The shocking change in weather conditions recently supports the claim that change is the only constant.
As the season changes, so too does our wardrobe, our food preferences (bring on the pies and hot soup!) and our sporting menu.
Change is also in the air when it comes to sporting structures and competitions and the trigger for change varies.
At times it comes from international partners in the global market, from governing and management structures, from private owners and funders, and sometimes transformation occurs just because it is time for a makeover. What about athletes and players?
Do they have any power over how a competition structure is changed? Through their collective voices they can (players' associations), and every now and then the individually powerful athlete can sway decisions their way (think back to the key All Blacks who signed with the NZRU at the time a rebel competition was threatening to appear).
Can consumers influence the shape of competitions to come as well? We are regularly told that as consumers we are quite powerful with leisure dollars and where we decide to spend it.
One of the consumer groups with the highest inertia when it comes to sport is the Auckland variety yet the NRL Nines attracted more than 89,000 fans to Eden Park over two days, creating an event to rival the Wellington international sevens for entertainment value, and many other sports events in our biggest city.
Duco Events director David Higgins, the brains behind the Nines, may potentially be a catalyst for change in the sport of rugby league and it will be interesting to see if any of the interest stirred up during the Nines weekend will flow through to the Warriors and the NRL ''proper'' season through league participation rates, merchandise sales, stadium crowds, and television subscribers.
At other times, the consumers feel like no-one is listening to them. Steve Tew, on a recent trip down south, had to calm concerns among provincial rugby stalwarts that the potential expansion of the Super rugby season (from 15 to 17 teams) will affect the ITM Cup adversely.
Tew was adamant the Super rugby expansion would not be detrimental to the sacrosanct provincial rugby competition.
One has to read between the lines here, because Tew cannot predict the future, and although there will still be a provincial rugby window, how that will look is still up for debate.
Will the window be squeezed even further or will its gloss be dimmed by the unavailability of fatigued and injured Super rugby players and a satiated appetite for watching rugby?
Talking of saturation point, tired of competing directly with sports such as rugby league and rugby union, the Trans-Tasman Netball League (TTNL) commissioned an independent review on the feasibility of shifting their league season from winter to summer.
Ideally, this would attract more broadcast revenue and, at the least, it may stop a few arguments over the remote control between rugby and netball fans in the household.
Netball fans have a bit of time to adjust to this psychological change as the report recommended this shift could occur after the netball World Cup in 2016. I'm sure netball will continue to be played at the grass-roots level on cold and wintry days from April to September for a few years yet.
The rising popularity of the Ranfurly Shield in rugby has also caught the eye of the TTNL, which is considering adopting a similar concept in their competition.
Of course, it is the history of the Ranfurly Shield that makes it an appealing story and desired object, and it will take a few years for the TTNL to create a similar legacy that teams will want to fight for. Changing ''things'', such as a competition or a cup is simple enough.
Changing people's attitudes, values, assumptions (i.e. culture), however, is a more difficult and prolonged process.
What this rude awakening to autumn has prompted in me is the realisation that change is inevitable no matter what form it takes - dramatic or drawn out, expected or unexpected, wanted or unwanted, in or out of our control.
Superficial change in sport is also inevitable but changes in the underlying assumptions, values and culture associated with the sports we love is a little more resilient, and for those who detest change that core of resilience is all you need to resist it.
Yes, change is the only constant, but how we react to it varies. What sport will you watch via TV or live streaming? What events and tournaments will you spend your leisure dollar on?
What merchandise and marketing spin will you consume?
