Well in my mind there's a huge difference between "aren't paying" and "not attending games". I totally agree that free memberships shouldn't count, but non ticketed memberships are important. Not everyone can get to games but they still choose to give money to their club for basically nothing. Non ticked memberships are just as important as ticketed memberships.
Basically we should count all memberships that people have actually paid for.
BS. While I don't have a problem with Sailor because he seems to have genuine passion for the Drgaons but comparing Wendell for Dragons and Mario for Souths is crazy.
There is a huge difference. Mario played most of his career for Souths and would have been a 1 club man if he had his way. He's been bleeding red and green his entire life and is a diehard rabbitoh. There is absolutely nothing wrong with him representing us in our membership drives.
The 'legend' clubs are 'legends' because they're legendary. You got the Rabbitohs and Dragons, the two most iconic brands in rugby league. And the Doggies are the 3rd oldest club in the NRL. They're pretty legendary as well (except for that little period in the mid 90s).
Who else out of the Sydney clubs would be branded as 'legends'? There is nothing legendary about western Sydney so that rules out the Tigers, Eels and Panthers.
As for the wankers in the east? Well you got the Sharks who are surrounded on all sides by one of the 'legends'. And I bet there's more Dragon fans in Cronulla than there is sharks fans. They've never been anything but a cheap gimmick to try and f**k over the Dragons.
As for Manly? Little more than shooting star, they meant something for a period of time and then quickly fizzled. They are little more than the northern version of Cronulla. Also I find it deliciously ironic that one of the 2 'rich snob' teams are relatively poor these days. That's what you get for being rich snobs (my parents live in Mosman and go for Manly...who would have thought two Manly fans would be able to breed and make a child that is smart enough to go for Souths.
And then you have the other rich snob team. Unlike Manly, at least the Roosters have the IQ to use some of their rich snob fans to finance a team for all 46 of their fans.
So in my humble opinion, Souths, Dragons and the Bulldogs are the only teams that even come close to deserving the term 'legends'.
