What is the Spirit of the Game?

[unforgiven]

I think the difference is that most of us here lived through the SL War, saw the spitefulness, saw the game ripped apart, etc, etc.

No-one here could say the same about the original split.

I think this is the key point, we view the the formation of Rugby League through the tinted glasses of Rugby League fans and forget how bitter and spiteful that split was.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

I think the difference is that most of us here lived through the SL War, saw the spitefulness, saw the game ripped apart, etc, etc.

No-one here could say the same about the original split.

Obviously the spite existed back then (and, if SL had continued, im sure most fans would have followed their own team and THAT would have been the "rightful" comp)...

Im interested to see how SL will be remembered as time goes on. Personally i feel like an opportunity is being missed in not recognising it at all. Take control of the story, reshape/refocus it and make it a heroic moment of formation for the game.

I think it would definitely help to add some flavour to some modern rivalries and it would help some expansion areas create rivalries very quickly (I really think the Titans should be creating a historical narrative that places them as the rebirth of the GC Chargers and SQLD Crushers, killed by the "evil SL Broncos" but never giving up the dream of playing in the top grade)

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Purely about greed, is the falldown of any counter-argument.

It was solely greed which drove Super League.

An RU person would say exactly the same about NU/RL.....

"People should play for the love of the game, not just to extract wealth like mercenaries"

 

[Lemon Squash]

Spirit of Boom ———> Spirit of the Game

 

[Disinterested third party]

The death's weren't that much of a factor to the birth of RL. They did play a role, along with the widespread 'secret' payment of players in French RU, in the game being basically condemned by the World's Governing body of the game.

French RL started about 5 or so years after those deaths from memory, when RU was a complete mess.

Rugby League in France was exciting, clean, fair, open (on and off the field) and due to that, it expanded like wildfire. I wouldn't be surprised if RL spread through France faster than it did in any other country.

Not so.

The deaths and brutality in French union were integral to both the banning of France from European union and the start of rugby league in France in 1934.

 

[madunit]

Not so.

The deaths and brutality in French union were integral to both the banning of France from European union and the start of rugby league in France in 1934.

They were 6-7 years apart.

French RU could've cleaned up its act and been back in the good books, but they refused to change until Rugby League came along and threatened their entire existence.

Then they cleaned up and got themselves back on track. Then they quickly sided with the NAZI's to try and reclaim everything they lost to RL.

 

[Disinterested third party]

They weren’t thrown out of the Five Nations until 1932. RL started in 1934. I make it 2.

The previous attempts to start RL in France in the 20s also can’t be divorced from the violence in French union at the time.

Integral.

 

[madunit]

Plenty of people wanted RL in France. The violence there had no bearing on that decision. Even as early as 1910 Australian officials were considering spreading the game to the US.

Expansion was front and centre in everyone's minds early on. I don't think it is fair to say that one issue was the sole reason the game was introduced to France

The timing to start RL in France was perfectly done, as it capitalised on the demise of French RU but also a growing discontent among many fans. The rise of shamteurism as well as the violence were the big reasons for France's downfall in RU

 

[Disinterested third party]

Have to agree to disagree.

In any event, I agree with the vast majority of what you have said in the posts above outside that point.

 

[madunit]

They weren’t thrown out of the Five Nations until 1932. RL started in 1934. I make it 2.

The previous attempts to start RL in France in the 20s also can’t be divorced from the violence in French union at the time.

Integral.

Apologies. I see now that I was referring to the first of a series of deaths in 1927.

I stand corrected.

 

[Disinterested third party]

All good mate. Reckon we’re pretty much on the same page.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Everything that Melbourne aren't.

 

[TheDalek079]

Never heard of the f**kers

 

[Jankuloski]

Why start from history? I’ve pondered this question often, for myself, but also because I often get asked “why play such a weird sport”?

The def I’m working with for the moment is:
The greatest challenge in sport.

You can find that a lot of discussed atributes of Rugby League flow nicely from this definition:

It’s egalitarian because if someone is excluded who might be able to beat you, it wouldn’t be the greatest.

It combines all the decision making of soccer, basketball etc with pressure of a contact sport. Cooper Cronk is amazing not only because he can find his winger’s fingertips from 40 meters away, but also because he can do it while Jason Taumololo is charing at him full speed.

It must be continuous in order to test fatigue, explaining all the differences from American Football.

The rules should be balanced in order to test skill and athleticism. So rucks and similar are out, which are either a suicide pact or a penalty fountain.

Here’s where it gets tricky: the rules we put in place to make the game fun to watch i.e. differences from Rugby Union. like scrums that cannot balance if one team is stronger, so the weaker team obstructs etc.
For me personally, a game that is not fun to watch is not fun to play. But when I get bogged down into a discussion with an occasional Union player, it does boil down to personal preferance.

Also, constant evolution of the game is part of the spirit. It becomes obvious how this flows from the definition when you compare it to RU question: should we preserve the “original” rules?
Do they help make the game the greatest challenge in sport? No? Change.
Have the players, tactics, coaches evolved beyond the boundaries of current rules? Yes? Change the rules again. Move the defence to 10 meters instead of 5. Tweak the interchanges.

I apologize for the lack of sentimentality or Melbourne disses, but I think the question is actually a very important one - especially for the game’s administrators.

 

[Murishido]

Kind of a self defeating question. The whole reason the concept of "spirit of the game" exists is that you can't put it into a definitive objective context

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Kind of a self defeating question. The whole reason the concept of "spirit of the game" exists is that you can't put it into a definitive objective context

Of course it is not objective, it is a story we tell ourselves as a way of understanding our own history.

It is the whole idea of nations; they create this historical narrative that make you say "yeh, i wanna be a part of that". It doesnt really matter if its true or not, what matters is whether you can make people believe it.

Sports create this story as well. Baseball and American Football fight over being "THE American Game", we forfeited "THE Australian game" to VFL, Soccer is "THE World Game", etc.

RL sort of acts as "THE working class game" but we are also super embarrassed of this. This is actually on of the reasons i ask the question; if we dont want to be "the working class game", maybe we should be telling a different story. Because right now we are not telling any story at all....

 

[T-Boon]

RL sort of acts as "THE working class game" but we are also super embarrassed of this. This is actually on of the reasons i ask the question; if we dont want to be "the working class game", maybe we should be telling a different story. Because right now we are not telling any story at all....

We should aim to make it the Pacific's game.

 

[Reflector]

Rugby: The game they play in Heaven.

Soccer: The world game/ the beautiful game

Aussie Rules: The Australian game

Rugby League: The people's game

Thoughts?

 

[madunit]

I agree with People's game.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Guess it will one of the storm players to provide the people’s elbow. Big mal has the people’s eyebrow covered