An opportunity not to be missed by the game

Columnist

By Adrian Musolino, 29 May 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: 2010 World Cup, A-League, Craig Foster, football, John van't Schip, MCG, melbourne heart, Melbourne Victory, Nicky Carle, Socceroos, Sydney FC

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Australian soccer fans enjoy the atmosphere at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. AAP Image/Julian Smith

How does football convert the bandwagon Socceroos supporter into a permanent football supporter? That’s the question the football community should be asking itself as it enters the rare period every four years when the code is at the forefront of Australia’s attention.

Craig Foster recently wrote of the need for the game to take full advantage of the opportunity afforded by the World Cup, arguing that “football has to be clever enough to leverage the incredible opportunity that comes courtesy of World Cup qualification to drive some key messages out to mainstream Australia.”

Foster then outlines the messages football needs to get across in this period. They are, in the main, grandiose messages in keeping with Foster’s well-known philosophies on football’s place within Australian society.

But what he and the wider football community are missing are more practical strategies to help the betterment of the game, particularly the A-League.

Foster says one of the key messages should be: “The growth of the A-League and its goal to become number one in Asia and the foremost professional sporting competition in Australia.”

The message should not be just on the growth of the A-League but rather ways in which it can achieve further growth and consolidation.

Pushing and selling the A-League brand should be woven in to the greater Socceroos message when the national team is in the spotlight.

How? Simple marketing. Pushing brand awareness at any opportunity.

At the MCG for the Socceroos versus All Whites clash, there was no visible sign of the A-League and its two clubs, Melbourne Victory and Heart, apart from an interview with Heart coach John van ‘t Schip in the match program.

While corporations like Sony, Foxtel, Optus, Solo and the like were pushing random products emblazoned with their logos and slogans, why weren’t the Victorian clubs and someone from the FFA representing the A-League pushing anything from membership offers, the new season draw, beach balls emblazoned with the club and league logos, whatever, to help increase brand awareness of them to a potential new audience?

It was yet another missed opportunity and this sort of basic marketing should be a necessity at each Socceroos outing – even at events such as Sydney’s Fan Fest during the World Cup, where large numbers of casual fans will gather.

Would it hurt Sydney FC to send Nicky Carle and co to Darling Harbour during Socceroos matches and mingle with the supporters, offering membership packages, telling them the time and date of their season opener, etc?

Every little bit they can do to help push the Sydney FC brand will come in handy, and if they do it right it should have a noticeable impact on crowd numbers at the SFS.

Remember, football has been buried out of sight on Fox Sports and SBS for years, and this is only the second occasion in recent times where the code has such widespread mainstream attention.

Grasp this opportunity and maximise every possible minute of it through advertising, promotion, fan interaction, etc, to preach to the masses and convert them one by one.

These things don’t just happen naturally.

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The Crowd Says (79) | Page 1 of Comments

James said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:00am | Report comment

Foster is a bit loony. Those messages are a bit pie in the sky stiff for the Australian public.

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Billo said | May 29th 2010 @ 3:34am | Report comment

The problem is that you assume soccer has inherent qualities that make it greater than the three other football codes in Australia.
Unfortunately I don’t think it has.
Soccer dominates where other football codes haven’t been able to get a foothold, but in those markets where other codes are well organised, such as Australia, the USA, Ireland and NZ, soccer finds it hard to compete as a spectator sport, other than for big events, such as World Cups, that transcend the sport itself.

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- rovingto2011 said | May 29th 2010 @ 5:21am | Report comment
  
  it absolutely does have inherent qualities that leave any pretend ‘football code’ in the shade. And fortunately for us football fans, billions agree. Just because you (and many Australians) can’t see that is your loss. Enjoy your comfy little bubble of delusion… keep on telling yourself football has nothing to offer, while we all go on enjoying what the rest of the world has known for an age.
  
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  - Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:00am | Report comment
    
    Billions? Please point them out. What about China or India. Or the millions of people in the UK who don’t care. The fact is that it comes down to the fact that football is easier to play if youre poor, poorly educated and with limited facilities. It is hard to say people chose football when many have never been presented with an alternative.
    
    Reply
  - SideShowBob said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:01am | Report comment
    
    And there, folks, is a prime example of why I’m very unlikely to be anything more than a soccer “bandwagoner” i.e. a World Cup Socceroos supporter. Soccer proselytism at its worst: disingenuous and obtuse.
    
    Reply
    - Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:03am | Report comment
      
      It is the problem I have too Bob. I’d like to get involved in Australian football but I find the supporters are so difficult and talk about ‘the world’ as though they have actually left Australia.
      
      Reply
    - MV Dave said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:22am | Report comment
      
      Yes SSB its like living in Melbourne where the AFL gets rammed down your throat whether you like it or not. Also AFL supporters and the Rugby code supporters do exactly the same when and if they have the opportunity…in fact AFL are doing such in Sydenee if l’m not mistaken…dont see too many Sydenee siders calling out for another AFL team…Pot kettle black me thinks.
      
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      - Galloping Guru said | May 29th 2010 @ 1:59pm | Report comment
        
        Well i guess you can imagine how the rest of the world feels, then again maybe not.
        
        The rest of the world gets soccer rammed down their throats 24/7, and you know what, they dont have the great diversity of football they we have in this country, they just have soccer, soccer soccer.
        
        But hey !! thats what you want isn’t it.
        
        Reply
        
        MV Dave said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
        
        Is that you Sheeds? The AFL Messiah sent to save the great unwashed in western Sydenee and show them the light…those infidels who just…have no interest in the ‘Game that made Australia’.
        
        Somthing to help you through your Sat afternoon GG; http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2010/05/how_football_helped_to_heal_ho.html#211031
        
        Galloping Guru said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
        
        Melbourne’s media love afair with Australian football reflects public opinion, your rather narrow minded opinions fortunately do not reflect wider public opinion.
        
        If only one city in the world does not genuflect before FIFA, then the world is a much better place, in Australia’s case there are several, and thats fantastic.
        
        Enjoy your maccas for brekky did we ?, though you did, you love maccas don’t you, you love conformity.
        
        Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 3:47pm | Report comment
        
        More propaganda than fact I feel.
      - Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 3:45pm | Report comment
        
        It does have one of the worlds top 3 attended sporting competitions and it is that sports spiritual home and yu are upset that it is everywhere and it far and away king? It is like going to down town Manchester and complaining about the football.
        
        Reply
        
        Michael C said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
        
        apparently Catholicism is pretty big in the Vatican City……you’d look a right twit to live there and complain about the incessent bell ringing and crowds of ‘faithful’ having the doctrine rammed down their throats……..
    - rovingto2011 said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:32am | Report comment
      
      dude you’re on the ‘Football’ tab what did u expect
      
      Reply
    - Australian Football said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:59am | Report comment
      
      Side Show Bob,
      What examples are you referring to.? Billo’s or yours?
      ______
      AF
      
      Reply
  - Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:01am | Report comment
    
    Why do we have to do what the “world” does all of a sudden? Is this cultural cringe?
    
    Reply
  - VooDoo said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:42am | Report comment
    
    Typical post from your type.
    
    Reply
- MV Dave said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:15am | Report comment
  
  “The problem is that you assume soccer has inherent qualities that make it greater than the three other football codes in Australia.”
  You mean like AFL people believe they have the best game and Rugby people think they have the best game…? What a shock?
  So you dont think football has inherent qualities that make it better than the others…thats your opinion but football is by miles the most popular code on the planet. It is also growing rapidly in the areas you say its not no 1. It doesnt find it hard to compete just that most people in those areas will only want to watch the best…so WCs, Euros, UCL, tournaments where the big teams play will always draw huge crowds.
  When the best footballers are playing no other sport can compete IMO.
  
  Reply
  - Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 5:30pm | Report comment
    
    I like rugby but I think European handball may well be the best game.
    
    Reply
- punter said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:06am | Report comment
  
  Errrr, there England, Scotland, Wales, Sth Africa, France, Japan, Argentina, from the last time I looked all have a rich history in Rugby & football has no problems to compete as a spectator sport.
  
  But you are right in the USA, Australia & New Zealand they struggle against other football codes, that’s 3 nations out of 300 nations. I would argue that football is very big in Ireland & at least equal footing with other football codes.
  
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  - Davstar said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:25am | Report comment
    
    Anyone who things Football(soccer) doesnt have the qualities of other sports is simply lost. I love AFL and Football but Football is a better sport it requires more skill and you can’t just be a big meat head to play it like rugby. That being said Football in Australia loses its top footballers consently to european clubs to keep the socceroos strong which is fair enough. If you took the top 50 players out of the AFL or NRL and put them overseas crowds would drop like a bomb!
    
    AFL will never expand beyond Australia it might get to NZ might! Rugby will always been seen as a sport of the big and the brainless.
    
    Football will over time take over either in 10 years or 50 years it will keep getting stronger whilst other codes remain stationed. Even in the USA the MSL has grown quite big in 10 years im not saying it is going to be the number one sport anytime soon but its worth noting.
    
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    - Rob said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:59am | Report comment
      
      “Football is a better sport it requires more skill and you can’t just be a big meat head to play it like rugby”
      
      I would argue that Rugby is a more all encompassing and tactically deeper game than soccer. In rugby there are positions for people of all body types and together they must work to form a cohesive unit. In soccer all the players are built like coat hangers and need to have skill sets that are much more streamlined than those of a rugby team (barring the goaly).
      
      Soccer may overtake other sports here in time, but then Islam may over take Christianity here too. But that wouldn’t change the fact that its the atheists who are right (and in the sporting sense the multicoder is the atheist)
      
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    - Doug said | May 29th 2010 @ 6:17pm | Report comment
      
      Davstar you are confusing your lack of knowledge with a lack of skill required to play the other varieties of football. The difference you actually have noticed is the different physical requirements. In the two rugbys and gridiron there is a large requirement for tacklng and breaking tackles so they need greater upper body strength. In footy there is still tackling but it isnt as crucial but also carrying the extra muscle mass is detrimental to a players speed over an entire game. In soccer upper body strength provides ltitle advantage and is just extra weight to be lugged around the field. Following your reasoning cricket is the most skillful sport in the world because world class players can be overweight, smoke 6 packs and drink half a slab a day. Or alternately your reasoning is that an Olympic weight lifter should dominate at rugby simply by being the strongest, it may work at amateur levels but they would lack the skills to compete at the highest levels.
      The skills needed to be successful differ between sports. The physical requirements are different too. But the thing that is the same at elite sporting level is the level of skill – elite.
      
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    - Dan said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:42pm | Report comment
      
      “Rugby will always been seen as a sport of the big and the brainless.”
      
      Since when? Rugby League is often derided for its brutish nature, but rugby union is largely appreciated for its tactical depth, nuanced cultures between the playing natures and the inclusive nature of a game which offers a position for all body types. Soccer on the other hand is thought be much of the English speaking world (lets not forget that the majority of the English speaking world is in North America) as a way for way of giving thugs an excuse to start a riot.
      
      Reply
    - Michael C said | May 30th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
      
      skill, strategy and tactics……
      
      ….like all top level sport, it’s a case of executing well under pressure.
      
      What get’s annoying is soccer people for example picking on AFL players for missing set shots (don’t forget – the pressure), and yet revelling in a penalty shoot out……because of the drama-pressure.
      
      Tactics and stretegy are a function I guess of the ‘freedoms’ or otherwise in a sport. The more structured a sport in both ‘formation’ and ‘rule based restrictions’ – - – the more refined the strategies need to be in a narrower band.
      
      For example – Netball has far greater restriction than basketball. Is netball more tactical than basketball?? Perhaps it is. However, to gain an edge in basketball – - the tactics and strategies need to be more fluid, more flexible and the application of them in a team environment need to be spot on because the ‘rebound’ will kill you.
      
      Risk and reward carries it’s own strategic burden.
      
      How about then people just learn a bit more about ‘sports strategy 101′ and become a little more open to the range of possibilities. No sport is necessarily better – - however, it IS necessary that they be different.
      
      Reply
  - True Tah said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:47am | Report comment
    
    punter
    
    Japan doesnt really have a rich history in rugby, would argue that Wales does not have a rich history in futbol, and in Ireland, it would be some distance behind GAA, but probably the same footing as rugby, although last year, a game between two Irish provinces drew over 80k, and the Republic of Ireland team failed to sell out Thomond Park against the Socceroos.
    
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    - punter said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:53am | Report comment
      
      TT, I lived in Wales & travelled around Ireland & can tell you football is big in both countries, it’s just that their local league is dwarfed by the EPL. You have to speak to the Irish to see how much the likes of Liam Brady, David O’Leary & frank Stapleton are revered.
      
      As for Wales, football is also very big, it’s just that they are more successful at Rugby. Abit like swimming & Atthelics in Australia, we are good at swimming, but who is the bigger star Bolt or Phelps?
      
      Reply
      - True Tah said | May 29th 2010 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
        
        Punter, Wales did not draw more than 30K to any of their world cup qualifiers.
        
        Reply
- apaway said | May 29th 2010 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
  
  Well, it took only 2 posts to get away from the point and turn into a “which code is better” debate which will NEVER be resolved as long as there are passionate supporters on this site.
  
  Really, I don’t agree with Billo, but defend his (her?) right to voice an opinion.
  
  Reply
  - David said | May 29th 2010 @ 4:44pm | Report comment
    
    Rob your argument made no sense, but what i got form what you said rugby will always be the sport people will want to play….anyway clearly do not know what you’re on about for everyone 1 person that players rugby there is 2 that play football(soccer). To become a star football player you need to be fast, skillful, have good vision and understand of game play you also need to deal with the media. Rugby requires you to be big, dumb and able to take a hit, being Kiwi might help, rugby players spend all their time sexually assaulting young girls for them to have any knowledge of anything and their supporters like yourself seem to think they have brains? Lmao
    
    That fact the NZ are one of the best in the world at rugby sums it all up for me
    
    Reply
    - Pete said | May 29th 2010 @ 5:16pm | Report comment
      
      Nice objective argument David. You certainly are a beacon of intelligence for the soccer community. They must be so proud to have you…
      
      Reply
AA said | May 29th 2010 @ 3:36am | Report comment

This same question was probably asked 4 years ago Adrian.

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Victer said | May 29th 2010 @ 4:49am | Report comment

I think it can be a big sport here, but gimmicks like marketing only scratch the surface. It needs to constantly dwell within the culture and that will take a long time. This is mainly due to the changes within each generation, for instance baby boomers and gen x were born in to a world of media isolation, now younger gen y such as myself and generations after see the internet as the best method for every type of medium, and football is everywhere on this medium.

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katzilla said | May 29th 2010 @ 6:09am | Report comment

It would all be for nought if the Socceroos get crushed.
They could do the game more damage in Australia because these games may be the only games of football alot of Australia see in 4 years.

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- Alders said | May 29th 2010 @ 7:04am | Report comment
  
  Oh it won’t make any difference. Football was fine at the amateur level before the last world cup. It has been growing for almost a century. It was the professional game that struggle and that is fixed now.
  
  Reply
- CraigB said | May 29th 2010 @ 8:53am | Report comment
  
  slight corrections – “It would all be for nought if the Socceroos get crushed.” rather “It could all be for nought when the Socceroos get crushed.”
  
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Mick said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:02am | Report comment

I know people who have who do not have fox but have followed the game (can’t say to what level) and they do not follow league, union or afl yet they never seem to be aware when games are on..

You have to have a prescence on am & fm radio & tv, not just expect fox to do the work for you

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Justin said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:20am | Report comment

I like the WC but this one is a real non event for me due to the time zones. Africa has to be as bad as it can get for Australian sports fans.

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- BigAl said | May 29th 2010 @ 9:42pm | Report comment
  
  Actually, it’s the same time zone as Europe where 90% of BIG soccer comes from
  
  Reply
aubgraham said | May 29th 2010 @ 10:54am | Report comment

Craig Foster proselytising about the wonders of soccer is probably the worst advertisement for soccer that there is. He has a mistaken perception that soccer can grow by converting non-sport lovers into soccer lovers, and he does this by arguing that soccer is so much better than the other codes. I believe this is a fundamental and highly damaging mistake. Most non-sport lovers are non-sport lovers because they they prefer less physical or non-confrontational pusuits (reading,movies,gardening…) . People who enjoy other sports are soccer’s target market and denigrating their current sporting interests does nothing for the code. Soccer administration seem to realise this since soccer is now played in summer so as to create more chances for sport lovers to enjoy their product.

The best way to promote the game is promote the product itself. Rather than spend half your time talking about other codes, talk about the game you love. That’s why Tony Tannous is the writer on here I enjoy the most. His articles are (almost always) about the game of soccer.

I understand Craig Foster is an op-ed writer and so his article tend to be on the inflammatory side, but if he really wants to see the game grow in Australia, he should spend more time promoting the game rather than denigrating others. Surely, the game is diverse and controversial enough within itself that he can focus more on it.

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- Galloping Guru said | May 29th 2010 @ 10:58am | Report comment
  
  What colour wil Craig Fosters hair go when we miss getting the w/c, Lowy pulls his backing, the a-league implodes and crowd averages sink further south than they are ATM.
  
  I await with interest what his hairdresser advises.
  
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  - Realfootball said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
    
    Foster’s hairdresser will no doubt be considerably more coherent in her views on the game than you, Guru. Did you get lost on the way to an AFL thread? Those websites can be awfully confusing, can’t they?
    
    Reply
    - Galloping Guru said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
      
      You do know that hairdressers are really just psychiatrisst and counselors in disguise, they know plenty.
      Probably more than you.
      
      Reply
aubgraham said | May 29th 2010 @ 11:10am | Report comment

Take a look at the article linked by Adrian. Of the 18 points Foster makes, 1/3 have an anti Aussie Rules/Rugby League element. (my comments in parenthesis)

“Here are some messages that serve to assist football post 2010:
:: the values that football teaches any young child of teamwork, respect and humility;
(what team sport doesn’t)

:: the fact that football represents everything Australia wants to be this century, outward looking, welcoming and ambitious;
(OK, so Aussie Rules and Rugby League fans are inward looking, unwelcoming and unambitious)

:: the game as the single greatest connecting force of humanity across the globe;
(er.. how about food, clean air. Soccer is just a platform where people play out their desires, so if you want make love you can do at a football game, if you want to make war, you can do it at a football game.)

:: the fact that football stands alone among the codes as a technical game with deep tactical sophistication, not one based on aggression but on beauty and intelligence;
(OK, so Aussie Rules and Rugby League can only be played by neolithic cavemen)

:: the multiculturalism of football that allows Australians of any and every background to feel at home and to be a part of a common community;
(football at the individual level can be as inclusive or as exclusive as the people who organise it, so hats off to FFA for moving the professional level of the game away from ethinc based clubs. It is moving closer towards Aussie Rules and Rugby League in that groups divided along different ethnic/racial lines can feel part of the one family.)

:: the fact that football unites every Australian in a way that no other game or code can; the national regional and international scale of football that is unique among Australian games;
(this is true in the extreme, though cricket and rugby union obviously does a pretty good job. Still this is why there is a surge of interest every 4 years. it is not a convincing argument to follow the code at the local level)

:: the growth of the A-League and its goal to become number one in Asia and the foremost professional sporting competition in Australia;
(so you want to destroy Aussie Rules and Rugby League, just sopt at the word Asia.)

Ultimately, the A-League and football is better served by talking about its own game.

In that sense the USSF/MLS in the US have a pretty good system. They invite clubs from Europe to America to play against their teams. They know that there are plenty of people already watching soccer. Get them to a local game against a ‘name’ team and you get the chance to convert some to the local product.

They let the Mexican national team play there (about half their games over the last four years were in the US), thus, keeping immigrants more passionate about the game. The more passion for the game, the more likely they are to support the local game. (this is not really that relevant for the A-league but I find it interesting none the less.

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True Tah said | May 29th 2010 @ 12:01pm | Report comment

Having someone like Craig Foster as the spokesman does hurt the image of the game – I have never heard him say anything nice about AFL, rugby league or rugby union and alot of his work seems to be dedicated to rubbishing them, instead of talking about his sport…many futbol folk in Australia follow NRL/AFL/S14 as well, and Im sure they cringe when they hear these sort of comments, such as some bright spark above who said “you can’t just be a big meat head to play it like rugby” – as a rugby player what sort of message does that send out to me, someone with two degrees – im a meathead just because I play rugby?

Ive seen Mark Bosnich’s work on Fox, and hes the sort of guy who should be the face of Australian futbol, despite his previous issues with drugs, the guy has played at a higher level than Craig Foster and actually talks about his sport.

And following on from this, Im sure if Sydney FC and Rovers worked with the NRL clubs somehow, there are plenty of spectators who would follow both sports, the Bulldogs have a massive Lebanese following, and back in Lebanon, futbol was the only sport of any profile, surely Rovers could tap into this support base?

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- Realfootball said | May 29th 2010 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
  
  Agree. Foster’s propagandising is becoming counterproductive. A lot of it is simply laughable. I think most football followers simply want a viable comp that is worth watching. End of story.
  
  Agree also on Bosnich. The man is a natural television talent. Through the mangled syntax, there is a sharp mind at work and he has exudes charm and good humour. You can see how he got himself into trouble. Foster has the intellect, no doubt, but charm isn’t his strong point.
  
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- Dan said | May 30th 2010 @ 12:07am | Report comment
  
  I think it’s a fairly well accepted fact that Rugby players are by and large far more educated than the average soccer player… I know there are socio economic factors that contribute to that, but listening to an interview by George Gregan was always a heck of a lot easier on the ears than hearing the likes of David Beckham – the man who proved that you can have more money than you know what to do with and still manage to speak like a moron. The sad fact is that it is in soccer that the “meat-heads” and thugs are most overwhelmingly represented. Soccer folk like to talk of the good their game does, while pretending that opposing fans don’t try to beat each others skulls in whenever they get close enough; sports like Rugby Union, League or AFL are for the unsophisticated, we are led to believe. Yet when was the last time you went to a Waratahs V Reds match, a Collingwood V St Kilda, or Eels v Bulldogs game and saw fans led off by armed guards to segregated seating? If soccer was so bloody enlightening for the world, you wouldn’t have to watch what colour shirt you wear in parts of England so as to avoid being bashed for supporting the wrong team.
  
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  - Realfootball said | May 30th 2010 @ 9:09am | Report comment
    
    Hear we go. The old “fans led off by armed guards: cliche. Talk about Australia, Dan, instead of raising hoary old cliches about football overseas and fan violence. For Australian fan trouble, in fact, the worst offenders are first, yes, cricket, second rugby league and third tennis. Football in this country doesn’t come near NRL and cricket for crowd trouble and cricket is far and away number one. So get off your myopic high horse on that one for a start, and deal in facts not prejudice.
    
    But thank you for reminding us that George Gregan was in fact the reincarnation of Bertrand Russell, a fact that had previously escaped by notice in regard to the Shiny One. The fact is that professional athlete leave school very early, on the whole, with limited education. Comparing the educational standards of players from different codes is about as interesting and useful as comparing ducks with chooks.
    
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    - Dan said | May 31st 2010 @ 9:49pm | Report comment
      
      I actually qualified that statement RF. I was responding to the statement that “it is pretty accepted that Rugby is for meatheads” while stating that soccer was for the intelligent. And as a general rule I think it’s pretty true. A lot of that has to do with Rugby still having a strong representation in private schools in countries like England (though in NZ and the P I Nations its much more representative), but the fact remains that rugby players are more articulate and generally seem to have completed higher levels of study than their soccer counter parts. It’s less so today, but even despite their substantial pay, there’s more than a few of our boys in the S14 that are working on Uni degrees. Just look at the likes of Phil Waugh, Clyde Rathbone, Dan Vickerman etc
      
      Reply
  - MV Dave said | May 30th 2010 @ 9:16am | Report comment
    
    “I think it’s a fairly well accepted fact that Rugby players are by and large far more educated than the average soccer player” and of course you will supply some statistical evidence to support such a statement? Of course it may well depend upon how you define education? If part of that definition involves sticking your head up the ar$& of the guy in front of you and then attempting to bite his ear off and then rake your studs down his back…than yehh Dan you’re probably right.
    
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    - Dan said | May 31st 2010 @ 9:57pm | Report comment
      
      No dave, I don’t. But as a generalisation I think it’s probably fair to make than “rugby is for meatheads”. As I said, listening to our S14 teams’ captains is generally quite a bit easier than trying to interpret the garbled, unintelligible cockney rubbish spewed by the multimillionaire Beckham.
      
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      - AndyRoo said | June 1st 2010 @ 10:32am | Report comment
        
        MV Dave, their are two Rugbys and while not a huge Dan fan the average Union player used to have a university education.
        
        I think Dan makes a fair generalisation.
        
        That said the average Socceroo gives a pretty good interview as do the Wallabies.
        
        Reply