The League Media

[Set piece magic]

The League Media. Inherently Evil.

N.B.

This isn't a hate on League itself, which believe it or not I did used to enjoy. That was until I had to tolerate the stupid levels of hype about Origin, and the hating on every game that isn't League in some kind of my dad could beat up your dad competition. Plus I was young and I got over all the stupid banter between NSW & QLD when I turned 15.

The League media will always be trying to find a way to either keep Rugby out of the headlines or kill it in a baptism of fire if it has to be there.

Example 1:

Public Enemy number 1 Phil Rothfield writes in his column this morning



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/spikhaza123/rothfluffybunny_zps3aebe3a0.jpg

HIGHLIGHT
Back to the real footy and no more Super Rugby this year.

LOWLIGHT II
An entire season of the Super Rugby competition coming down to a penalty goal shootout in the last three minutes of play.

Just unfuckingbelievable. This guy has no fucking idea, and if i ever see him I'll happily take the jail bait for everyone on green and gold and punch his lights out.

Now, of course, I'm willing to bet one hundred of my hard earned student dollars that if the NRL grand final was decided with a penalty / field goal we wouldn't ever here the end of it from Phil and his mates.

The constant digs at rugby are really quite annoying. if I had a penny for every time I heard the word rah rah, leather patch and all the other cliche's I would have enough to be a big rah rah myself in an enormous mansion with Phil begging me to give him pizza money.

It would be fine, if the Rugby media got stuck in back. What's left of them don't, and grumbles growden is too busy on ESPN scrum criticizing the ARU for having push instead of pull doors.




Example 2:

When you can't hate on them, just make up some stupid scandal and put that in the papers instead.

Case in point, whatever went on with Gordan Tallis last week. And Robbie Farah.

If you ask me, it was a conspiracy to stop the 'Tahs from getting maximum media coverage they deserved in the lead up to Saturday's grand final. There is always one stupid scandal, or someone saying someone else has a bad haircut, and apparently that deserves maximum headlines.

THE PROBLEM:

Unfortunately for Rugby fans, your average reader of the daily tele doesn't know about the media and how it works. They don't know that the media perpetuate stereotypes and primarily serve, wait for it, their own interests.

Most readers just read the paper, and react to the piece in the way the paper wants (excitement, outrage, concern are common).

This is not to say we don't want these people as fans. We definitely want them. They are the heart and sole of support in TV Ratings and crowds for various Australian sports. They speak sport, they are the community, and critical to Australian rugby not turning into a niece sport.

Rugby must find a way to get past the hate from the League media. It must change perceptions of the game. I simply can't fathom how Rothfield didn't have anything positive to say about the 'Tahs final.

Wallaby fans have a duty to get into the community and persuade, change stereotypes. To be a vocal minority.

Rant over

ps fuck you Phil Rothfield

pps if you want to let phil know he's wrong, go and 'blog' with him here. My suggestion is to pretend you are a league fan and write a perfectly reasonable comment about how it was a great spectacle and the hate is totally unneccessary. Persuasion > confrontation

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailyteleg...eal_is_a_blight_on_the_nrl/desc/#commentsmore

 

[Pfitzy]

Its funny how all this shit goes on, but Cheika was talking about how guys like Laurie Daley and Trent Robinson were congratulating him and how they all share ideas etc.

I responded to one of the comments under Rothfield's article talking about number of tries, pointing out that Origin had barely any. I'll let the fire build and then go back to see how many threw themselves on it.

On the flipside, I talked to a guy at work who thinks Union has too much kicking, and he watched live on Fox, and said it was completely amazing.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Rothfield and his ilk can eat a bag of dicks. That is all.

 

[Set piece magic]

we need to make him eat a bag of dicks

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It would be fine, if the Rugby media got stuck in back. What's left of them don't, and grumbles growden is too busy on ESPN scrum criticizing the ARU for having push instead of pull doors.

Loved the rant.
Just wanted to check whether grumbles was actually complaining about the push/pull doors of you made that up?
If the latter: well done, I love it. It really sums up the man.
If you didn't make it up then it still sums him up.

 

[en_force_er]

It's funny, take it for what it is I guess.

Origin 2 was as dour as any rugby game I've ever seen, but it was branded as tough. It's similar to how a slow rugby game is a death sentence, but a tactical grinding game of test cricket is 'what cricket is meant to be'.

IDK what to make of stuff like that, just have a chuckle and realise it's their jobs.

 

[Set piece magic]

Loved the rant.
Just wanted to check whether grumbles was actually complaining about the push/pull doors of you made that up?
If the latter: well done, I love it. It really sums up the man.
If you didn't make it up then it still sums him up.

Yeah it's a metaphor, made up. I thought it was the most accurate way of describing his articles that talk about the ARU

 

[Slim 293]

Rothfield and his ilk can eat a bag of dicks. That is all.

we need to make him eat a bag of dicks

 

[Pfitzy]

You can't make the militant Loig media eat dicks unless it's one that had been used to piss in an NRL star's mouth first.

If they even suspected that one of the dicks in that bag has been offered to rugby union in the past, they would consider the entire bag tainted and want nothing to do with it.

Anyway, I've moved on, and all we are doing is potentially increasing Buzz's click count. So fuck him. Ignore him.

 

[It is what it is]

Cut the poor guy some slack, he writes for the Tele and supports Cronulla.

 

[boyo]

Cut the poor guy some slack, he writes for the Tele and supports Cronulla.

No

 

[Ash]

Even most league supporters hate Rothfield. The guy is awful.

 

[A mutterer]

I ignore it as a general principle. Its the telr after all.

 

[Set piece magic]

Call of the Wallaby did a segment on the League media tonight. Airspace in Sydney is ridiculous

It's less of a problem in Brisbane - if the Broncos are doing shit there is less on them and the Reds can easily make the 3rd page, and get on the back for a standard fixture against the 'Tahs, Brumbies or 'Saders at home.

Problem is with so many NRL teams in Sydney that gives so much more potential for scandal, teams to do well and generate hype etc.

The problem simply is that our biggest appealing team, the Wallabies, haven't done well in their biggest appealing series, the Bledisloe cup, for so long.

 

[Pfitzy]

I ignore it as a general principle. Its the telr after all.

Don't you mean the NRLegraph?

 

[Pfitzy]

The problem simply is that our biggest appealing team, the Wallabies, haven't done well in their biggest appealing series, the Bledisloe cup, for so long.

The problem is that they're our only FTA team.

Channel Ten missed a trick by not chucking Fox Sports some money to play the Super Rugby final on 1 hour delay and make themselves a shitload in advertising.

 

[Rob42]

Hey, c'mon. The league media's not nearly as bad as the AFL press in Melbourne. I do have grudging respect for the ability of the NRL to thrive on the weekly petty scandals of who said what, who pissed where or crapped in what shoe. I guess when your game's so dull and provincial, gotta find some interest somewhere.

 

[Pfitzy]

The League Media. Inherently Evil.

Looking back on this, I'd go more for "inherently stupid".

 

[ChargerWA]

Watching the back page. They have some leaguie wanna be dr evil type who keeps bringing the conversation back to League. He managed to get Robbie Farrah twice the airtime they gave the Waratahs win.

Super.

 

[p.Tah]

Watching the back page. They have some leaguie wanna be dr evil type who keeps bringing the conversation back to League.

That's James Hooper from the Telegraph. Quite an angry man at times who takes himself far too seriously.
A few weeks ago on the Back Page when Phil Craddock said Beale would be better off staying at the Waratahs than going to the Bulldogs because he has finally sorted out his life and the culture of League could derail him. Hooper went ballistic saying that was the most rediculous comment he has heard in his life and that Union is a nothing sport, that is boring and is dying because no one cares (or words to that effect).

Don't think he is a fan of Rugby.