Last week I wrote an article that suggested the Canberra NRC team should adopt ACT colours, rather than the red and white of local club the Tuggeranong Vikings.
Little did I know that I would strike such a nerve in the nation’s capital.
The article received over 6000 reads, had over 200 comments, was shared on Facebook over 700 times and spawned a petition which has, at the time of this writing, received 227 signatures.
To top all that off the petition was featured on both Saturday and Sunday in local newspaper The Canberra Times.
It is great to see that there is such passion for the game in Canberra, especially when all we seem to read in the paper is how much the game is struggling for support.
It would seem that nothing could be further from the truth in the capital. I went to PJ’s on Saturday night to watch the Reds. There was league, union, AFL and football all on at the same time and there were patrons baying at the staff to put the Reds game on!
I was a little surprised but very happy to see that rugby was being requested over the other three codes and that people were still interested, even though the Reds are not even an ACT team.
Since the success of the Brumbies last season, I am starting to feel that rugby is becoming the No. 1 sport again in the ACT. It makes sense to create a team that everyone in Canberra will support in the NRC.
If people will tune in on TV or turn out to home matches, it will not only make the game more popular in Canberra, but surely the whole of Australia if and when the NRC is successful.
Which brings me to why I feel the article generated such a huge response. Canberra sees its NRC team as a way to increase support and awareness for the sport.
It is a team that we can all get behind and have passion for. While there are those that see it only as a player pathway and that the name and colours don’t matter as long as our local players are getting a leg up, there are those that see it as more than that.
It’s more rugby for us to get enthusiastic about; it is not just a vehicle for the players but for the whole sport.
This is why having extremely close ties to just one Canberra club is such a narrow view and a short sighted waste of a chance to help lift the sport we love out of the doldrums.
There has also been a lot of anti-Vikings sentiment that has unearthed over the last week so let me address that.
The Vikings Club have done the ACT a great service by enabling this team to exist through its financial support and offering its facilities to the team. That being said they have named the team and no one is seeking to prevent them from using their logo or venue.
The Vikings Club President Geoff Adam has suggested that a compromise would be to allow Canberra club players to wear their traditional club’s socks.
However I think this stops too short. There are too many people that won’t be interested in this team if they are in red and white, whether the reasons for this are justified or not is irrelevant.
The feelings of angst are real and are not going to go away before this team kicks off.
There are also reports that Geoff Adam is prepared to honour the petition if it reaches 1000 signatures.
So if you really are passionate about your rugby and see the NRC as more than just a side show that doesn’t really mean much, then sign the petition. It only takes seconds to make a difference.
Col in paradise
Guest
Yes the old Royals v Darr or Easts were classic games in my memroies..ACT rugby at its peak of % of local interest..and amatuer to boot…the Vikings are aptly named..they raped and pilaged good old Royals and screwed them out of the comp….then bought the rest with the filthy lucre of pokies sucking coinage from the villagers of the great big nappy valley that is Tuggers!
Col in paradise
Guest
Yes the old Royals v Darr or Easts were classic games in my memroies..ACT rugby at its peak of % of local interest..and amatuer to boot...the Vikings are aptly named..they raped and pilaged good old Royals and screwed them out of the comp....then bought the rest with the filthy lucre of pokies sucking coinage from the villagers of the great big nappy valley that is Tuggers!
Col in paradise
Guest
Tuggeronong...Is it still called the Nappy Valley...maybe it should be a brown custard colour?
Col in paradise
Guest
yep the Kookas jumpers...saw them play in the Sydney comp, make the GF against Gordon in Sydney whch upset all the sydney folks......that jumper shuld run again....great the Vkiings have got it going but its should be a team for all in the ACT..
IanW
Guest
In a phrase "This sort of whining"
2620
Guest
What is the actual division of input into this team? If 2/3rds isn't from the Vikings, then the jersey debate is irrelevant - it should be a basic requirement from the University of Canberra and the Brumbies, who have significant ACT Government financial support to ensure adequate representation for the ACT, not just Tuggeranong. If it isn't a true 'three way split' - I'd be very worried that either or both the UoC or the Brumbies didn't have the cash, which outlines the significant imbalances in ACT Rugby and the poor financial state (management?) of the Brumbies. If the Vikings are funding the whole thing, by all means - call it the Tuggeranong Vikings and do as you please, but call a spade a spade - the Vikings are not a club representative of the ACT community and the men and women that have represented other clubs over the past 76 years.
Gatesy
Guest
Struth, that was a fantastic mouthful, whatever it was that you said, Jez!
Lowthman
Guest
Great to see some positive comments from Bill Pulver (ARU CEO) today on the Roar concerning the petition https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/geoff-adam-allow-the-uc-vikings-to-wear-act-colors Bill Pulver said | April 2nd 2014 @ 1:50pm | This is one of those sensitive issues that I’m sure the relevant NRC syndicate will address. However, I do understand both sides of this debate. On the one hand, you have the Canberra Rugby community wanting to have a broadly representive choice of playing kit and on the other, you have the Canberra Vikings who are contributing significant resources to this syndicate. I must say though, it’s great to see the passion that has been generated by this debate – and I wish the team every success in arriving at a compromise!
Epiquin
Roar Guru
What if the Vikings pick a neutral colour like Lime Green and put a Viking on their logo. That'd be something new for Canberra...
Mantis
Roar Guru
I've heard that if the online petition gets over 1000 signatures then the Vikings Group will change the colour of the jerseys to the traditional ACT colours. Whether this is true or not I dont know, but it would be a good thing, and would get a lot of people onside with the Vikings NRC side.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Odin/Woden/Wotan - all the same bloke was not just the war leader but the out and out leader of the Aesir - one eyed guy with a couple of ravens, an 8 legged horse and the guy that Wednesday is named after. His son Thor was the main muscle amongst the Norse Gods with his hammer Mjolnir - Thursday is named for him. A huge beefy guy, ginger hair, a beard and his main mode of transport being a flying chariot pulled by magic goats - he isn't quite the blonde haired character made famous in the comics and recent movies. The actual war leader of the troop was Tyr - there is speculation that he was in even more ancient times the actual leader of the Norse God's but that he fell out of favour and was passed over for Odin. He is a bit of a strange choice for a war leader having just one hand, the other lost while chaining Fenrir, a wolf destined to swallow the moon and kill Odin. Tyr despite having a relatively minor role in the surviving historical records is the character that Tuesday is named after. There is some speculation that Friday takes its name from Frey the leader of the Aesir's allies the Vanir - and his sister Freya but that is the minority view. Frigg - Odin's wife and goddess of home, family and marriage is generally credited with the honour. The other days of the week are not from the Norse being named for the Sun, Moon and Saturn (that last one is the Romanised version of the Greek Chronos - a titan and father of Zeus/Jupiter). Anyway - I obviously spent way too much time studying this stuff. Love the idea that the Canberra Viking team names might be inspired by the Woden Valley!
Mark
Guest
That would be great Hot Dog. But i think that horse has bolted. Lets focus on getting ACT colours. Besides I think Vikings do need some credit and their name in the team name is appropriate.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Ah, I get ya. Pity.
bigbaz
Roar Guru
It was no secret that the Vikings were putting together a proposal, so all you displaying such angst, what did you propose and do. I reckon you did sfa but are really loud and bullish after the event and even if given another opportunity to actually do something won't, you'll just get on here and post criticisms against those who do.
sheek
Roar Guru
Rob, I wasn't suggesting SI as an NRC team. I was thinking more along ARS lines. However, speaking with an old school mate this arvo who is employed with SI, he says they don't have enough quality players for a separate SI Country team. So I have to accept his first-hand knowledge on the matter.
sheek
Roar Guru
Gatesy, The situation with Sydney Swans is different in that it was a transplanted team from South Melbourne, whose colours were red & white. In that context, I think it's understandable retaining that link with a previous club with a history extending over 100 years. The Brisbane Lions were originally from Fitzroy, & the transformation was a little easier. Navy & gold are two of the original club colours, but the remaining colour alternated between red & maroon. Of course, once the Lions moved to Brisbane, adopting maroon, navy & gold was a relatively seamless transfer. Interestingly, neither West Coast nor Fremantle play in the WA state colours of yellow & black. I note that the Canberra W-League team plays in green. I guess the colours of the Canberra NRC team are less important than having a name that most Canberrans can relate to. At present, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Chris Hardiman
Roar Rookie
Last year you wrote that the name should be the Kookaburras. Last week you were defending the Vikings name and calling fans petty. What do you think the name should be?
Brett McKay
Expert
Classy. Make your accusations, and run away from them when challenged. Your words: "The Vikings are the sheriff in town and the guy has a job and needs to bring home the bacon like the rest of us".
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Chop, for me it boils down to one question: Does this team represent all of Canberra or just Tuggeranong? If they identify themselves solely as a Tuggeranong team, then fine, they can play in their usual red, white, and black. But if they want to identify themselves as a team representing the entirety of the city, then they should play in the city's colours. It just seems to me that they are demanding every Canberran's support without even making a token effort to represent Canberra. The city's colours are gold, blue, and white, and that fact is immutable. If selecting those colours is too much of a sacrifice to ask for, then the legitimacy of their claim to be 'Canberra's team' is questionable at best. A 'Canberran team' they may very well be, but they certainly aren't 'Canberra's team'.
Tane Mahuta
Guest
Im gonna cry because the Blues wear Auckland colours instead of North Harbour, the Saders wear Catabury colours and not Tasmans and the Highlanders wear Otago colours instead of Southland colours. Boohoo, sob-sob I will refuse to support them...or I could understand there is a reason for it and back the team that reps my area instead of getting all tied up in a knot over the colour of the jumper and their nick-name.