561864 Looks like some promoters of those days were just as dodgy as some of todays, and that things really don't change. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatface Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 05/01/2018 at 5:06 PM, Terry said: That's on youtube. Bruce trundling along on the little tricycle (he was still going faster than in that Overseas Final race though!) I wonder who won his racesuit? It was a massive blow to the sport when he retired, and it somehow took something away from Carter...Their rivalry was legendary. Thanks Terry. Just watched that. A real reminder of what a great figurehead he was for the speedway - even willing to take a gunking for the cause :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 19 hours ago, martinmauger said: Same here. Bit like at Cardiff: great occasion, met fans from pretty much every other club, sat next to some Poole fans, enjoyed the day out. Only when watching the racing again (at Wembley though Cardiff ain't always stellar) on TV then on vid & DVD did I realise not all of it was as memorable as I thought at the time. Still least I saw a World Final live, though I forgot my blooming camera.... Wembley was never a great track for racing in my era, far too narrow and difficult to pass. Although peter Collins was the most entertaining rider I've seen there. I went to most of the league matches at wembley in the early 1970's, big crowds at a historic venue. As a kid it all seemed fantastic in those days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Mr Snackette said: Has it ever been any different? I remember when I first went to speedway in the 60s my old Dad telling me that the racing was much better "before The War"!! As was football, cricket and virtually everything else as well!! The only difference was that unlike now, there was a few more folk watching! Remember.....Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!! Yet go to youtube and watch any meeting on there from the 70s, then one from the 80s and then one from today and tell me it was better back then. It really was not. The sport today is more exciting than ever. Yet still the promoters are managing the kill the sport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 7 hours ago, SCB said: Yet go to youtube and watch any meeting on there from the 70s, then one from the 80s and then one from today and tell me it was better back then. It really was not. The sport today is more exciting than ever. Yet still the promoters are managing the kill the sport! ...however it attracted fans in their thousands so obviously something was right with the product. With all of today's state of the art media opportunities the same can not be said of today. We all have our own views and opinions for the reason why...well documented over and over but it appears that people are no longer excited by the thought of four motorbikes circumnavigating an oval track like they used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 57 minutes ago, steve roberts said: ...however it attracted fans in their thousands so obviously something was right with the product. With all of today's state of the art media opportunities the same can not be said of today... Speedway was better than the alternatives AT THAT TIME for some people, however the alternatives (and look at Rugby Union as one example) have moved on, become comparatively more attractive and progressed, whereas speedway is doing the same old same old, whilst its fanbase is getting old(er) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Central Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) If I were to be cursed with so little personal knowledge of the past. That my views had to be shaped by YouTube alone. Then, hopefully, I too could be excused for coming to some pretty daft conclusions. Edited January 7, 2018 by Grand Central 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 6 hours ago, Grand Central said: If I were to be cursed with so little personal knowledge of the past. That my views had to be shaped by YouTube alone. Then, hopefully, I too could be excused for coming to some pretty daft conclusions. So what made it better back in the day? Because it wasn’t he racing. Some of the 70s and 80s stuff in YouTube is dull and when you consider he stuff out on YouTube is cherry picked so will be some of the better stuff of the day it’s not a good sign. It was better because there was a crowd and an atmosphere. More people will always make something feel better. You’re more likely to be sucked into the event of everyone around you is having a good time but modern day speedway fails to do that. If two riders today have a fight it’s played down for a start. Riders rarely do wheelies and lean over for the kids to touch their hands on the slow down lap. All little things that used to happen. Speedway today is just Speedway. It needs to be more than that. Pretty much every other form of entertainment is more than just the product you’re going to see, it’s the “experience” and that’s missing these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 As I've said often before on here, I started going to Speedway in either 1966 or 67 and immediately fell in love with the sport. I was taken by my grandfather and was told at nearly every meeting by the people around me how much better it was in previous years. The racing I saw then and in the following couple of decades was mostly from the gate with a few good races at a really good meeting, a couple at a normal meeting and a handful of great races a season. Wembley World Finals were a great occasion but certainly not because of the racing (although apparently they were much better in the years before I went!). The main difference was being in full or near full stadiums so the atmosphere was better. In my opinion the racing today is the best it's ever been, the riders the most skilled and determined (although I do believe the top riders from any era would always be the best) and I don't see riders settling for position anywhere near as often as I used to. Quite often I think the tracks aren't prepared for good racing, especially in the GP's where the riders can handle the deeper dirt although even that is improving. There's not a lot wrong with the racing, the biggest problem is the perception of the sport from outside. It's just not seen as being a cool place to be, probably because it's really not. Us lot aren't the people to ask though, the questions need to be put to 14 to 20 year olds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) I remember watching an old Speedway video from around the early 80's (1982?), cant remember which track but they showed the turnstiles with people queuing up and Adult entrance was £3.00... If it was 1982, that £3.00 entrance fee is now worth £7.40, (not Eighteen quid).... Add in the cost of Satellite TV, Internet, Mobile Phone contracts, increased car ownership, inflation busting higher house prices and rent, higher cost of Petrol, Gas and Electric, Higher cost of Home insurance, Life insurance, etc etc... And the bottom line is for so many people their disposable income percentage wise is so much reduced from the early eighties due to the cost of basic living... £18 today is equivalent to £7.29 in 1982... I would suggest if Speedway charged £7.29 back then crowds wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as they were.. Clearly perceived high admission costs are a huge factor in the demise of the Sport.... How it finds a way to reduce them to attract people who either used to go or simply have no knowledge of the sport is the major barrier it needs to overcome.. Edited January 7, 2018 by mikebv 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 2 hours ago, mikebv said: I remember watching an old Speedway video from around the early 80's (1982?), cant remember which track but they showed the turnstiles with people queuing up and Adult entrance was £3.00... If it was 1982, that £3.00 entrance fee is now worth £7.40, (not Eighteen quid).... Not an exact comparison and only one ticket for around the year in question, which was an FA Cup Semi Final ticket for Villa Park in 1984, @ £4.00. So as you can see, especially when you look at the cost of football today, the cost of sporting entertainment, isn't bound by the Retail Prices Index. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/gallery/2015/feb/17/football-ticket-prices-old-ticket-stubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, uk_martin said: Not an exact comparison and only one ticket for around the year in question, which was an FA Cup Semi Final ticket for Villa Park in 1984, @ £4.00. So as you can see, especially when you look at the cost of football today, the cost of sporting entertainment, isn't bound by the Retail Prices Index. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/gallery/2015/feb/17/football-ticket-prices-old-ticket-stubs Certain Sporting entertainment.... Like everything else you can purchase, 'supply and demand' will play a huge part on the development of a 'price point'... Football (at Premier League level) appears to be 'bomb proof' due to all the TV money and coverage creating huge public interest. Which in turn garners enormous Sponsorship from global brands.. Domestic Rugby Union has dragged itself from being on TV on a Sunday with an hours highlights, (sometimes playing on pitches with one stand and a rope running around the other three sides for the supporters to stand behind) in the Seventies and early Eighties, to become the second highest attended Sport in the Country, played out in modern fit for purpose stadia. Again now attracting global brand Sponsorship.. Both Sports can now charge inflation busting admission fees because... Well, simply.. They can!!... Speedway sadly cannot as quite clearly and evidently, the demand blatantly isn't there.. If it cannot cut its costs to be able to significantly cut its current 'price point' then it has major, major problems going forward, as an ever dwindling fan base means even higher admission costs for those who still attend, all to just (at best) 'stand still'.... And for the past 30 odd years we have seen how successful that policy has turned out, hence we are pretty much now on the 'Speedway tipping point'... Edited January 8, 2018 by mikebv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldyman Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? I'm not sure they would...not in enough numbers to counter act the price drop...those that rent stadiums won't see their rent go down to compensate lower admission prices...and would lower admission prices make the sport any more appealing and cooler???? again..I don't really think so. The whole thing needs completely re branding to create a new and different audience to the one it attracts now.....and even that may not be enough...but maybe just maybe it might. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurntFaceMan Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 03/01/2018 at 10:30 AM, PHILIPRISING said: WROTE the following in an edition of Speedway Star in June 1981. Could have repeated it every year since including the present one. SPEEDWAY in this country is facing a crisis which threatens the foundations on which the sport is built. Unless something is done to stop the squabbling, the wastage of money, bending of the rules and, in some cases, blatant breaking of regulations, speedway will lose even the support of the hard core of fans. Vast numbers of followers are becoming disenchanted either with the way speedway is run or by the attitude of riders who seem prepared to bite the hand that feeds them. Any rider who doesn't fulfil his commitments is cheating the public. It is as simple as that. Speedway has got itself into such a mess with foreign riders that there is no easy way out. But a remedy must be found. First, however, the promoters who run league speedway in this country must put their own house in order. Speedway desperately needs a clearly defined set of regulations which are strictly adhered to without exception. The rulebook as it is at present is bent, manipulated, rewritten, ignored or changed at will. That cannot continue. Sadly, it seems it has. How have attendances varied since then? Things definitely do change. Thing's have got consistently worse for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, mikebv said: Certain Sporting entertainment.... Like everything else you can purchase, 'supply and demand' will play a huge part on the development of a 'price point'... Football (at Premier League level) appears to be 'bomb proof' due to all the TV money and coverage creating huge public interest. Which in turn garners enormous Sponsorship from global brands.. Domestic Rugby Union has dragged itself from being on TV on a Sunday with an hours highlights, (sometimes playing on pitches with one stand and a rope running around the other three sides for the supporters to stand behind) in the Seventies and early Eighties, to become the second highest attended Sport in the Country, played out in modern fit for purpose stadia. Again now attracting global brand Sponsorship.. Both Sports can now charge inflation busting admission fees because... Well, simply.. They can!!... Speedway sadly cannot as quite clearly and evidently, the demand blatantly isn't there.. If it cannot cut its costs to be able to significantly cut its current 'price point' then it has major, major problems going forward, as an ever dwindling fan base means even higher admission costs for those who still attend, all to just (at best) 'stand still'.... And for the past 30 odd years we have seen how successful that policy has turned out, hence we are pretty much now on the 'Speedway tipping point'... I tried to argue a while back that the price point was around 10/12 pds, similar to non league football below national league level similar cowd levels but they dont fly footballers all over Europe The price point is more or less fixed by what the market will pay, its costs that you have more control over. I suggest we start there. In fact there's nwhere else to start 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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