I wonder if the hype machine that is football business has killed the golden goose, and we're just beginning to smell the corpse. When I got into watching football following your local team was part of an expression of who you are, with families going together, often through several generations, with local business sponsors' support through to the emergence of local lads in the team showing the entire health of the town where supporters came from.
It's no longer possible for most families to get involved - both due the price and availability of tickets. The fans in the stadium are thought of as simple accessories to the the televised experience to be marketed elsewhere, so their views are neither sought or paid heed to if they do make a noise. Sponsors are international firms more interested in cleansing their reputations, whether they're sullied by backing murderous regimes or simply the manufacture of misery through gambling either on sports or currency fluctuations. While we're been lucky at Leicester to see a few players emerging from the youth team, most new players come in from all around the world with no connection to the city or the club, and it soon shows. The local players that do make a mark leave to clubs with deeper-pocketed backers, very few with a second thought or taking the chance to look back. And that's before I start on the upcoming World Cup.
Why would anyone watch this? Why would anyone bring up their kids to watch this? In short, the game's gone.