ibeme
First Grade
- Messages
- 6,904
I think soccer has gotten too big. I think union would love to be too big. But I hope that league never gets too big. Whilst I want the game to grow both nationally and internationally, I don't want it to be lost to the people.
I don't want players to become bigger than the game, like your David Beckhams, and like union is trying to do with Johnny Wilkinson. One of the things that I treasure in the game of rugby league is that even your top players like Andrew Johns are still very much in touch with the real world. Fans can still identify with them. They're still basically knock-about blokes who you think would sometimes prefer to be able to play without the spotlight.
Can a sport have it both ways? How do we grow the game without growing the egos of those that play it? And without growing the greed of those who administer it. These concerns maybe premature in league's case, but the game needs to always belong to the people. This shouldn't be forgotten as the game grows.
I don't want players to become bigger than the game, like your David Beckhams, and like union is trying to do with Johnny Wilkinson. One of the things that I treasure in the game of rugby league is that even your top players like Andrew Johns are still very much in touch with the real world. Fans can still identify with them. They're still basically knock-about blokes who you think would sometimes prefer to be able to play without the spotlight.
Can a sport have it both ways? How do we grow the game without growing the egos of those that play it? And without growing the greed of those who administer it. These concerns maybe premature in league's case, but the game needs to always belong to the people. This shouldn't be forgotten as the game grows.
