I first remember discussing this phenomenon on here in the early 2000s, and it becoming a frequent topic in the late 2000s, when we were living in Milano.
In addition to the factors already discussed, I'd mention the impact relatively isolated episodes of fan violence, which was given wall to wall coverage by much of the media for political reasons, but had the effect of convincing a good number of Italians that football stadia were genuinely unsafe, and the constant dickering with start times, which destroyed the long-held cultural tradition of matches being played at 15:30 on Sunday and proved particularly difficult for the many fan clubs of "big" teams that are based 100km from their ground. It is difficult enough for local supporters to deal with multiple mid-week matchdays, or kickoffs at 12:30 or on Monday night, groups travelling long distances will only do that for absolutely crucial encounters. When we had season tickets at Inter, it was noticeable how many of the provincial fan clubs' flags would be absent on those occasions.
George, Sky Italia are Mediaset Premium are more difficult to pirate than their predecessors, but it is hard to get people back into the habit of going regularly.
In addition to the factors already discussed, I'd mention the impact relatively isolated episodes of fan violence, which was given wall to wall coverage by much of the media for political reasons, but had the effect of convincing a good number of Italians that football stadia were genuinely unsafe, and the constant dickering with start times, which destroyed the long-held cultural tradition of matches being played at 15:30 on Sunday and proved particularly difficult for the many fan clubs of "big" teams that are based 100km from their ground. It is difficult enough for local supporters to deal with multiple mid-week matchdays, or kickoffs at 12:30 or on Monday night, groups travelling long distances will only do that for absolutely crucial encounters. When we had season tickets at Inter, it was noticeable how many of the provincial fan clubs' flags would be absent on those occasions.
George, Sky Italia are Mediaset Premium are more difficult to pirate than their predecessors, but it is hard to get people back into the habit of going regularly.
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