Who believes that RL can be the number 1 sport in the world?

[St_Jubbsy]

Not in Sydney and Brisbane.

That does not mean number one in the country...

 

[papabear]

See thats the thing with league, apart from the side you follow i really dont give a shit about the game, the product isn't good enough to just watch any game, however i can watch endless games of college football, NFL and Premier league soccer even when my favourite side isn't even playing.

I think people really have this fixation that RL is just an amazing product, really it isn't, even Union is growing with what some would say is a less appealing product.

Watching any sport depends on the closeness of the game and the intensity of the two sides to try and win as opposed to playing not to lose.

I agree though - premier league soccer is a great product.
I also agree that both NFL and college football are great tv products.

I disagree that league isnt a great product, in comparison to the other football codes in australia it has a far higher intensity from both sides trying to win.

On that note do you genuinely believe that union / super 15 makes a better a product then the NRL? If so, whats the point of even posting?

 

[clarency]

papabear - Don't bother with Ron.

Anywhoozle.

League is a funny sport. It the *rse end of the talent pool it is pretty boring. I've watched a few clips of some old AMNRL games in their "promotional" match a few years ago. It was terrible. No thinking, no skill. Just one overweight guy running into the line after another, followed by a mindless kick. Rinse and repeat. Needless to say it was a 0 - 0 draw.

Get to the NRL and ESL and it is a different story. The variety of big hits, quick pace, set plays and unpredictability (you know when a player collects a short ball and charges through a hole so quickly that the camera man can't keep up. That.) that pretty much anyone would find it entertaining. This is one of the very few sports I've seen that people who haven't grown up with it, have found it a great sport to watch.

I think it is a mistake to be measuring rugby league's success by comparing it to other sports. We're all in different circumstances, with different resources, covering different areas. If soccer and rugby league switched their respective places in world wide popularity, could soccer gain more ground than rugby league?

It's all opinion in the end.