In these increasingly inter-connected yet insular modern times in which many of us wander about heads-down “consuming” whatever imperative has just pinged up into our telephones, the way you know a thing is a thing is if it has a hashtag.
If something has a hashtag that makes it a thing, makes it part of our cultural zeitgeist.
Australian sport has one. It’s called “#codewars” and it’s what happens whenever someone bags or supports a sport, or says anything about a sport at all.
And like the damnable squawking bloody phones, it’s become a pain in the bloody arse.
#Codewars denotes the petty squabbling and distance-wee-wee competitions Australian sports fans, players, administrators, media, marketeers – the whole blessed job lot of us – engage in on behalf of “our” preferred sport.
It’s like we have to denigrate the other guys’ game to highlight the primacy of “ours”.
And we’re dashed combative and sensitive about it in equal measure.
They don’t do this in other countries. Not in Belgium or Belarus, Kenya or Canada.
Not in the dear sweet insane United States. Not in England or Ireland or the Isle of Skye.
Even our closest family, the Kiwis, our funny little cuzzy-bros don’t engage in this tedious bickering about which sport is biggest between the legs.
We don’t do it with other stuff.
We don’t get defensive about the merits of the iPhone over the Blackberry over the Samsung Galaxy S8+.
People watch Netflix or Stan, eat at McDonald’s or KFC or a Bondi kale house.
You can drink a beer, play a pokie or smoke whatever brand of cigarette that will one day kill you, and you won’t feel the need to stand up for the damned things if someone has a mild crack at them on the internet.
Granted the nature of said world-wide “web” of computers known as the internet has a bit to do with it.
People say things online they wouldn’t say in person.
Many seem to have a reflex to knock something, to take the diametrically opposed “alternate” viewpoint, to make advocacy for the devil himself.
Hell, you could tweet about your love for sunny Spring days and some nark would highlight the dangers of skin cancer. Daylight saving is like this.
Context and nuance can be lost in 140 characters even with all the emojis in Internet Christendom.
The media plays its part, of course.
Columnists know which buttons to press.
You want a bunch of “hits” on the paper’s web-page? Want to get the punters jiggy under the line? Knock out some pithy prose about why “soccer” should be called “football” or “rugby” should be called “union”.
Tell us why rugby league can’t be “the greatest game of all” or that Australian rules is lesser for booing a black man. They’ll pour over the parapets like beer-gargling Visigoths.
Bag a couple of baby dopes in the Red and Black Bloc in these very pages with language almost identical to what “football” commentators have opined, and you know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
And so on.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Consider beer! Dear, sweet beer. Once upon a time you drank Toohey’s in New South Wales, XXXX in Queensland, and Swan in the great golden west. Victoria Bitter was everywhere (and apparently Australia’s “favourite” beer because a marketeer, probably John Singleton, told us) which for some reason you couldn’t get it on tap but you could get Foster’s.
Advertisers played on parochialism until they worked out it was better for one’s profits if they sold the stuff to everybody rather than a state-based sub-section.
Today Fosters is in Europe and XXXX Gold is everywhere.
Pro sports have gone the same way for the same reason.
Affectations to a “national” competition are the new black.
It was an argument for retaining Western Force, for a “footprint”. Even before the Force was punted the Roar’s league journo Steve Mascord lamented that: “No one at League Central seems in the least bit interested in jumping into the gulf.” The NRL announced a double-header for 2018 round one at nib Stadium.
There’s 1.8 million consumers in Perth. Administrators and TV types want a bit of that action the same reason they’ve plonked Giants in the greater golden west of Sydney and not in Tasmania which is mad for the game but contains less eyeballs.
Of course it comes back, as everything does, to money.
If you want to know why television talking heads and pundits will talk about one sport and denigrate another, cock a cynical eyebrow and ask where the buck stops.
Super League was naked for it. The Daily Telegraph was once a flat-out corporate brochure for the company’s expansionist vision.
It rolls on today. Rupert Murdoch said he’d favour Aussie Rules when the NRL signed a deal with Channel Nine. But he’s no fool.
(Image: WikiCommons – David Shankbone)
The AFL might get a bigger push here and there but Brisbane’s Courier Mail and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph are league papers, just as the Herald Sun is for Australian rules. Murdoch isn’t going to prejudice circulation.
Question is why do we – the punters, the people, the sports-consuming Aussie public – buy so readily into it?
Why do we, the people, continue to argue that “our” code is better than someone else’s? Why do we go into bat, often vociferously, for a sport?
Why are we fighting a proxy war for codes and clubs and media barons about which game is “the best”?
Why can’t we like more than one thing? Why, in the sports-loving country of Australia, must we pick and stick, and then fight for that brand over another one?
Are we fools for love? Are we pawns in a power-struggle between bankers and lawyers and titans of media who fight to the death for sponsorship, spectators and the sweet pumpkin pie of TV rights revenue?
Are we all being played?
Baroness
Guest
Ok the female Channel Nine reporter who was told that there must be a positive RL story in the news every night - same difference. You don't live in Melbourne so you cant comment ...
Baroness
Guest
None of you have monitored all TV radio newspapers for 20 years to make a rational judgement - I'd be interested to know which AFR journalist said RL was the rape code) and your experience cant be extrapolated into a wider evidence based assessment. Though some facts about the Storm - owned by news Ltd so the Vic Govt were keen to foster good relations for the Melbourne News Ld tabloid newspaper (my relation worked at the Hun at the time in sports) to get them onside and get SOO games down there and of course built them a rectangular stadium. You pick and choose comments based upon your selective reading and ignore the alternative. Roy talked up and defended the Storm during the slary cap scandal.for example
Baroness
Guest
So JK selectively takes one game numbers (probably free to air) without counting Fox to prove his stupid point about 1 team - it must be lonely there in Tasmania with all those other RL fans - I think he secretly wants a Tas AFL team...
Baroness
Guest
Justin, We have to keep an eye on you (someone has to) when you write untruths or maybe half truths if I am generous. Hows that Tasmanian RL comp going?
Baroness
Guest
The Essendon drugs scandal still goes on whereas cronulla who did exactly the same thing was forgotten in weeks. See I too can take on e example and parlay it into a generality like you guys.
Baroness
Guest
Canadian female RL team made up of RU players - "better than having expats involved" Crosscoder about World Cups So in RL its a choice between (a) having teams based on where their grandfather was born and most having not been to the country and not playing home games in "their" country but in western Sydney and also changing eligibility back and forth every 3 years or so in a flag of convenience (any bets on Liberia in the next RLWC) (which is a Crosscoder worse choice) than (b) female players from another code (RU) representing their country in a game (RL) that is not played in that country in a World Cup in another hemisphere to make up the numbers. If the AFL did this you would laugh and rightly so
Baroness
Guest
South Sydney play at ANZ because majority of members live in west - shane Richardson some years back and no doubt its cheap - don't you follow RL? Didn't you say that crowds would improve when the NRL got back scheduling with the new TV deal - you wrote it every year when NRL crowds were struggling. So the NRL has scheduling back and it schedules accordingly to blunt the AFL - double header in Brisbane last week was directly against Brisbane and GC AFL teams. Your RL myopia doesn't let you see other codes so you miss a lot which you could learn from. an
Baroness
Guest
The NRL admitted that it takes into account other codes schedules after the tele pointed out the preponderance of WS RL games on the same weekend that the GWS plays at home so in fact you're embarrassing for not keeping up with NRL propaganda
Quentin Poulsen
Guest
It's like comparing NFL and Canadian football. They look similar but are not quite the same game. One is huge and has a major international following. The other is pretty much unknown outside of Canada and is not even the major sport there. No reason for union and league to merge.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Clipper believing the NRL organised the draw to stymie a GWS game in Sydney.Just LOL. And if rl fans would have gone to Spotless,with no NRL game at Leichhardt or ANZ, This guy lives in a rl hating bubble.The arrogance is just plain embarrassing.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
A Canadian team made up of female ru players,playing against 5 other countries of female rl players. So what? It's better than having expats involved. The result, is now applications for a start in western Canada.The British Columbia RL has applications in for the season start for an 8 team male and a 4 team female rl 9s comp at South Surrey. The President of the Ontario RL is a female : Carolyn Ritchie,who is now working on a women's and juniors' rl program. The so called "amateurish" RWLC for women seems to have stirred a little more interest than the Baroness another AFL tragic would suggest. It is certainly good they were able to play against women from other countries,a learning experience and a step to further development. Oh dear, surely you jest ,as if the NRL clubs of western Sydney are going to take notice of what GWS does.The TV stations have far more say as to when the games are staged. EG the Tigers playing a NTH Qld side on a Thursday night at Leichhardt,no you beaut stadium like Spotless.Live on FTA hardly going to get a huge crowd./ Bulldogs v Eels on a Friday night.Eels one of the biggest NRL drawcards for Sydney,Understandably why they are on prime time.Oh wait, they should have consulted the Blacktown boys ,oops Breakfast Creek boys first. Sunday St George top of the ladder v Souths both with large followings at 2pm sunday at ANZ.Should draw the biggest crowd off the season.BTW your geography is rather askew.South Sydney is not a Western Sydney side.They use ANZ stadium, their base is Redfern and the SE suburbs.They are getting a Centre of Excellence at Heffron Park. So they are doing this because of GWS only playing twice in Sydney LOL ,Seriously the look at me brigade continues on its merry ways. Then again anyone like GWS who considers the ANZAC bridge is in western Sydney,thankfully are not navigators or work on Google Maps. Perhaps it might be in GWS's interest to play all their games in Sydney.After all Canberra is not ,never will be ,a part of Greater Western Sydney.
Justin Kearney
Guest
If clip was amusing deucer was hilarious. Poor bloke had no idea what he was talking about at all. Puffed his chest out claiming he had caught me out when his knowledge of the topic was based on all of clippy’s false assumptions. Makes for fun times though watching them demonstrated absolute ignorance on topics such as these.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
I'm amused by the comments from the usual AFL(bigger D) push brigade, who have zero time for the regionals.the very regionals with populations in the Northern states ,that match those of SA and WA Clipper doesn't want to know about them,understandably so.Selective data is the norm.. He doesn't like being reminded about the very ordinary GWS ratings in Sydney and the not much better Swans' ones(who have been here close to 40 years). Sydney the biggest commercial market in the country Now whilst Cap city ratings look you beaut for the AFL at times, which suits the ratings people, and no doubt Gil & co, from a marketing /consumer perspective it is the total number of potential consumers for their"product',that I suggests interests the advertisers. I understand the NRL not having teams in Adelaide and Perth impacts Cap city ratings. IOW what would the SOO series be worth to the Tv broadcasters , if no one in the Nth Regionals watched? The FTA station with the NRL deal,onsells to the regional stations.They're not going to give it away, knowing there is a demand there. And that's without the decent increase in STV ratings for the NRL this year. The reason I bring this up, apart from the usual look at me AFL tag team, the very fact the TV deal for the NRL is not that far short of the AFLs,can be in part to the SOO (which in fact takes into account regionals and on FTA:: oh no ,plus the demand that Fox acknowledges rugby league pushes their subscriptions. The FTA SOO figures are announced then the regional.Funny that. This with no representation in Adelaide or Perth.Bearing in mind the NZ tv deal was about $100m over 5 years,. No wonder Clip uneasily suggested expanding into Perth would not be very fruitful for the NRL.Perhaps having a team there would push FTA ratings up.
Justin Kearney
Guest
I’m a stats freak like you pez. Not many of us around. We’ve got to stick together!
clipper
Guest
Yes, quite remarkable
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Justin Kearney Careful there.....I might start liking you!! (btw - I actually do try to be relatively even handed - - part of the reason I like a multi code site like this IS that ideas and perceptions can be put to a test that normally they don't if you stick within your own silo. I'll try to back up what I say.)
Justin Kearney
Guest
I agree with all that Pez. It’s a bit of a nightmare working out ratings for individual afl games for that very reason. And 5 games on a Saturday is clearly having an adverse affect on ratings particularly Foxtel with many this year failing to reach 6 figures. I think the afl will have to move to Thursday night games more often to control the congestion as it appears to be causing a pretty serious drop in ratings this year. Let’s face it that’s where most of the money comes from for better or worse.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Clipper and Justin Kearney re the ratings too - invariably the AFL broadcasts are split across states - Sat nights there will be different games broadcast into different states. Consider AFL round 7 Friday night - Geel v GWS live into all states (5.30pm start in Perth) Sat Bulldogs v Gold Coast on 7Mate into Qld only Sat WCEagles v Port live on 7 into WA and SA only Sat Syd v NM live on 7mate into NSW only Sat Adel v Carl live into Vic/Tas, QLD, SA and WA Sun Rich v Freo 165 minute delay on 7 in WA (why bother!!) Sun Bris v Coll live 7mate into QLD Sun StK v Melb live on 7 into SA, Vic, Tas It's a dogs breakfast of broadcasts. Looking at what the NRL has coming up this weekend it's national broadcast on Thurs night, Friday night and Sunday arvo. The vast majority of the audience is Eastern seaboard in the one timezone. It also means that the NRL foxtel vs FTA split is more pure. It takes a fair bit of work to really be able to make any sort of comparison - outside of Friday nights but even then NRL has the 30 minute preview and match broadcast from 8pm to 10:45 pm. The AFL broadcast runs 7:30 to 11pm in one bundle.
Baroness
Guest
Code wars are easy when you have juvenile stuff like this that you just cant make up as Steve mascord reports "The Wolfpack returned to Canada last weekend, playing in regional Markham, Ontario. On sale during the game against Swinton was a heritage jersey. Yes, an 18-month-old club produced a heritage jersey. It marked not the Wolfpack’s first game way back in 2016, in those primitive times when you couldn’t automatically put bunny ears on your head on Facebook video messenger, but the establishment of rugby in Ontario. Not David Silcock’s Tri-County Rugby League of the 1980s but rugby – rugby union. While a similar design for the Wolfpack by an Englishman commemorates the visit to Canada of the 1928 rugby league Lions, the Wolfpack chose to celebrate the birth of what is considered in most other places the “rival” code, an organisation even Ontario Rugby League until recently considered a malevolent force" Of course to get enough womens RL teams to RLWC they had to invite RU players to a free truip to Australia...can they get any more amateurish And of course GWS plays in Sydney for the second time this year and again 4 of the 5 western Sydney NRL clubs are playing in western Sydney this weekend - coincidence?
Justin Kearney
Guest
Oh and FYI ‘Elbusto’ is a nickname I picked up in a pub during a long session with two mates. They ended up with ‘El Denso’ and ‘El Panso’ so I figure I didn’t do too badly ?