Sunscreen anyone?

I attended a football (Aussie Rules) match on Sunday at the Gabba. I won't mention the result (but don't worry, the Lions will come back). But I will comment on a missed merchandising opportunity.

Here's what you need to know.

First, Queensland is the melanoma capital of the world. A combination of a fair skinned population, lots of sun and an outdoor lifestyle means that skin cancer rates here are higher than anywhere else in the world - they're coming down due to growing awareness, but the cases we are seeing now are the result of past exposure.

Second, the temperature was in the high 20's Celcius (for readers in the US who are stuck using an antiquated system of measurement that's in the mid-80's F) and it was a bright sunny day.

Third, about a quarter of the stadium was not in the shade, meaning 10,000 people were sitting directly in the sun for three or four hours. Now do you think any one of the many merchandising stands in the ground were selling sunscreen? Why on earth would they do that?

But the real brickbat goes to the AFL who have been told by the Lions, the AFL Players Association, the media commentators and the public not to schedule day games in Brisbane during April. Unfortunately it seems that nothing is so important to them than scheduling games to suit the TV shcedule.