Granty
30-09-2005, 10:17 AM
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16761237%255E10389,00.html
Night takes the shine off grand final day
Full Back, by Mike Colman
30sep05
EVERY year I look forward to the rugby league grand final like a kid looks forward to Christmas morning. And every year for the past five it feels like I've woken up Christmas morning only to be told that I can't open my presents until after dinner.
Now at the risk of sounding like a petulant child who cannot accept that my elders know better, I want to open my bloody presents on Sunday morning.
I want to wake up like I did for 45-odd years; look out the window to see what the weather is doing then run around the house with butterflies in my tummy knowing that I'm in for one of the best days of my life.
And that was how it used to be even before that glorious day when Channel 10 decided to telecast every match, every grade, every wonderful minute of it, all day long.
Oh what a glorious moment that was, to be able to turn the telly on at 10am and be swept up in the unbridled excitement of the GF.
Years later, as I passed the legal age, a new ingredient – beer – was added to the equation and it got even better.
I think back on those afternoons now and in my minds-eye I see mates and barbecues, and big bags of chips and laughs that went so long they brought tears, and going down to the park at fulltime to play a game of touch with a beer can. I see youth and happiness and Changa's white boots. I see what it was to grow up in a rugby league town.
And what do I see now? What do I see when I think of grand finals in the years since the hand of crass commercialism reached out from Willoughby, picked up the so-called administrators of my game by their lapels and said: "We'll be holding the grand final at night now boys"?
I see a football game. I see two teams playing 40 minutes a half. And it just should be so much more.
Now I know there are sound economic reasons for playing the grand final at night, but you know what? I couldn't give a damn about how much Channel 9 or anyone else makes on the night. And I don't reckon the NRL should care less either. How many times over the past 10 years have we heard that rugby league belongs to the people? How many times have we read the line "It's My Game"?
Whose game? Certainly not mine, or that of anyone else who has a genuine love of those golden grand final afternoons shared with family and friends.
Just once, wouldn't it be nice to see sporting administrators stand up for the people they claim to represent – the fans? Wouldn't it be nice if instead of caving in to the great god television they had the balls to stick up for their constituents?
Maybe they just don't care. When the NRL announced the first night grand final I debated the issue with the then general manager David Moffett. When I spoke of the thousands of kids who would miss out as the game went past their bed-time, Moffett said that wasn't an issue because there was a public holiday the next day in NSW.
"But what about Queensland?" I said. "Oh," said the boss of the National Rugby League. "I don't know what they do in Queensland."
Should the unthinkable (in NSW) happen and the Cowboys win on Sunday night their loyal supporters in North Queensland won't have the chance to see the trophy until Monday. All flights home will have ended for the night. How is that in the interests of the game?
This week a Sydney reporter brushed aside my complaints on this matter by saying: "Look, the great thing about Australian sports fans is that while they might reject change at first, they always accept it in the end."
That's because we have no choice. The NRL has told us the way it's going to be and we have no say in it.
Or do we? This week I received a chain email from Paul Ross, a disgruntled Queenslander who has called for a month-long boycott on every product advertised during the match.
"I know it's a little thing but I just feel like I've got to do something," he said. "I just hope Fourex isn't a sponsor." Spoken like a true Queenslander.
Night takes the shine off grand final day
Full Back, by Mike Colman
30sep05
EVERY year I look forward to the rugby league grand final like a kid looks forward to Christmas morning. And every year for the past five it feels like I've woken up Christmas morning only to be told that I can't open my presents until after dinner.
Now at the risk of sounding like a petulant child who cannot accept that my elders know better, I want to open my bloody presents on Sunday morning.
I want to wake up like I did for 45-odd years; look out the window to see what the weather is doing then run around the house with butterflies in my tummy knowing that I'm in for one of the best days of my life.
And that was how it used to be even before that glorious day when Channel 10 decided to telecast every match, every grade, every wonderful minute of it, all day long.
Oh what a glorious moment that was, to be able to turn the telly on at 10am and be swept up in the unbridled excitement of the GF.
Years later, as I passed the legal age, a new ingredient – beer – was added to the equation and it got even better.
I think back on those afternoons now and in my minds-eye I see mates and barbecues, and big bags of chips and laughs that went so long they brought tears, and going down to the park at fulltime to play a game of touch with a beer can. I see youth and happiness and Changa's white boots. I see what it was to grow up in a rugby league town.
And what do I see now? What do I see when I think of grand finals in the years since the hand of crass commercialism reached out from Willoughby, picked up the so-called administrators of my game by their lapels and said: "We'll be holding the grand final at night now boys"?
I see a football game. I see two teams playing 40 minutes a half. And it just should be so much more.
Now I know there are sound economic reasons for playing the grand final at night, but you know what? I couldn't give a damn about how much Channel 9 or anyone else makes on the night. And I don't reckon the NRL should care less either. How many times over the past 10 years have we heard that rugby league belongs to the people? How many times have we read the line "It's My Game"?
Whose game? Certainly not mine, or that of anyone else who has a genuine love of those golden grand final afternoons shared with family and friends.
Just once, wouldn't it be nice to see sporting administrators stand up for the people they claim to represent – the fans? Wouldn't it be nice if instead of caving in to the great god television they had the balls to stick up for their constituents?
Maybe they just don't care. When the NRL announced the first night grand final I debated the issue with the then general manager David Moffett. When I spoke of the thousands of kids who would miss out as the game went past their bed-time, Moffett said that wasn't an issue because there was a public holiday the next day in NSW.
"But what about Queensland?" I said. "Oh," said the boss of the National Rugby League. "I don't know what they do in Queensland."
Should the unthinkable (in NSW) happen and the Cowboys win on Sunday night their loyal supporters in North Queensland won't have the chance to see the trophy until Monday. All flights home will have ended for the night. How is that in the interests of the game?
This week a Sydney reporter brushed aside my complaints on this matter by saying: "Look, the great thing about Australian sports fans is that while they might reject change at first, they always accept it in the end."
That's because we have no choice. The NRL has told us the way it's going to be and we have no say in it.
Or do we? This week I received a chain email from Paul Ross, a disgruntled Queenslander who has called for a month-long boycott on every product advertised during the match.
"I know it's a little thing but I just feel like I've got to do something," he said. "I just hope Fourex isn't a sponsor." Spoken like a true Queenslander.