Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted June 15, 2022 35 minutes ago, lucifer sam said: Typical BSF negativity. Great 2022 season so far, with most clubs doing good business. Thank goodness those on here are not reflective of those enjoying their speedway on the terraces. Surely Sam you can understand why there is negativity as most people know the sport could be in better shape the potential is there.Great to see that clubs are moving on since Covid great really terrific news.But you could see in the Belle Vue v Ipswich fixture crowd wise not everything is rosy in the garden.And as being a Swindon fan why would i not be downhearted as all us fans have been led a merry dance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lefty 1,268 Posted June 15, 2022 1 hour ago, lucifer sam said: Typical BSF negativity. Great 2022 season so far, with most clubs doing good business. Thank goodness those on here are not reflective of those enjoying their speedway on the terraces. Are you 'TTT' in disguise? I would suggest MOST' clubs are NOT doing good business! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,018 Posted June 15, 2022 I think @lucifer sam has his head buried in the sand if he thinks everything in the garden is rosy. You only have to compare the crowds year on year to see the decline. There are the odd gems that keep me going though. Peterborough vs Sheffield on Monday evening was a classic match, good racing, tight score line and all done and dusted in 90 minutes with a 10-15 minutes interval. Unfortunately it was run in front of a dismal crowd. My other regular track at Leicester has produced some excellent racing this season, despite what some of the critics say... but they really need to speed up the running of meetings. 4 hours at the weekend for a double header of 30 minutes! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moxey63 1,785 Posted June 15, 2022 4 hours ago, steve roberts said: To be honest the in-between race tractor grading never bothered me...too busy talking to my fellow supporters on the terraces to take any great notice which was a great part of the evening out for me! Steve, it isn't the tractor grading as such. But when you turn up at a meeting expecting to see the action straight away, and then are expected to wait sometimes an hour for them to sort out the track, it wears thin. Then after that, there's the longer than normal tractor grades between races to sort out something they've had days to sort out. And don't forget, as a programme contributor I didn't pay much of the time, and I stopped attending. Of course, it isn't just about tractor grading. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fina 78 Posted June 15, 2022 13 hours ago, chunky said: Of course it's not. Crowds are nowhere near the size they used to be, and that results in lost atmosphere... The other thing I don't remember in relation to crowds is venomous comments in foul language directed at riders, which completely ruined my last visit to Redcar. The group I stand with keep the comments to the riders performance on the night and the language reasonable, but there was a bigger crowd at the Poole match and I noticed the difference. One in particular was vicious about a couple of the Redcar lads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,096 Posted June 15, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Fina said: The other thing I don't remember in relation to crowds is venomous comments in foul language directed at riders, which completely ruined my last visit to Redcar. The group I stand with keep the comments to the riders performance on the night and the language reasonable, but there was a bigger crowd at the Poole match and I noticed the difference. One in particular was vicious about a couple of the Redcar lads. Sadly, that is the way of the world these days. Everyone is "entitled" to say whatever they want, to whoever they want, and anybody who complains about their language is a snowflake... Edited June 15, 2022 by chunky 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,991 Posted June 15, 2022 12 minutes ago, Fina said: The other thing I don't remember in relation to crowds is venomous comments in foul language directed at riders, which completely ruined my last visit to Redcar. The group I stand with keep the comments to the riders performance on the night and the language reasonable, but there was a bigger crowd at the Poole match and I noticed the difference. One in particular was vicious about a couple of the Redcar lads. Think you are looking back with rose tinted glasses Ove Fundin for one told me he was often abused and had things thrown at him when he rode at Wimbledon. Even back in the 1930s riders were physically attacked. One notorious track was Harringay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fina 78 Posted June 15, 2022 Just now, iris123 said: Think you are looking back with rose tinted glasses Ove Fundin for one told me he was often abused and had things thrown at him when he rode at Wimbledon. Even back in the 1930s riders were physically attacked. One notorious track was Harringay Quite possible or it could be that I didn't go enough to notice that side of speedway. I was based on Isle of Man so only got to watch when I was back in England for holidays or visiting family. The teams and league structure does set speedway apart from other motorsports I have been much more involved with so I guess that makes for a noticeable difference is the attitude of some fans. Learning a lot about the sport this season now I have got a lot more involved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trees 2,814 Posted June 15, 2022 (edited) If you lose your home team, the team you feel most passionate about, of course your love for the sport wanes, only to be expected. Grading, I've always thought of this as making the track fair (not at Eastbourne and maybe Ipswich lol) and safe for the riders who I want to be able to give 100% every race, it's NEVER bothered me and it gives us time to talk about the race coming up, the race just gone, speedway in general or perhaps just life. Sorry if you've lost your passion for the sport, so glad I haven't Edited June 15, 2022 by Trees 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sommelier 1,118 Posted June 16, 2022 6 hours ago, Trees said: If you lose your home team, the team you feel most passionate about, of course your love for the sport wanes, only to be expected. Grading, I've always thought of this as making the track fair (not at Eastbourne and maybe Ipswich lol) and safe for the riders who I want to be able to give 100% every race, it's NEVER bothered me and it gives us time to talk about the race coming up, the race just gone, speedway in general or perhaps just life. Sorry if you've lost your passion for the sport, so glad I haven't Nice quote trees, i understand where you are coming from,my version. Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce.Have a cold pint at 4 o'clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you've never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the Steak rare. Eat a Oyster. Have a Negroni. Have two. Be open to the world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server.Check in on your friends. check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noodles 1,337 Posted June 16, 2022 2 hours ago, sommelier said: Nice quote trees, i understand where you are coming from,my version. Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce.Have a cold pint at 4 o'clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you've never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the Steak rare. Eat a Oyster. Have a Negroni. Have two. Be open to the world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server.Check in on your friends. check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride. Choose life... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyd 165 Posted June 16, 2022 Through the eyes of A 11yr old. A couple of weeks ago for the first time in a long time I went to Sheffield to watch them v Wolverhampton and with me came my 11 yr old grandson for his first meeting. He loved the racing, the speed and the smell and loved being able to look into the pits to see the bikes being worked on between races. At the end of the meeting the crowd started leaving and he looked at me and said "is that it" ? and apart from a rider doing a few practice laps it was, but he left happy after watching the riders loading up there bikes and getting a closer look at them and we went home happy with his programme and speedway star. Last week I said to him "want to go to speedway on Thursday" ? And he asked who were they riding against, when I said Wolverhampton again he replied "but we saw them last time". Maybe he will be more willing when they ride against Ipswich for the next home meeting. On a side note he understands a rider riding in both league's but he thinks it silly that rider can ride for different teams in the same league. As I said at the beginning speedway through the eyes of a 11yr old. (the future fan base) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GWC 495 Posted June 16, 2022 5 man teams and one league to get us out of this mess! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,290 Posted June 16, 2022 26 minutes ago, GWC said: 5 man teams and one league to get us out of this mess! At least ten years too late... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,290 Posted June 16, 2022 On 6/15/2022 at 10:35 AM, Lefty said: Are you 'TTT' in disguise? I would suggest MOST' clubs are NOT doing good business! Looking at crowds around a few tracks I would think some are doing ok... However, the bar isn't set very high is it? The Aces seem to be doing "alright" at 1400/1500 I would think (to my untrained eye), however, context that with 2.7 million within 45 mins drive and it doesnt seem so good for a niche, unique business that has a monopoly in the local area.. And you only have to lose a couple of clubs at Div 2 level, through having uncompetitive teams, and 1300/1400 regulars get lost to the sport.. Still... Those in the hunt for winning titles will get another circa 53 (or maybe 54?) a week to compensate for having rivals with no chances of success.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
