This is a very heart wrenching topic. Its sad when you lose your team.
I can remember when Sth Melb. went to Sydney a lot of their supporters were heartbroken, but most of them now follow the Swans in Melb. Same as when the Lions went to Brisbane. The Lions also now have a big following in Melb. too.
Perhaps thats the way to go - relocate a Sydney team. Its really hard to swallow at first, but its better than not having a team at all. The Swans play x amount of games in Sydney, and far less in Melb. and yet their supporters have stuck firm in Melb. and follow them strongly.
The Bears ARE a relocated Sydney team!!!
You one team towners don't get it.
Think about this. When did you decide to support the Storm/Reds. At kickoff on their first match? Or were you excited from the day they got the idea going, launched the bid, picked the club colours, launched the jersey, built the squad?
I bet you didn't ignore the whole build up and suddenly become a supporter at kick off. I bet you got hooked early, when you realised there was going to be a side for you in the comp. Well before kickoff on their first match, you would have
already been hooked - turned up in your colours, probably has the kids into it as well.
That's what the people of the CC went through. Largely (there is always those who, for some reason, don't) the population adopted the Red and Black as their team,
in anticipation of that first game - which they were promised, and saw come to fruition. They saw the biggest sporting infrastructure in the areas history being built by the Bears. Suddenly they had the same facilities as the cities have. Suddenly, they were on the sporting map. Suddenly they were recognised as an equal with the top level of Australian culture, through sport.
The level of support up there for the Bears was huge.
Then, the NRL canned it.
So you reckon these people wouldn't have been pissed off to see their team culled? Yes, they had a watered down version, but unlike the Wests Tigers, both sides of the merger hated each other, and the pro Bears fans got to see the arch enemy, instead of their own.
The solution from so many one team town fans, to just shove a team there and cop it sweet, then whinge about Sydney/NSW fans when it doesn't average 25k per match, ignores the culture and passion of those fans. To me, it sounds like one team town fans have not the parochialism for their team to think like that. Obviously they do, so why notunderstand that the CC residents would as well?