I don’t know about the rest of The Roar readers but the continual code warring has me bored out of my skull.
Of course we are all biased to the sport we grew up following. Generally it involves the sport and team that your father or family followed, and you grow close to them. You sit on the couch with your family and friends and cheer for every weekend of the season for many years.
So, when someone tells you your code is crap and poorly managed they may as well be insulting your mother or culture – and it gets your back up. You may defend it passionately, sometimes blindly, without necessarily knowing the true facts, or you may be a heavy researcher and back all your statements up with statistics.
However, either way you choose the statistics that support your case, so you are still biased even if you are trying to be objective. Of course as soon as you form an opinion on any subject you become biased and it’s very hard to see both sides of the coin.
Yes, I used to be a code warrior, and it still annoys me when something is said that is an outright mistruth, I have to try (sometimes I fail) to not bite back as I don’t want the event to spiral into a code war argument.
It’s kind of funny really because sport is meant to be one of the safe fall-back subjects to chat about, but I know not to bring it up with certain extended family members. Some are very stubborn code warriors who will not let the subject drop. I’m sure most readers know one of these people.
As I am originally from Western Australia, I supported AFL and rugby union. Once I moved to New South Wales I realised that it was all about NRL, and when talking sport it was mostly NRL-related.
When offered to go to a few games I jumped on board and found it a good social outlet. So I now follow NRL as well, and it was kind of fun to select a team to support and discover a whole new game to follow. Once I made that step it was an even easier step to start following the A-League.
I largely did this because I enjoy live sport and I wanted it all year round, so with the A-League starting after the AFL and NRL seasons it fitted very well. So far it has been a great move and I am thoroughly entertained.
The catalyst for me being able to follow and accept other codes was moving to an area dominated by another code. Thus my circle of friends changed and my interest joined with theirs, and from this it was my love of live sport which further flowed on.
I now follow all codes and believe I am richer for it, as well as having a more balanced opinion. Instead of seeing it as a competition, I try not to compare the codes. I believe this is pointless. They are different codes, they have different support bases, and each has their own rich history and culture.
I try to see the good and bad within each code instead. I think if you do this, you will realise all codes have their place and we can stop arguing, which is better.
At the end of the day none of them are perfect, none of them are better, they are just different. We just like to think our chosen one is better because it is ours. All of them are trying to grow and discover new markets and why not, it is human nature to want to improve yourself and be bigger and better and have more security.
We are a great big sports-loving nation with room for all codes. So can’t we all just get along.
More sport, more entertainment and more diversity can’t be a bad thing.
buck
Guest
field hockey is way better than that other stick and ball game lacrosse :)
Midfielder
Guest
Maybe Mr Dylan best summed this up when he sung ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fphDnT36W4w
BigAl
Guest
Well Brett, at least it indicates that you are making progress in the dog eat dog world of media recognition.
JVGO
Guest
Johnno even managed to turn a thread on American college sports into a code war. That is a pretty good effort.
onor
Guest
we should nominate a day that is code war free day.. just one day.. the other 364 days can be all out war for all I care.. I think Its great!! Competition brings out the best in people!! these posts would be soo boring if everybody got along.... So anyway.. I like the war and I dont mind firing a few shots myself!.. so here goes.. When will AFL bring back the short shorts? why do league bother having scrums?.. When will soccer players start wearing skirts? And when will union sort their ES H eye tee out huh? come on aerial ping pong.. Run the bloody ball!!! in conclusion.. BRING BACK BUCK!!
Titus
Guest
Watch overseas football, champions leagues and internationals? In fact, what off season?
tigger madness
Guest
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tigger madness
Guest
What else will we do in the off season if we can't code war?? -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
JVGO
Guest
All I can say is that Redb is alive and kicking.....somewhere...some place....
The Cattery
Roar Guru
...and as Bob Dylan famously drawls in Idiot Wind: "....you won the war, after looooosing, every battle______Yiiiiiidiot wind_____"
Brett McKay
Expert
Johnno, the whole point of this article is that it doesn't really matter who's supposedly winning. The idea of "winning the code war" can only ever be subjective, and therefore the answer to your question, it becomes a Schrödinger's cat scenario, where both everybody and nobody is winning...
Johnno
Guest
Does any one really know what it the boggiest sport in Australia r who has won the code war or is the continual fight for supremacy or market share where everyone gets the opportunity. This GWS and i think a A-league soccer team or a super 15 team in western will really test who is winning the code wars, plus cricket T20 rise as well.
Johnno
Guest
That is Brett classic Johnnoo at ti's best.
Johnno
Guest
Lol NF and others it was classic Johnno massively over the top and i think purely johnnoo World, could not be shown on any website i think in the world lol
Boris
Guest
Agree Tom, and maybe my memory is a bit hazy but I think that a short few years ago there weren't many code war blues on the Roar. A lot of the same issues were discussed but everyone seemed capable of objective comment and the discussion rarely degenerated into a slanging match. But maybe I'm wrong and seeing the past through rose-coloured glasses.
mushi
Guest
And just like with real religions the world would undoubtably be a better place if we were rid of the zealots who beleive their imaginary friend is so right that he can jsutify putting a bullet through someone because their imaginary friend is different.
p.Tah
Guest
:)
Brett McKay
Expert
NF, check out this Classic Johnno comment from yesterday then: http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/11/17/what-is-wrong-with-bowling-slow/ Johnno manages to undermine his own position in consecutive sentences. Blessed, we are...
NF
Guest
'Words fail us, Johnno. Roar Mods.' Damn missed classic johno I assume it was a wall of text that made no sense and in particular about rugby league in particular i assume, can someone fill me in because based what the roar mods said it sounds hilarious.
TomC
Guest
We seem to have been mercifully free of code war articles for a little while now. I agree with everything in the article though. Why on earth are people so eager to get stuck into sports they don't like and don't understand? Just be glad that you've found something that works for you.