Knightmare
Coach
- Messages
- 10,716
Alot of you will know that I am a staunch supporter of the bears bid for a team on the Central Coast. I remember well in 1998 when it first came about that the Bears were going to move to Gosford full-time, and they started laying the foundations for the stadium. I knew I would always be a Knights fan, but there was still such an excited vibe up here- we were finally going to have our own team, playing NRL football at our own home ground every second week against the best teams and players in the country. There was such a feeling of anticipation.
But somehow that dream fell apart. First there was news that the Bears might be merging with Manly, then it became a reality. :twisted: As a Manly hater, it was like a living nightmare. It was like having a dream about meeting the girl of your dreams, taking her home then finding out that she was actually a 'he' in a mini-skirt. :shock: :evil: The Northern Eagles were never accepted up here by anybody other than Manly fans and people who desperately wanted to believe we really had our 'own' team. Even now sometimes I can't believe how everything was going so great then it turned terrible overnight. It's as frustrating as the Superleague war. Ever since, I have tried to explain on here why the Bears should be accepted ahead of the Gold Coast, all the reasons they should be the 16th team. :blahb:
Then, last week I moved up here to the Gold Coast. While I have only seen one car with a Broncos sticker on it, I have seen several with Brisbane Lions stickers or number plate surrounds, or people walking round with Lions shirts or jumpers on. At my new church, I was talking to a guy about why the Bears should be let into the NRL as the 16th team, and he explained to me the problem that lies with the ex-pat Victorians in the church who are bringing the children up to follow AFL.
Then just the other day, walking through Surfers Paradise, I went by yet another person wearing a Lions jumper, and it struck me at once-
The Gold Coast needs a team just as badly.
It is for these reasons that the idea of a 16th team sucks, because while the NRL would win by admitting the Gold Coast or the Central Coast, it will lose just as much by knocking the other one back. If we let one area have it's own NRL team, we surrender the other one to the beast that is trying to raid our junior base and it's support- Aussie Rules on the Gold Coast and Rugby on the Central Coast. :evil: I vented this grievance in the Big League Fans Poll last year, and they seemed to find it such a valid point they printed it in a corresponding issue.
We need 17 teams- the Central Coast and the Gold Coast- for the good of the game. We can deal with a bye, we have done for the last 3 years, the team that's not playing could go to a country area that weekend and promote our great game, while the Dolphins and the Bears did the same in their areas. I an't believe that these two areas have to fight eachother for the right to play this game at the top level. Can anybody else understand my rant? :?
But somehow that dream fell apart. First there was news that the Bears might be merging with Manly, then it became a reality. :twisted: As a Manly hater, it was like a living nightmare. It was like having a dream about meeting the girl of your dreams, taking her home then finding out that she was actually a 'he' in a mini-skirt. :shock: :evil: The Northern Eagles were never accepted up here by anybody other than Manly fans and people who desperately wanted to believe we really had our 'own' team. Even now sometimes I can't believe how everything was going so great then it turned terrible overnight. It's as frustrating as the Superleague war. Ever since, I have tried to explain on here why the Bears should be accepted ahead of the Gold Coast, all the reasons they should be the 16th team. :blahb:
Then, last week I moved up here to the Gold Coast. While I have only seen one car with a Broncos sticker on it, I have seen several with Brisbane Lions stickers or number plate surrounds, or people walking round with Lions shirts or jumpers on. At my new church, I was talking to a guy about why the Bears should be let into the NRL as the 16th team, and he explained to me the problem that lies with the ex-pat Victorians in the church who are bringing the children up to follow AFL.
Then just the other day, walking through Surfers Paradise, I went by yet another person wearing a Lions jumper, and it struck me at once-
The Gold Coast needs a team just as badly.
It is for these reasons that the idea of a 16th team sucks, because while the NRL would win by admitting the Gold Coast or the Central Coast, it will lose just as much by knocking the other one back. If we let one area have it's own NRL team, we surrender the other one to the beast that is trying to raid our junior base and it's support- Aussie Rules on the Gold Coast and Rugby on the Central Coast. :evil: I vented this grievance in the Big League Fans Poll last year, and they seemed to find it such a valid point they printed it in a corresponding issue.
We need 17 teams- the Central Coast and the Gold Coast- for the good of the game. We can deal with a bye, we have done for the last 3 years, the team that's not playing could go to a country area that weekend and promote our great game, while the Dolphins and the Bears did the same in their areas. I an't believe that these two areas have to fight eachother for the right to play this game at the top level. Can anybody else understand my rant? :?