League, union and cricket have engaged with an annual struggle over how to make their game ‘more appealing’ to the casual or non-observer.
It would appear inevitable that when the search for the magic formula to attract such groups commences, a group of marketing people and their research teams are dispatched to engage with ‘the public.’
Not surprisingly, out of this research comes a conclusion that people want action, fast-paced engagements and ultimately lots of scoring.
(I say not surprisingly because if you polled people across topics ranging from their kids’ school performance to their experiences in the budoir, you would get the same outcomes.)
As a result, rules are altered, coverage tweaked and seasons adjusted to give people more scoring to behold. From four and five-point tries, to reducing goal-kicking opportunities and periodic sin binnings in the rugby codes, through smaller fields, flatter tracks and rules limiting bowler behaviour in cricket to create more and faster scoring, the three sports seem to be evolving in a time frame unrelated to the rest of the world.
I contend that these games will reach a point wherein they will create their own irrelevance. The majority of gametime now runs to a predictable format. Due to this, casual observers may get their ‘sugar hit’ of points, but the true followers grow disillusioned.
Keeping up with rules becomes time-consuming (powerplay anyone?), and people find themselves slowly disengaging from the game, as it ceases to resemble what they played and followed for years before.
There is an old axiom in politics that you have to ‘secure your base’, which recognises that while changing policies may appeal to those who don’t currently support you, it may also lose you the dedicated people who will actually keep your organisation alive. So when in doubt, appeal to your base, and build appeal from there.
In the rush to appeal to the non-believers, three of our major codes are growing unaligned with their base. They should be careful, for while it may pack stadiums for events, it reduces the connect with grassroots people who coach junior sides, run tuck shops, fund raise, and transport kids around suburban and country grounds.
Without their base, any organisation will eventually crumble.
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Channel 9 have contacted Fox League for comment after vision emerged of the NRL journalist's fight with a member of the public.
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