It is incredibly difficult to get people on board with a new sporting competition. The Big Bash League is just one example of this.
Not that the BBL is unpopular – it brings in big crowds, provides lots of fun for many Aussie families each summer, and is a crucial source of employment for trained dancers.
But it hasn’t really ignited the passions of the population the way that sport at its zenith does.
It hasn’t produced the heated arguments the morning after games, the tribal fury, the life-consuming commitment of the masses that the grand tradition of our gamesmen tend to generate.
The recently-announced National Rugby Championship will face similar problems in drumming up not just interest, but absolute, fiery passion in its contests. It will doubtless be an excellent nursery for local rugby talent and result in much high-quality football, but will it capture our imaginations? After all, we’ve tried this before and it didn’t exactly go off like a catherine wheel.
The reason it’s difficult for new sporting championships, whether big-budget T20 cricket leagues or domestic rugby tournaments, to dig deep into our sporting psyche is simple, and it can be demonstrated as easily as looking at this weekend’s AFL fixture.
On Friday, Richmond play Collingwood, and there will be huge crowds showing up to yell and scream and bellow profanity over the fence. The atmosphere will be electric, and despite being a Round 4 meeting between two teams in the bottom half of the ladder, it will be a tense and ferocious clash treated by everyone as a matter of life and death.
Because the magic ingredient that every sporting competition wants, but only the successful ones get, is hatred.
The AFL is by far the dominant sporting competition in this nation, and it wouldn’t have anywhere near that status if it weren’t for the complex and ancient rivulets of loathing that run through the footballing landscape. Football stakes its reputation on its blockbusters, and blockbusters are only possible when you can create large segments of the population who irrationally hate each other whenever clad in certain colours.
Thus, Richmond v Collingwood is massive, because the Tigers hate the Pies and the Pies hate the Tigers. Carlton v Collingwood is even bigger, because they hate each other even more. In fact, almost anyone playing Collingwood is a big game, because everyone hates Collingwood and Collingwood hates everyone. And Carlton’s not far behind – that’s why they’re so successful.
Look at the GWS Giants. Their future success depends not just on community engagement and on-field promise, but on cultivating the hatreds on which sport thrives. That’s why Lance Franklin heading to the Swans was such a godsend – in a burgeoning, still-weak rivalry, the huge jolt given to it by Buddy’s double-cross of the Giants in order to head across town was vital.
Now the westies hate the Swans for poaching the big fish, and the Swans hate the westies for trying to take over their turf, and everyone hates Buddy for being such a money-grubbing showpony, and the hate spreads across the land like a vast sea of hundred-dollar bills.
It’s not that hatred affects the quality of sport – a great game can be played just as easily without it. A great game can also be played in an empty stadium, but administrators are rarely all that chuffed with it.
In all the most successful sports, hatred is at the heart of the biggest moments and greatest moneyspinners. In the NRL, the game’s poetic savagery is most potently on display when, say, the Storm play Manly, in a recent but quite incendiary example of inter-club hatred. Parramatta v Manly stirs similar emotions, or will do, if Parramatta pulls its finger out sometime this century.
In fact, blood boils whenever Manly plays anyone, because it’s Manly, and unless you’re born with Sea Eagle in your blood, you’re born with a gene that causes you to froth at the mouth whenever you even glance at Geoff Toovey. The same goes for Canterbury, the working man’s Manly.
But of course rugby league has the greatest hatred of all in State of Origin. it is doubtful there has been a war in all recorded history that caused men to loathe other men with the intensity with which Queenslanders loathe anyone with a blue jersey at Origin time.
And though New South Welshfolk were a bit slower to board the hate train, by now we’re all heartily sick of the gloating northern bastards and when the series rolls around, all on both sides stand ready to shed blood at the slightest provocation and with no real clear idea of why we feel this way.
Rugby union has the Bledisloe, cricket has the Ashes, and a whole range of sports have anyone at all versus South Africa. It’s hatred that makes the wheels of sport spin so fast and furious, and without it the games we play just wouldn’t be the same.
So the National Rugby Championship, if it really wants to embed itself in our culture, had better move pretty quickly to make the University of Canberra hate NSW Country, or Brisbane City see red when they think of North Harbour.
Or else we, the great Australian hatred-loving public, just won’t pay attention.
Kavvy
Roar Rookie
It's a good point. I guess we probably shouldn't compare NRL and AFL to the NRC but to Super Rugby which means NRC should be compared to say VFL and QLD and NSWRL respectively. I know it is a national comp but there is a higher club competition for fans to generate passion about (and then obviously international rugby to boot), there is only so much hate to go around. Union is probably my second sport behind AFL if I'm honest but I muster up the most passion in my rugby fandom for Wallabies v RSA and NZ, followed by Rebels v Tahs, Reds, Crusaders and Bulls. I don't know I can then muster any more passion (hate) for our NRC side, though I will go watch a few games each season no doubt.
Popeye
Guest
Hmm............Chch to Qld, sheepshagger to cane toad!! That'd be a major adjustment, you'd have to shift the eye patch from one eye to the other :-)
Jay
Guest
Don't worry about any lack of competitive banter against any Sydney team that play NSW Country in Dubbo & Orange ( bank on that tip). Everyone is keen and ready to go.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Yes that was a funny comment from Ben.
Madrid john
Guest
Ummm, did you put any thought into that post Buzzard? Absolutely nothing to do with Ben´s argument about where sporting culture comes from. Don´t worry, we think your code is just fine, really.
formerflanker
Guest
Let's leave out the references to hate in rugby - it's probably coming from men who can't play any more (and there are a lot of us on this site). Players have fierce rivalries sure but real hate? No. Hate is a word loved by journos wanting to boost readership. Supporters who "hate" the opposition are being passionate. Long-standing bitterness between clubs - probably (e.g. Warringah v Manly) but most current players don't even know what started the contretemps in the first place. They don't hate. When we use the word hate in the rugby context we are being less than truthful about what we mean. Real hate ends up in bloody violence (no I don't mean rucks and mauls). Use better descriptions of the feelings that rugby engenders but don't fall for the three card trick and use that hateful word.
Rod
Guest
I'm with you Harry , love to beat the poms more than any other team, I had the good fortune of watching a super rugby game in Durban in May 1997 and the boks v lions at Newlands in 97 as well. I had three incredible months in SA , I can't hate the boks . I'm a league man to boot
Harry Jones
Guest
Is this becoming an anti-SA site? I thought the Poms were the default team in any sport to hate? The writer says it's SA.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Does anyone like Randwick?
tubby
Guest
I ask you Ben, how much hate or next-morning chat did Richmond-Collingwood games create in their first year or two of existence? obviously these things take time and the first step is to make me care about 1 team enough so I care about who might beat them. not sure how the AFL did 100+ years ago but they do it better than anyone else these days by targetting kids to get involved. Hopefully the ARU will do something similar, nothing promotes a game to a parent as much as a nagging kid
Brett McKay
Expert
Offered up viewer loyalty and tribalism? Rubbish. It was as big a punt as Super League was, and as Arena Football was in America. And lasted only marginally longer.
Brett McKay
Expert
Perhaps we might just leave it then Johnno, because you're still saying why it would make sense to do it. World Series Cricket, even the Vikings, has nothing to do with this. Nothing at all. If the ARU seriously wanted to market the NRC to just one demographic - which I don't honestly believe they do - they wouldn't go to Gen Y, they'd go to the older, more affluent generations (if we have to generalise). targeting the under-35s alone and ignoring the richer 'blazer brigade' baby boomers, like you're suggesting, simply makes no sense at all. And the BBL doesn't even do that, they target kids and families - that's not Gen Y! And stop suggesting the NRC won't be aimed at traditionalists and die-hards, you're just doing yourself a massive disservice. The NRC is not a variation of rugby, it's not 7-a-side, it's not 10-a-side, it's not going to be played in tutus, or on bright red grass on triangular-shaped grounds, it's just going to be regular, garden-variety 15-a-side rugby, designed purely and simply to bridge the massive gap between club- and Super Rugby. Nothing else.
Johnno
Guest
Okay Brett, I'll try one last time mate to answer. The ARU would target 1 specific market, as that's where they get there most money from. The NRC is a start up comp, long term the baby boomers will not be the market, as they won't be around in 20 years. Gen-Y and there kids are the present and the future for the NRC, not the ARU. And the NRC is not set-up to straight away make a profit, Bill Pulver acknowledges that, and evens says in his years in business it's not expected to make a profit in the first few year. So a few losses are expected. So to get Gen-Y hooked and the Gen-Y's kids there majority audience for the NRC, they are pitching there market to that audience and yes neglecting the Baby boomers audience for the NRC. They have done that with the lack of respecting club traditon's and histories of Australian rugby. The baby-boomer roarer sheek wnet on about it in length, and was scolded by some for being a dinasour. I'd like to see sheek as being a historian as well as a dinasour then, as he made good points about the NRC not respecting Australian rugby traditions in it's new teams set-up. Just look at the Vikings, they are putting there club first, not calling the team the kookaburras which is want most canberrians want. You know Brett down there, the old North South debate is strong in Canberra rugby circles, and the Vikings ain't liked up north in Canberra. Brett World series cricket in the 1970's targeted the youth far more than older audiences, with the colourful uniforms and flashy cricket.
Brett McKay
Expert
Johnno, with respect, you've not answered the question at all. All you've done, with yet more nonsense about baby boomers and discos and now Belgian beer, is tell me that target marketing DOES happen. What I'm asking is WHY would the ARU target to any one target demographic above all others, for a competition they hope can be self-sustaining almost immediately, and even slightly profit-making within a few years?
Johnno
Guest
World series cricket Brett.
Johnno
Guest
Combesy, No I have not been to a BBL match, watched a few overs on Tv when have nothing to do that's it. MLB is full of colour, the uniforms are coloured, not whites last time I checked. They give heaps of kids prizes at games, have big fluffy toys far more child like than Tah man run around the stadium, kids get put up on the big screen if they take a catch or win a prize. The dugout is right on the field so the coaches and players get animated with the crowd, unlike in rugby where the coaches box is in the grandstand, that should change. Like baseball,baskebtall,soccer, the rugby coach should be more centre of attention in a rugby match like those sports and be on sideline, not hidden up in the grandstand.
Combesy
Roar Guru
JOHNNO- simple question have you been to a BBL match??
Johnno
Guest
Brett I can anwser that simply. A sports comp doesn't aim to please everyone and every market. It goes on the majority demographic. A Belgian beer cafe I once went too in Sydney, advertised all it's belgian beers and posters etc. You could still buy aussie beer there, but they didn't do alot of marketing promoting the fact that they still sold aussie beer in the Belgium themed pub in Sydney. So things like new rule changes, a faster game, etc all appeals to younger clientelle. T20 cricket with there disco bails, cheerleaders, funky talk, colourful clothing, tacky music after every 6, mind you all the cheer leaders are young mind you, none of them are over 40 it seems, let alone 50 or 60. It's undeniable that T20 is marketed towards younger people. Now why would a baby boomer want to go into a cultral style they don't fit into or relate to. And the BBL and NRC make it seem very obvious to me they want to appeal to younger audiences. The NRL as well. The NRL ads last year to launch the season, were all full of younger people in the ads, who were not die-hards of the game or couldn't relate to rugby league in the 70's,80's,90's. The big shoulder charge hits, and biffs, were replaced by electrifying tries as in previous ads were the shoudler charge was promoted, and far more women in the ads and younger women teenagers and women's in there 20's and 30's, not grandma's knitting a footy scarf which was the traditional way women's role often got viewed in rugby league. So the BBL and NRC in my view are pitching to younger audiences mainly, not the baby boomers or die-hards, or purists or traditionlists. May as well cal it Gen-Y BBL/NRC, in my view.
Combesy
Roar Guru
and i'll take one guess... you are a Cronulla or titans supporter
Combesy
Roar Guru
I agree with brett here. why would the ARU want to directly market to only one generation? If anything the marketing will be directed towards families as to get mum, dad and the kids involved in the hope of getting more player participation numbers and more supporters of the game. Johnno some of the arguments you bring up have no substance at all, you think because there is bright lights and loud music means that it is marketed towards gen-y ? Have a look at a MLB match then look into the crowd, I guarantee there would be an even mix of ages and generations because they market it at family to entice you to bring your family along. Simple marketing strategy for $$ - you get more out of the average 4-5 person family at the gate, merch stands and with food and drink then you do with trying to get a few gen-y followers to come to the game