Not so long ago I joined a couple old colleagues from the Sydney Morning Herald at a rather plush eatery at Green Park in London, right next to the Ritz, for a catch-up.
It’s that time of the year – I know multiple people coming through town for the Ashes right now, even though I won’t watch a minute of it myself. I’m hoping to catch up with a certain hair metal-loving cricket writer, and a certain sports editor with a haircut that always conjured up the word foppish, this coming week.
I won’t drop names because this is not about them. You might conclude that I want this to be about me. As I type the third paragraph that’s not my intention but… we’ll see. Maybe.
I have a dear friend who was a sub-editor at the Herald who is gravely ill right now. Out of respect to him and his family I won’t name him either, although this man was the quiet, assured, smiling life of every post-shift Tuesday night gathering we ever had – and not afraid to be last man standing at Hotel New Hampshire at the Cross when everyone else had gone home.
He’s now in palliative care. It’s bloody heartbreaking.
There is a confluence of these things right now that make one contemplate a life – or half a life anyway – spent in sports journalism. Yesterday, US website The Athletic launched in the UK, having poached some of the best football writers and sports editors in this country from mastheads big and small.
Interestingly, there is an argument that more work for journalists is going to kill journalism – because the dwindling number of people who still buy newspapers do so for the sport and they’ll now stop. I don’t buy that at all – more jobs for journalists means more journalism, and that’s good.
I juxtapose what I’ve written about so far – I guess you’d call it big picture, if you wanted to be plain about it – with the rugby league news I read in my timeline.
Gold Coast are a terrible team and they don’t use the right process is hiring coaches. Brisbane let too many good players go last off-season. Paul McGregor should be sacked instead of getting a contract extension. Jesse Ramien’s dad was shopping him around to other clubs.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Then there’s the referee stories: the match officials hate the Warriors, it’s the referee’s fault that the crowd rioted in Perpignan.
I can almost see steam on Fox League coming out the ears of their pundits as they discuss things that no longer matter one iota to me and which I can’t believe once did.
And to kind of complete this perfect storm of reflection, they are going to induct a reporter in the the Australian Rugby League Hall Of Fame. That’s great news – EE Christensen would be a great first inductee – as would a man who is already on the shortlist for an administrative inductee, Harry Sunderland.
But, once more, it makes you ruminate about the legacy you leave in a job, what it takes to leave a huge one, and – most importantly – whether it’s really worth it.
I no longer care too much about whether a coach should be sacked, who is going to win State of Origin or whether St Helens will win the double.
The reason is because these are the same old issues with only the names changing year on year. Sport is uncertain in a micro sense but mind-numbingly repetitive from a macro perspective.
I do care about concussion, I care about changing rugby league culturally, demographically and geographically so it can realise its potential, I care about the next World Cup and the one after, the expansion of Nines, putting games on more TVs in more places, better merchandising and even catering. I love the Toronto Wolfpack experiment and what it represents.
Yet in between hosting a corporate function at Bradford on Sunday and selling merch, I missed 75 per cent of a pretty good game against the very same Wolfpack and couldn’t care less. I’ve not watched an NRL game in weeks.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
I could say that I care about permanent, important, historical change in rugby league but that still leaves one burning question.
And that is: why do I care so much about a sport I am happy not to watch? It’s like saying I am passionate about a museum but care not for art or history. It seems illogical.
But the answer is in those first few pars. It’s the people the game has introduced me to and the experiences those people have helped me have over the first half-century of my life. The game did that for me, so I care about what I can do for it.
The people you hang out with on the hill, the players you idolise or despise, the referees, the media identities, the administrators… long after they’ve all stopped doing what you love or hate today, they’ll remind you of a time in your life.
And when they go, they’ll remind you of your own mortality.
This column isn’t about me, it’s about you.
Tone down the outrage – or at least recognise it as the two-dimensional representation of life that it really is. None of this stuff really matters – including the winning and the losing. All that matters is the people you’re sharing it with.
Be thankful the game has brought those people to you – and if at all possible, do your bit to ensure it continues to enrich the lives of others.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Fair enough Steve. I say a lot of things in jest so bear that in mind. I didn't set out to persuade you to any course of action. I was simply making a point and having a bit of fun along the way. I can appreciate your position given your age and time of life. I'll see your 50 and raise you 3 and a half years. No one will change me either, so we have that in common. But differences of opinion can still be used to have some fun from time to time. ;-)
Steve Mascord
Expert
Great post Papi but I care about what I care about. At 50 I'm not going to start caring about something because I am told to. I cheer rugby league against other sports the way you cheer Souths. That's my passion.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"Tone down the outrage – or at least recognise it as the two-dimensional representation of life... It’s just a game... A way to fill in time before you’re filling in a grave" You presume that this is news to many of us I suppose? That we each haven't been through life-changing experiences to understand and contemplate that greater truth already. Life is tough enough as it is Steve so PLEASE allow us our "Bread and Circuses" and to indulge our passions for a game that links us to tradition and history, to nostalgia and a door to the past that life seeks to nail shut as we each proceed in orderly fashion to our inevitable final destination. I have been supporting the Rabbitohs since 1970 (perhaps a year before). But for the period between an Olympic games that's my entire life. I have supported the Rabbitohs through the lean years, the 43 year drought, the two years out of the competition in forced exile when I still bought club merchandise to support their efforts to fight for readmittance. If I hadn't been living in Brisbane at the time I would have joined the march to Sydney Town Hall with George Piggins to protest and add my voice to the sea of disparate Rugby League tribal factions that cried out with one voice to right the wrong and restore "the Pride of the League". I continued supporting Souths through further lean years and embarrassing record breaking scorelines following their rightful reinclusion into the NRL when they were forced to field a side of rejects, outcasts, retirees and has-beens. Until one day the clouds parted and the light from above shone down on Redfern and the Bunnies were again covered in Glory and received their 21 premiership before, inevitably, dropping over the premiership precipice in the years that followed. That whole "Circle of Tribal Life" thing. What you see as outrage I see as passion. Passion feeds tribalism and banter and in my experience over 40 years THAT is the lifeblood of the game. Take that away and we all become numb and go weeks on end without seeing a game or caring who wins Origin. The game has changed so much over the years, and mostly not for the better. There is only an echo left of the raw gladiatorial contest I grew up loving before commercialisation of the people's game made it a corporation's product to sell. Steve corporations only understand the bottom line, profit margins and spreadsheets. They have no understanding or interest in passion, loyalty or nostalgia except for how their marketing department can utilise this to sell the game and increase their profit margin. That is the Dark Side Steve, don't go there. Come back to the light and continue to hope and agitate for change and then, one day, the game might have more than just a faint pulse once again and crowds will flood back to fill stadiums as they once did. Rugby League is a tribal communal sport and it's true stakeholders have been disenfranchised and ignored. But to lose passion is to lose the war Steve. Without passion and tribalism we might as well just look at the results of games on a spreadsheet in between business meetings. #Don't let the Passion Die!
In brief
Guest
The knock on interpretation to me epitomes the watering down of rugby league - it is petty - as are a myriad of other illogical rule changes over the past 30 years. I did choose to walk away from the game. But sometimes the memories return- none more so than when recently watching the old Ray Price Tooheys add - huge rush of nostalgia.
Kannga2
Roar Rookie
Good article Steve The outage is ridiculous. ( I’ve been guilty over the years)). It’s a sport . It’s a niche entertainment sport that we love and hate at the same time But it’s the real things and our associations with people that are the things that deserve some passion and change. The demographics of where I live and struggle of the people I look after when I can actually get work are the best life experiences. Watching a length of the field meninga try with a mate is a great memory, great times with teammates on the field are fondly looked back on , but I’m with Steve on this ., I don’t think it matters anymore who wins . Less outrage about football and more perspective of society is a better balance.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I loved playing when I was a kid, played from the time I was 6 years old until my early 20’s. Gave it away when work become more demanding and the game too aggressive for me. These days, I don’t watch it much, catch up with some mates every now and then for a beer and watch whatever game is on at the pub. It’s a town that is not home, but the chat about our local teams and players of old is a conversation that is always welcomed and enjoyed.
Steve Mascord
Expert
No. I like the actual thing of music infinitely more than I like the actual thing of rugby league. There's light years between them in that regard. If I could get more paid work in music right now, I suspect I'd drop this caper completely. But there was a fork in the road 30 years ago and I took the one marked "rugby league"...
Steve Mascord
Expert
What a lovely post. It's not hard for a comment at the bottom of a story of mine to outshine the story - happens all the time - but this is one of my favourite examples.
matth
Roar Guru
Nice article Steve. Do you feel the same way about your musical passions. Barely listen anymore but care where music is heading?
Mike
Guest
Great article Steve. Some of the best people I've known including some of my closest mates I've met through Rugby League. It's the lessons you learn and the contacts you make that make the game important. Ref's decisions, sacked coaches, poached players are just part of the narrative. They're not what the game is about!!
Mickey C
Guest
I do love me an introspective Mascord piece. This one is timely, for me. I know the father-son footy bond is as cliched as it gets, and my father and I had a very deep and rich relationship based on so many other bonds... but... we did love our Dragons. He became a fan in those halcyon 50s and 60s and then passed the curse on to me, his first-born son. After 30 odd years of crying on each other's shoulders we finally got to share the euphoria of a premiership in 2010... before some of my own introspection and disaffection with the state of the club in recent years led to me completely letting go of it all, and moving on with life. With my dad's sudden passing last month, I'm taking the chance this weekend to do exactly what you describe in this article: take a moment remember what it is that made something as arbitrarily silly as "supporting a footy team" special and meaningful. So, I'll return to Jubilee Oval for a pointless game against the hopeless Titans this weekend, and I'll be dropping a rose from his funeral wreath over the fence onto the turf, as a thank you to this game and this silly thing called fandom.
Steve Mascord
Expert
It's just a game mate, something to do and talk to people about. A way to fill in time before you're filling in a grave. Winning, losing, right decision, wrong decision ... what does it really matter? If it doesn't help you enjoy life, walk away! It won't miss you if you don't miss it!
terrykidd
Roar Pro
The game does not mean a lot to me anymore. I see so many stupid refereeing decisions, and plain dumb rule interpretations that I can no longer watch about 10 minutes of a game before I get annoyed and switch off. My rant has nothing to do with player safety. I applaud the rule changes in that area but I deplore the inconsistent rulings by referees and the plainly stupid decisions by the review committee and judiciary. However, my main gripe is knock on decisions. One example is on the weekend a ball carrier is tackled and holds to ball out in one arm looking to offload. The tackler knocks the ball out. It goes backwards from the ball carrier and is caught by another defender in an offside position. In my days of refereeing that is a pretty simple, straight forward decision. Penalty to the attacking team. However, the NRL referees somehow conjured up knock on, scrum feed to the defending team. I see similar stuff like this week after week and it is simply ridiculous.
Nat
Roar Guru
Amen Brother. I watch, I care, I come on blogs and discuss but at no point do I lose the view that it really is entertainment. Never stop pushing for change Steve. Our games' greatest asset is the ability to evolve. In relative terms RL is still coming into maturity. Our ways are not set in stone like some older, more internationally popular sports, we can still grow quite significantly and that is our advantage. A game that is fast and powerful yet can be understood by newbies only after a few minutes guidance plus a world of athletes perfectly suited to the game - they just don't know it yet. 2 generations ago the game was a different beast and who knows what it will be in the next 2 generations? My best wishes to your colleague doing it tough right now.