I'm not impressed with the new 'Ticketmaster fan' who just wants to be at an event and hasn't a clue what's going on

FROM THE BLINDSIDE:Alan Quinlan’s column on the lack of atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium produced a torrent of response from readers. We print a selection below

Lansdowne Road is gone, something called the Aviva Stadium is in its place. It’s the 21st century and the IRFU like every other commercial organisation simply want to milk their audience for all its worth, end of. We are nothing more than the marketplace. Enjoy the chips.

– bptd1234

It was terrible but also par for the course these days at the Aviva, it has all the atmosphere of a dish cloth! At the recent autumn international when Ireland were 14-13 down, sections of the crowd started a Mexican wave . . . I wish that those who want to perform a Mexican wave would slip away to Mexico and do it there.

– governator99

Rugby, more than any sport, is largely followed by a bandwagon element that are there largely for the social status. Irish people in general are event junkies and like to jump on any success, but rugby seems to draw a far greater element of this crowd than other codes.

– Robert Hartigan

This ties in with the social element of rugby, it is all about being there to be seen with the jersey on and clueless about the game or its rules.

Soccer and GAA have their own issues and bandwagons, but they don’t attract half the clowns that rugby seems to. The genuine fan is being priced out of the game at the expense of these day trippers, and that’s something the IRFU needs to address, but won’t.

– Jess Delahunt

I had a similar experience at the Leinster v Clermont game in December. There were far too many “fans” who were not interested in the rugby, and preferred to spend their time walking around the stadium or queuing up for a pint with the game on behind them, and this being Leinster’s biggest game of the season at that stage.

– Patrick Cagney

I agree with Alan about the booing. If you want to drown out opposing fans, then outsing them. This has been a problem since the old Lansdowne Road was demolished.

The IRFU went after the corporate big bucks and stands filled with alicadoos at the expense of fans who don’t happen to know the president of a local club. More expensive tickets mean a more exclusive clientele which results in less noise.

– Gavin Doyle

Yes it’s a new stadium and there are difficulties with atmosphere compared with a smaller tighter venue like Lansdowne in the old days. But the new social media norms are the real reason I feel we’re less engaged. We need to put away our mobiles and get stuck into a game.