Should Tassie have an AFL team?

[CortezTheKiller]

I can see why it would make more sense financially to move a second team into Sydney, given the relative populations of Tasmania & NSW, but spiritually Tassie should get a franchise. It's a state of Australia and it has no top flight footy of any code. It's an Aussie Rules state, so logically an AFL team is the most likely to have success down there.

For all the success of the Swans, Sydney is still essentially league territory.

 

[etho11]

See, your just starting an arguement there you idiot. People like different things in games so there is no better game here. Rugby League takes more patience, its a game that has to grow on you. Thats why it doesn't have as many fans.

Right, right, right.

 

[superhussey]

The way its going atm it will but changes are being planned and hopefully in 10-15 years time it will be back on track. Its going to take a lot of time though.

uuh no cause if people start to watch AFL, they wont wanna go back

 

[mattfb]

Obviously if they were big league fans before they will. You can always follow both.

 

[smssia0112]

See, your just starting an arguement there you idiot. People like different things in games so there is no better game here. Rugby League takes more patience, its a game that has to grow on you. Thats why it doesn't have as many fans.

It's not about growing on you, it's just about what you enjoy in a sport more. You can say it will grow on you all you want but if people aren't interested they aren't interested.

Tasmania deserve a team more than Western Sydney do, I understand completely why the AFL are expanding into Western Sydney and I support them completely in this, but I also believe that it's time to have a Tasmanian team.

 

[barmyarmy]

I'm not sure they should. They have a VFL team and if AFL are serious about expanding the sport beyond Victoria/SA they're right to look at franchises in areas like the Gold Coast but maybe another Sydney team or two. I get the point about fairness but most the Tasmanians I have spoken to actually support Melbourne teams anyway and were pretty adamant they wouldn't switch even if Tassie did get a team.

 

[Covvy]

I'd go for both W.C.E and Tassie if they had an AFL team.

 

[barmyarmy]

And when West Coast played Tassie?
I read quite a few articles on this when I was in Melbourne and it seems to me that if AFL wants to be taken seriously as a national sport they need to say no to Tassie for now.

 

[smssia0112]

I'm not sure they should. They have a VFL team and if AFL are serious about expanding the sport beyond Victoria/SA they're right to look at franchises in areas like the Gold Coast but maybe another Sydney team or two. I get the point about fairness but most the Tasmanians I have spoken to actually support Melbourne teams anyway and were pretty adamant they wouldn't switch even if Tassie did get a team.

That's the reason they are currently expanding into Western Sydney and the Gold Coast, with teams planned to enter the competition by the early 2010s, but the thing is that while those are long term projects for the AFL to get some more ground on the NRL, they risk continuously alienating the Tasmanians, who already love the game. Tasmania's bid has included various surveys that show that they would have more than enough members (I can't recall the exact number) based on people saying that they'd buy a membership.

 

[Left_Hander]

I've just said this recently. The Tasmanian cricket team is the only team in Tasmania. I can't believe other codes haven't gone down there to try and better their market.

 

[mattfb]

It's not about growing on you, it's just about what you enjoy in a sport more. You can say it will grow on you all you want but if people aren't interested they aren't interested.

The thing is people dont even give it a second thought. A lot of AFL fans watch 5 minutes then come to the conclusuion they hate it.