Rugby League and Booze...does it go?

[balmainbenny]

Drink in control.

 

[Hari Kari]

So you believe there was a bloke called Jesus who could turn water into wine then?

Why? Are you looking for a Christian boyfriend or something?

 

[LeagueXIII]

Cricket, rugby union, AFL etc all have a drinking culture. The only difference is league is not part of the establishment. I seem to recall first hearing about this so called league culture last year when "fat Pat" Smith of the Australian tagged rugby league culture as being to despise, even though he comes from no experience reporting RL or that as the unofficial AFL lackie he maybe a little biased? But it has gained momentum, it is annoying seeing other sports get away with things RL is crucified over.
David Hookes' death should have highlighted the need for change in cricket's drinking culture but the media were too busy making him out to be a saint.

 

[Fibroman]

I fail to see why league players should behave differently to the rest of australian society.

We all, by and large, drink. And for the most part, we all used to write ouselves off every few weekends when we were/are young (i'm 21). So why should a young league player not be allowed to have a drink?? Its not against the law. Its not against societies view. Its nothing.

Worse still, the same people shake their finger at today's players for getting on the turps while glorifying the drinking stories of past sports stars. Typical baby boomer reaction really. The old "do as i say, not as i do" routine of the media and public when it comes to NRL players is bloody pathetic.

Excellent post!

Sums it up for mine.

When you've had to talk to people that have raped and murdered kids and killed innocent people on our roads, it brings the whole Smith and Gower thing back into perspective.

More of us need to have the balls to stop being POLITICALLY CORRECT, and this country will start moving forward again.

 

[Knightmare]

When Jesus went to a party and they ran out of wine he turned the water into wine so they could keep getting pissed.

I love throwing that one at Christians that say drinking is bad.

Lol, that would be Baptists, to be more accurate. Interestingly, their views on alcohol side them with John the Baptst, not Jesus.

 

[innsaneink]

Excellent post!

Sums it up for mine.

When you've had to talk to people that have raped and murdered kids and killed innocent people on our roads, it brings the whole Smith and Gower thing back into perspective.

More of us need to have the balls to stop being POLITICALLY CORRECT, and this country will start moving forward again.

Are you a screw?

 

[Fibroman]

Are you a screw?

Keep guessing.............

Maybe I'm more tolerant of bad behaviour from the players because I've seen VERY bad behaviour from others.

 

[Medievalknight]

become a brickie or a plumber!/QUOTE]


We are not ALL pisspots...........lol..:shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[KniGhTs BaTTLeR]

It's bloody Un-Australian not to have a few schooners atleast 4 times a week. Whenever we finish a game of league the lads go to the pub without sayin a word, whenever we finish a game of cricket the boys go to the pub, whenever we finish a game of touch we go to the pub, it's just normal it's not the NRL it's every rugby league and sport team in bloody Australia, hell my grandad and his mates have bout 6 beers when they finish lawn bowls and if someone told them its unacceptable behaviour they prolly clock him in the head. WTF you going on about cut down drinking in league. It's rubbish and will never work you can't stop people drinking. And my guess is most the drunken behaviour has something to do with E or speed aswell. Back in the day a good night was go to the pub drink beer get in a fight come home to the mrs and go to work next day now people got this moral crap goin on and it annoys me. What happened to Australia?

 

[Fibroman]

It's bloody Un-Australian not to have a few schooners atleast 4 times a week. Whenever we finish a game of league the lads go to the pub without sayin a word, whenever we finish a game of cricket the boys go to the pub, whenever we finish a game of touch we go to the pub, it's just normal it's not the NRL it's every rugby league and sport team in bloody Australia, hell my grandad and his mates have bout 6 beers when they finish lawn bowls and if someone told them its unacceptable behaviour they prolly clock him in the head. WTF you going on about cut down drinking in league. It's rubbish and will never work you can't stop people drinking. And my guess is most the drunken behaviour has something to do with E or speed aswell. Back in the day a good night was go to the pub drink beer get in a fight come home to the mrs and go to work next day now people got this moral crap goin on and it annoys me. What happened to Australia?

Like I've been saying all along. The diggers that fought for this country were larrakins out on the p155. What.....are we going to start criticising them for getting up to mishcief during their down time?

Report it and then get over it.

 

[Moffo]

hmmm there are arguments for and against a boozing culture

 

[Danish]

Yes binge drinking is a social problem but in rugby league it is a culture and their is almost an expectation amongst players. My brother-in-law is an ex first grader and my husband's cousin is a current first grader and it blows my mind to see the difference in their behaviours when they are out with their teammates and when they are just out with their non-football friends...they often seem like totally different people.

Binge drinking is also a culture in the country....

Dont try to say that footy players are under more pressure to get pissed than your average 15-20 y.o teen. The pressure is exactly the same. Your average school goer is made an outcast if they dont knock back a few when heading to a party with mates. However thats just "a part of growing up" when you arent in the sporting limelight.

I also dont know a man alive who doesnt lose about 30 points off his IQ when he hits the town with the boys. Particularly if its with the boys he used to go to school with (very similiar since plenty of players have been mates since 16). Of course when a group of guys gets into a fight with a bouncer and tossed out of a club, or vomits in a taxi, we share the stories at 21sts like badges of honour. An NRL player would be crucified and could even find himself booted out of a Rep team because of it.

Now i'm not condoning players getting pissed by any means. All i'm saying is that drinking is a national problem. Not a League problem. And it all comes down to the ridiculous double standards society has for sports personalities and themselves.

 

[iggy plop]

Hmmm

Most of us like a drink, but given the ludicrous events of C.Gower and T.Smith over recent times (two amongst hundreds btw) and other incidents where alcohol has been linked to depression etc, i just wonder how much mental harm the booze is doing league players

I spotted two Australian players two weeks ago at a bar at 2pm on Friday arvo. Whilst one was ok, the other was absolutely off their chops. Just makes me wonder what they do for the rest of the week?

I don't know, perhaps it was time that we said enough was enough. Its time for a culture change.

You don't need booze to have a good time.

Make Love and don't have hangovers

ladies or beer? you join the dots

Yet AFL-related alco incidents are even more prevalent than NRL ones.

Funny that, you wouldn't know it.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Now could it be just possible that the media are trying to damage the perceived image of the game? Afterall didn't they use to highlight league violence etc. The media has always tried to paint RL's image a certain way ie. thugs, meatheads, drunks etc. Even the stories on the late great Steve Rogers mentioned drinking and gambling, why the man did heaps for cancer research and the local community, why not highlight that? No they had to mention drinking and long card sessions???
Most of the players do great work in the community and are down to earth. Look at the image of Les Boyd who was painted as a violent monster but all the people who really know him say he is a true gentleman.

 

[Alex28]

Footy will always have an alcohol influence to it - I mean we have VB and Bundaberg Rum as key sponsors to the game.

I think it all comes down to being able to control yourself and be responsible for your actions - that doesn't just go for sportsmen (people are kidding themselves if it just relates to League - all footy codes worldwide have problems with alcohol and drugs). People need to know when they have had enough - and when you have the media ready to pounce on any mistake and people ringing your boss the minute you've made a mistake you have a responsibility to yourself (not your club, your fans or anyone else) to keep control of your actions.

It's pretty easy to get sucked in to drinking too much with your mates (or blokes you are trying to impress) - particularly when you are young. However a bloke like Craig Gower (no matter where he is and what he is doing) really should know that he can't get away with stuff like that.

And thats what needs to be investigated here - why do footballers think they can get away with such stuff? Why do they think that things will be covered up and they are some sort of protected species?

Excessive alcohol is an issue everywhere - not just in professional sport.

 

[Frailty]

I work in a leagues club and the funny thing about everyone saying all sports have a problem with drinking couldnt be more far from the truth.

Yes, sportsmen over all sports drink, but much more frequently league players cause trouble (more frequently doesnt mean other codes dont have problems). At club that has cricket, lawn bowls, league, union, aussie rules, darts and snooker at the club, the league players are usually the ones causing the problem for security, because they tend to believe they are tough bastards who no one can disagree with.

Yes, drinking is a social problem... this problem is amplified by having meathead footballers who think they are the be all to end all causing trouble everytime they have a drink. And yes, league is played generally by guys who only knew how to play football and didnt have a brain in their head.

That being said, there are footballers who know when to stop. Who know how to act and serve the community. The difference between the 'good old days' of steve rogers, etc. and the current crop, is that the old crop didnt have as much time, or as much money to waste on the piss. If Mick Cronin was playing today, or any of yesterday's players, they probably would have caused trouble.


Drinking is a social problem. But as mentioned earlier with the analogy of road tolls, footballers add to this problem.