Today it was revealed that the Waratahs will not be publishing crowd figures on game day, and instead will be putting out an ‘adjusted figure’ on the day after the match.
Apparently there have been issues in the past with the crowd count and this delayed publication will solve those problems. The Waratahs have been unhappy with the previous counts, as they don’t believe they are an accurate representation of the game attendance.
To an outsider, you would think the crowd figure should simply indicate the number of people who enter the gates to watch the game. But as part of their outside-the-box approach, that isn’t how the Waratahs are looking at it this year.
Secret internal documents leaked to G&GR show that the ‘adjusted figure’ will include demographics previously ignored by the traditional crowd figure. These include:
– Members who were overseas at the time of the game, or had another commitment, thus were unable to attend.
– People who watched the game on TV, and exclaimed at one point or another that they ‘wished they were there’
– Walkers and joggers whose paths take them past the stadium entrance on Driver Avenue
– Passing motorists driving blue cars
– Every family member who has expressed to a player they will be ‘there in spirit’
– Any passer-by who hears the roar of the crowd at any time. This figure will always be zero.
– Seagulls that land on the field
– Attendees for the previous nights League/Soccer game, who will be viewed as spectators who just got there really early
– The passengers of any aircraft that fly within 35,000 feet of the stadium while the ball is in play
– Anyone who uses Google to search for the words ‘Waratahs’ ‘Sydney’ ‘game’ or ‘disappointment’ in the two hour window around the game.
– Any male over the age of 60 who made a purchase at Rodd & Gunn that day
With these changes, the Waratahs have managed to post an impressive crowd for their first match against the Force, a whopping 237,212.
One can only imagine what their crowd will be next week, played against the Reds out at Homebush, which has the duel benefits of an increased stadium seating capacity and a position right underneath the flightpath.
Any other demographics that can be included in Waratahs crowds?
