When it comes to nostalgia, no one is more nostalgic than me. My Saturdays consisted of going out to play football (soccer) with my church team in the morning followed by recovery time in the afternoon. That consisted of sitting on the couch watching Shute Shield on ABC with Cyril Towers commentating. I maintain that there was no better rugby education to be had anywhere, and its the source of my lifelong enjoyment of rugby.
But, that was then and this is now. Then, we didn't even own a phone in the house, I had to walk half a mile to the phone box to call my grandma. Now I have to carry my mobile around 24/7 just so I don't miss a spam call. Back then, the ABC was king of my world, now I only watch streaming on i-view. For rugby, I have Stan and its great. If RA could get match-of-the-day broadcast on one of the 9 back channels that would meet the pleas for FTA coverage and it wouldn't cost much to get that done as its being shot for Stan anyway. The PR value would be unknown and unknowable, except for stories like mine. Was I the only poor kid who fell in love with rugby because of Cyril Towers on match of the day? Somehow, I don't think I am all that unique.
And in praise of Stan, the Sarries vs Leicester game I watched yesterday was absolutely awesome.