When flinging around statistics regarding relative attendances pre- and pro-merger for comparison, nobody seems to have considered the huge increase in the population of Inverness and surrounding area during this period.
Not, of course, due to an increase in breeding ability, but to large-scale immigration.
Unfettered by previous allegiances, the football-oriented among them would be inclined to embrace the local senior team, whether it be Caley, Thistle, Clach, or a combination of these.
Don't forget that at the time of the merger, Clachnacuddin was the most famous of the Inverness teams, mainly because of its stupid long name!