Why rugby fans stay away from Ellis Park
· Citizen
If you are a rugby fan and use social media, you will have seen your algorithm filled with ticket giveaways last week for Saturday’s Bok clash with England at Ellis Park.
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It was deliberate, as the sportswriters of this newspaper had consistently reported, the stadium was woefully undersubscribed at the beginning of the week, with only 21 000 tickets of a potential 62 500.
The reasons are obvious to every Bok fan – and Joburger.
Rugby, especially international games, are tribal affairs which you engage in à la Braveheart or Shaka Zulu, going alone doesn’t really cut it.
The second is locale. By no stretch of the imagination can Ellis Park and the neighbouring Doornfontein be classed as attractions, unless you are a film scout looking for post-apocalyptic settings or an adventure tourist fresh off a shark dive.
The truth is that the beer comes faster in Boktown, the journey is shorter – you don’t have to walk miles to your car and haggle with a self-appointed instant car guard doing his street side hustle.
It’s even cheaper, safer and warmer at home, where a big screen TV and a month’s subscription to the much scorned and monopolistic, though excellent, SuperSport, gives you access to three Tests this month, at about the cost of one of the kakkest seats up in the extra strong section of Ellis Park, where you can’t see anything and it’s an odyssey of Great Trek proportions to the toilets and the bars.
The fact that the stadium was eventually fuller than the original feared third was down only to the oldest trick in the book, discounting the tickets that were left.
Which is marvellous if you were one of those fans who actually paid full price in the first place.
It doesn’t have to be that way, but SA Rugby Union’s greed has been a long time coming.
Nick Mallet lost his job as Springbok coach back in 2000 for having the temerity to speak out about it.
Rassie Erasmus has created a dynasty of superstars and is blooding a new generation of Galactico’s, but they depend on the fans, as much as the fans depend on them.
Erasmus knows it, his players understand it, but the suits just refuse to get it.
They are going to strangle the goose that lays this golden egg, because they are ignoring the most important shareholders of all – the fans.