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On the surface, it’s hard to see any problem with the proposal to resuscitate the North Sydney Bears on the Gold Coast.
My colleague Chris Garry, of The Courier-Mail, explained to me during the World Club Series that Hollywood now has a 25-year rotational policy for franchises like superhero movies.
Basically, after 25 years people get nostalgic for familiar things – and they generally have more money than they did a quarter-century ago – so unless you do a particularly crappy job of reviving said cultural icon, you’re going to make a motza.
The Bears have been gone as a top flight side now for just under 20 years.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing and the trademarks of the past in rugby league probably aren’t being utilised as well as they could be, with a few notable exceptions such as Newtown.
One of the ‘whole of game’ strategy’s major considerations should have been to bring back, and leverage, old brands.
How do you get city dwellers interested in the Platinum League? You put the Balmain Tigers, Illawarra Steelers, Western Suburbs Magpies etc in it. Some diehards would suddenly be more interested in the Platinum League than the NRL (perhaps including me).
Again, there seems to be an insecurity at play – a concern that the trusted old brands will out-perform the new ones.
Certainly the makers of throwback jerseys and memorabilia understand the subconscious triggers that Kerry Boustead dressed as Bruce Springsteen on the cover of Rugby League Week can set off.
But back to the Gold Coast Bears.
The tourist strip franchise lost some of its lustre under the previous management when local tradesmen were not paid and anecdotally some of these people are still staying away.
How many fans feel emotionally attached to the light blue and gold to the extent they would not go back if it was red and black?
No reason, then, the big black Bears should not be back on the road again.
A quick word on the World Club Series.
Rugby league in Australia is not perfect. Rugby league in England is even less perfect. History and money are responsible for most of the imperfections.
The money in rugby league is in Sydney. It gobbled up Newcastle, Canberra and Wollongong, then Brisbane, the Gold Coast and North Queensland, then New Zealand. Eventually – maybe it will take advanced air travel, maybe it won’t – the money in Sydney will gobble up England too.
In the meantime, just look upon the World Club Series as interstate football, pre-State of Origin. It’s what we have until natural evolution of the rugby league business gives us something better.