A letter to Ms Wilson after yet another attack on football
Roar Guru Dear Ms Wilson – I write to you regarding your recent article ‘Ending the ethnic turf wars played out on Australia’s soccer pitches is David Gallop’s first task’.
Or, as it is quite a long title, I’ll refer to it as ‘Chip on my shoulder the size of my head’ or ‘Fearmongering 101’.
I’m writing in to highlight the biggest threat to the game in Australia at this time and I’m not talking about off-field violence.
Bigoted reporting is one of the biggest issues the world game faces in Australia and I think we should recognise your role as a ‘Hero’ of such a fine practice.
When you do mention that ‘Administrators love using phrases like a “small minority of trouble makers”’ you neglect to follow that up with the fact that it is actually an extremely small minority.
If it is at bad as you are painting it to be, then all sport must be on the brink of anarchy. I expect to see flames and explosions from the tennis club down the road once the bake sale has finished but I’ll keep writing for now.
At this point you mention that soccer (because using the term football or the world game may give it credibility) is on the brink of ruin.
While I do have a lot of respect for your writing in general, and your spelling is impeccable, are you prepared to add facts to a diatribe or would that be too much to expect?
You seem to have a great wealth of generic phrases saved up just to throw at a wall, just like something else that… oh I digress.
Anyway, it’s not that I don’t think you could be a good writer, it’s just that your blinkered view seems to be fitting for something more like The Onion, or The Oatmeal or maybe the back of a Fantails wrapper. Have you thought about Twilight fan fiction?
Yours,
Chris.
P.S. Loved that red flare smoke reference in the comic. You must have laughed about that for ages.
August 25th 2012 @ 1:46pm
NF said | August 25th 2012 @ 1:46pm | Report comment
Ms Wilson is one of the worst reports for sport in general along side Rothfield. Us leaguies do NOT want to be associated with these lot as people like to pigeon holed them as leaguies. We don’t want em and no sports fan should read there garbage either. My condolences to footballl supporters who get a tough time by the media you deserve a hell lot of better.
August 25th 2012 @ 2:32pm
Rusty0256 said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:32pm | Report comment
Thank you for your support NF. It is heartwarming to know that there are supporters of other codes who are clear headed enough to see through this borderline bigotry that we constantly have to put up with.
Unfortunately there are seemingly many other ‘sports fans’ who are only too keen to encourage and support the likes of Wilson in continuing to file these hate-filled diatribes dressed up badly as professional sports journalism. You only have to read the comment emails on the tail end of articles such as Wison’s most recent contribution to see evidence aplenty of that.
August 26th 2012 @ 3:18am
Pete said | August 26th 2012 @ 3:18am | Report comment
Are you equally outraged when Craig Foster disrespects the rest of the codes?
August 26th 2012 @ 7:26am
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 26th 2012 @ 7:26am | Report comment
Craig Foster has NEVER written a single article dedicated to criticizing & ridiculing another sports, in the way that Rebecca Wilson – every 3-6 months – will write her anti-SOCKAH articles.
After the NRL salary cap scandal, Foster never wrote an article condemning the NRL’s inherent culture of cheating.
After NRL players defecate in hotels or after AFL & NRL players were embroiled in disgusting & degrading sexual acts, Foster never wrote an article condemning the NRL’s inherent lack of respect for society.
After the AFL fans are evicted every week from grounds for violence, drunkenness & are in court facing charges of affray & intention to cause serious harm to opposition fans .. Foster never wrote an article condemning the inherent violence across the AFL’s fan base.
Craig Foster admits he doesn’t watch AFL, so he’s never commented about the quality of the players, nor does he analyse AFL matches, or give gratuitous advice to the sport about how it can improve.
The most Foster says is that he doesn’t like any of the egg-ball (my description, not Foster’s) sports.
August 27th 2012 @ 9:13am
Ian said | August 27th 2012 @ 9:13am | Report comment
Fozz likes to call them the ‘handball’ codes. due to the inherent nature of controlling the ball with your hands in league union and afl. i just finished reading his book ‘fozz on football’ a few days ago. he did talk about other codes briefly amidst the australian sporting landscape and culture and that football is a more skillful sport – but this is in his own book, not a public column. i quite enjoyed the book overall.
i always though wilson liked afl also. i recall her saying she is an afl girl along with league. a couple of small incidents – i wonder is she was angry after the state of origin incident when the female patron could not be bothered going to the toilet apart from in front of her seat while her boyfriend filmed it. all class.
i also recall attending broncos v cowboys two days before the a-league grand final in 2011. at the broncos game a patron behind me was yelling out ‘ get up you homosexuals’…it was a woman behind me yelling that out. then two days later i attend the grand final and best ever event at suncorp stadium, high fiving and embracing strangers after the roar equalised in the 120th minute.
two different codes indeed. that’s my two cents.
August 29th 2012 @ 11:37am
BigAl said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:37am | Report comment
I’m sure there was a quote from Foster saying Aussie rules was … not a real sport… , or something like that.
August 29th 2012 @ 11:40am
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:40am | Report comment
Big Al
A single quote expressing disdain for your favourite sport, my my you must have felt like a football fan after a News Limited front-cover-hatchet-jobslating the entire sport for all of what? about 5 micro-seconds?
August 29th 2012 @ 11:49am
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:49am | Report comment
@ BigAl
Well .. that’s irrefutable & damning evidence, indeed!
Have you applied for Silk?
August 29th 2012 @ 2:04pm
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 2:04pm | Report comment
TC:
I used to cringe at the ‘commentary’ of some AFL commentators, it mostly sounded like just a bunch of blokes at the pub sharing in-jokes and almost ignoring the game on display. very unprofessional. Richie Benaud would have had a conniption fit!
Give me the dulcet tones of Martin Tyler any day, describes the play accurately, always remembers to do his research and can tell you something useful about the players and what they might be likely to do in certain situations. Can convey the emotion and excitement of the goals in proportion to their importance and relevance to any other games occurring. My kind of commentator. I believe he works in the USA these days; his expertise is wasted on those football philistines.
Simon Hill is streets ahead in this country as the best commentator in football, but one man can only be at one game. Would love to have Martin Tyler here for the HAL.
August 26th 2012 @ 10:40am
Kasey said | August 26th 2012 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Pete Please provide just ONE link to ANY article written by Foz where he spends the entire article sticking the boot into another football code.
August 26th 2012 @ 4:42pm
Bondy. said | August 26th 2012 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
Foster doesn’t write about other sports.
August 29th 2012 @ 11:39am
BigAl said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:39am | Report comment
Yes, isn’t it hilarious that he is The Sports presenter on SBS news !
August 29th 2012 @ 11:43am
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:43am | Report comment
Sports that aren’t football get a much better run on SBS then football does on the commercial stations.
Even AFL which is odd for a News broadcast entitled ” World News” isn’t it?
August 29th 2012 @ 11:53am
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:53am | Report comment
@ BigAl
You do realise that, TV presenters do not need to have qualifications or credentials in the underlying subject.
E.g. Livinia Nixon is not a meteorologist; nor was Ann Peacock; and, the clowns who present sport on Ch7 & Ch9 News have ZERO expertise or knowledge about SOCKAH.
August 29th 2012 @ 11:55am
Bondy. said | August 29th 2012 @ 11:55am | Report comment
Bigal.
It looks even funnier when someone is anchoring an Olympics coverage who is from a non representative sport.Mc guire.
August 29th 2012 @ 12:10pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
Bondy – that is a really stupid thing to write. Give yourself an uppercut.
August 29th 2012 @ 12:17pm
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Foster is also the Sports presenter on only one day out of 7, the other days sport is presented by Mariana Rudan. I bet she couldor Foz have a basic conversation with Eddie McG about AFL without making a complete fool of oneself. I’ll bet McChins was crapping himself that he’d goof when ‘interviewing’ Mr Lowy on his production and expose his lack of knowkedge of the world game.
In kind of the way former CEO Edwin Lugt did to Rebecca Wilson on the ABC show Offsiders when she tried to stick the boot in over crowd sizes. Lugt quite quickly put her back in her box stating that the HAL is in the worlds Top25 of 200+ football leagues by attendance numbers and Top5 in attendance per capita. Champagne Television
August 29th 2012 @ 12:25pm
Bondy. said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
Camshaft.
Is that fact or not.
August 29th 2012 @ 12:26pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:26pm | Report comment
Kasey – your last paragraph just highlights that soccer attendances worldwide are really poor. If the A League is in the top 25, then how low are the attendances in the bottom 25?
How does McGuire make a fool of himself when talking about soccer?
August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
How much ‘writing’ could be involved with presenting a 3minute sports segment?
August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
Bondy – no its not a fact. Eddie McGuire is on the board of directors of Athletics Australia. Even if he wasn’t, what difference would it make?
August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
@ Camshaft
“If the A League is in the top 25, then how low are the attendances in the bottom 25?”
Camshaft, can you kindly advise us on the average attendances of the professional ARF leagues that are ranked 2-25 in the world?
When I type “World’s biggest ARF leagues” into Google, Bing, Ask.com … I get the reply “ARF ARF ARF”.
What are the search engines trying to tell me?
August 29th 2012 @ 12:43pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Fussball – ARF is only an abbreviation that you use, so not surprised you don’t get much. There are at least 25 Aussie Rules leagues in the world, couldn’t tell you what their attendances are though. The difference is that soccer boast about how big their sport is around the world. Makes me wonder now.
August 29th 2012 @ 12:47pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 29th 2012 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
“There are at least 25 Aussie Rules leagues in the world..”
And, I laughed and I laughed.
A group of ex-pats in Hong Kong or Singapore forming a team of ARF – because they refuse to assimilate with the local customs & cultures – is NOT a professional football league.
How many FULL-TIME professional ARF leagues are there in the world?
How many kids proudly put “I’m an ARFer” when asked “what is your employment”?
August 29th 2012 @ 1:16pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:16pm | Report comment
I forgot about Hong Kong and Singapore. Make that at least 27 then.
You’re changing the goal posts here. Kasey said 200+ football leagues, nothing about whether they are professional or not. I’m sure most of the soccer leagues aren’t professional.
August 29th 2012 @ 1:18pm
Bondy. said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:18pm | Report comment
Camshaft.
I just see Mc guire as that dumb bloke from aussie rules thats all, a non representative sport,i’m sorry it just seems stupid to somebody who doesnt watch aussie rules.
August 29th 2012 @ 1:28pm
The Cattery said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
Interestingly, Australian Football has a very good record of producing some of the best all round sports commentators. I’m thinking of names such as Gerard Whately, Bruce Mcevaney, Tim Lane and Drew Morphett, but there are many, many others. Some of the most respected names in the business (and Eddie ain’t no mug himself).
Why is that?
Apart from being a big game, a big industry, where many positions are on offer and where you can make a name for yourself nationally, I think the game itself assists commentators in sharpening their own game: the fast paced and constant action, the large field, the big number of players, swapping positions, coming on and off, there is such a variety of action and skills on display, the game consists of a series of contests within one very large contest, not to mention thousands of individual statistics to get your head around in the space of seconds.
The footy commentator who excels at this sport will excel at all sports.
August 29th 2012 @ 1:29pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Bondy – “dumb bloke from aussie rules” – you do know that McGuire has been a media performer for about 20 years now, right? President of the biggest football club in the land, former CEO of channel 9. You make it sound like it was Warwick Capper hosting the Olympics. You are clutching at straws with the non-representative comment, but we will pretend it was never there.
August 29th 2012 @ 1:41pm
Bondy. said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
Cattery @ Camshaft.
You come here everyday and get bamboozled your on the cusp of an afl final series and nobody is taliking about it ?
You come here and explain names from afl most people hear have never heard of ,I know B Mc avenny from track and filed not aussie rules ,see what I mean.
August 29th 2012 @ 1:49pm
The Cattery said | August 29th 2012 @ 1:49pm | Report comment
Bondy
Youir are proving the exact point I am making.
August 25th 2012 @ 4:46pm
David Heidelberg said | August 25th 2012 @ 4:46pm | Report comment
The awful truth is that Wilson is a rugby league writer, who occasionally clobbers football despite knowing nothing about it. Even worse is that she is just as negative about Rugby League, taken great delight in players off-field indiscretions. A little unusual given her own appalling record for DUI, driving unlicensed and speeding (while drunk). She is a blight on sport, why cover something she so obviously hates?
August 25th 2012 @ 9:03pm
Bondy. said | August 25th 2012 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
NF.
A.F.L. supporters say that as well ,it’s well documented here and at other sites that League supporters dont want here representing them.
August 26th 2012 @ 10:01am
nordster said | August 26th 2012 @ 10:01am | Report comment
RL and afl fans may not like her, but the ones i talk to seem to agree with her on this topic. Goes to show football should be more focused on engaging fans who actually like the sport, forget about most fans of other ‘codes’ and focus on brainwashing their kids
August 25th 2012 @ 2:17pm
Rabbitz said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:17pm | Report comment
So did you actually write the letter to Ms Wilson?
Or is this just some comedy relief along the lines of “I wish I had said that”?
August 25th 2012 @ 2:51pm
Chris A said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:51pm | Report comment
I wrote the letter to Ms Wilson, have not sent it though. Not sure which dungeon I should post it too.
In truth, this is the amount of response an article like that deserves. As the a-league and various Premier Leagues are making great strides since the big change the small minority of blinkered reporters like her are jumping at any bad press they can comment on.
August 25th 2012 @ 8:35pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 25th 2012 @ 8:35pm | Report comment
I wrote a similar letter to Rebecca Wilson after she attacked football subsequent to the 2010 WC.
Didn’t expect, nor did I receive, any acknowledgement of receipt of my correspondence … but by heavens it made me feel good.
August 27th 2012 @ 5:37pm
Australian Rules said | August 27th 2012 @ 5:37pm | Report comment
Well that’s the important thing.
August 29th 2012 @ 2:01pm
Kasey said | August 29th 2012 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
Should we qualify, I look forwadr to the bogan media writing their scaremongering ” don’t travelto Brazil” aarticles in the lead up to 2014. Which will conveniently change just in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. I wI’m glad I didn’t listen to the scaremongering in the leadup to South Africa. Went and had one of the best times of my life at a global celebration of the beautiful game, shame our lads got off to such a terrible start in Durban though, ruined any chance we had of getting through to the Ro16:(
August 29th 2012 @ 2:39pm
Camshaft said | August 29th 2012 @ 2:39pm | Report comment
It’s worked out well that Brazil are able to use the world cup as a warm-up event, before the really big one in 2016. They should be able to iron out any security and logistic issues for when the whole world comes down there.
August 25th 2012 @ 2:31pm
Dingo said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
Rebecca Wilson – A Grade oxygen thief!
The university professor who signed off on her journalists degree needs some therapy!
August 25th 2012 @ 2:40pm
Midfielder said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
At times you wonder aloud if you can sue for an opinion piece … it’s these kinda articles that take hundreds of thousands of people away from the match day experience and from watching on TV…
August 25th 2012 @ 2:42pm
JH said | August 25th 2012 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
Rebecca Wilson is the worst journalist I’ve ever read. She is so one sided, she makes the North Korean and Chinese media seem fair and balanced.
August 25th 2012 @ 3:23pm
Rusty0256 said | August 25th 2012 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
Unfortunately we are now seeing Wilson’s rubbish contributions in Melbourne via the Herald Sun.
It seems the HWT is now sharing all ‘soccer’ stories across their complete network of on-line editions (I’m not sure how much is getting hard-copy printed as I refuse to spend my hard-earned on their rubbish newspapers). This is obviously only a recent change as I couldn’t understand why I kept seeing stories on Sydney FC and WS Wanderers as lead ‘soccer’ stories in the Melbourne Sun until I realised they are simply pulling content off the Daily Terrorgraph and re-publishing it down here.
August 25th 2012 @ 4:38pm
qwerty said | August 25th 2012 @ 4:38pm | Report comment
And she gets a reaction every time doesn’t she?You know exactly what she will write and yet you read her articles and react exactly how she wants you to react.
August 25th 2012 @ 4:49pm
NCB619 said | August 25th 2012 @ 4:49pm | Report comment
I wonder if the slight crowd trouble in Canberra last night got reported…
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August 25th 2012 @ 5:30pm
Rusty0256 said | August 25th 2012 @ 5:30pm | Report comment
I have just posted this reply to RW in the Herald Sun – probably won’t publish but it made me feel better for writing it….
Rebecca, you say you have been critical of our code for years. Is that any surprise given your pathological hatred of football?
Gallop’s appointment must surely be your worst possible nightmare; an administrator who you clearly admire crossing to the dark side! And yet there seems to be a subtext of fear in your article, a subliminal admission that here is the man who can take our game to a higher level, root out last remnants of trouble from ‘old soccer’ and convince a sceptical public of the qualities of the ‘new football’ being played in the A-League where, by the way, ethnic divisions and fan-generated trouble are virtually non-existent. Goodness, if that happened you might even have to report good things about our game!
But perhaps not because if you were honest about “identifying those who engage in subterfuge to undermine progress” of our game, you would have to first look in the mirror! The irony is that it is Rebecca Wilson who happily acts as a key agent of subversion, undermining our game at every opportunity, turning molehills into mountains and happily stirring the redneck pot of bile and borderline bigotry that is repeatedly directed toward football.
August 25th 2012 @ 9:16pm
Bondy. said | August 25th 2012 @ 9:16pm | Report comment
Rusty0256.
Nop, your right that wont get put up on there comments section to rational sorry. I have to agree Gallop’s the Wilson’s type nightmare,I thought Gallop ran the N.R.L. well.
August 26th 2012 @ 11:49am
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football said | August 26th 2012 @ 11:49am | Report comment
Beautifully put Rusty! Of course it won’t see the light of day because it’s got way too many big words in it for the average Tele reader.
August 26th 2012 @ 11:50am
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football said | August 26th 2012 @ 11:50am | Report comment
……and for Rebeccah.
August 25th 2012 @ 6:28pm
c said | August 25th 2012 @ 6:28pm | Report comment
Rusty0256 you are right it wont be published