Well well...if it doesn't sell out I wonder how the Sydney bashers are going to look....imo Sydney would have managed 35-40k for this
(a) To be fair, the last time there was a Tri-Nations final in Sydney, at this time of year, between the same two teams, there were 27000 or so. That said, it was a number of years ago, so the flames of international rugby league fandom down south may have been reignited in the mean time (as the SCG Test against the Kiwis indicated last year).
(b) Let's not have a city-bash here and hope that there are 5000 or more walk ups to take the crowd into the 40000s for what should be a great game.
What hasn't helped the series this time around has been some overwhelmingly negative press. No focus on the size of the crowd in Auckland, rather the rowdiness of the minority. No focus on the ructions in the PNGRL, or the importance that the Four Nations has bestowed on the European and Pacific Cups. Rather endless stories about how uncompetitive the (third and) fourth team(s) (are/)is. Oh, and did I mention dogs and Twitpic?
To put it all in perspective, let's remember the dire straits the international game was in back in 2002. The 2000 World Cup was a disaster. The 2001 Kangaroo Tour was nearly called off due to, and at any rate was overshadowed by, September 11. Then the Poms flew over for a mid-season test and were walloped. Australia played a single post-season test in NZ,... and that was it. Now we have regular tournaments, PLURAL, an international calendar that, to date, has been stuck to and tens of thousands of people who have been flocking to see international rugby league in France, New Zealand and Australia in October and November.
Who cares if there are 2000 people at Parramatta, 1000 people in Rotorua or 364 in Brisbane. We have come a long way and things, on the whole are getting better year by year. Let's not, here in fandom, fall into the same internecine conflicts that continue to poison the public face of rugby league. It's bad enough that our own broadcaster continues to slam the sport!
And tonight, spare a thought for the St George-Illawarra coach. It was he who was instrumental in getting this tournament revived in 2004. Without Bennett, we'd all be watching Funniest Home Videos tonight.
(rant over)
