Would you dump the code if your club folded?

[Justafan]

I guess the question must be asked as a rugby league supporter is whether or not you would like to have half of something or a lot of nothing. I'm sure if you speak to North Sydney & Newtown supporters they would still rather have some sort of presence in the main competion rather than acting as a feeder club in the second division. It must make them so angry seeing their club run around as an NRL afterthought.

I myself want my teamto survive in some capacity. The economic downturn has not been kind to the Leagues CLubs. Add the poker machine tax on top of this then things look grim for many clubs. Yes I am a rugby league supporter and I have ben following my club now for over 40 years. If they disappeared altogether I would be gutted and I am sure that my enjoyment for the game would diminish for a period. However if merging then go for it. If my club had a future albeit in a merger then if it meant them being a part of a "super" club with a bright and secure future then all I can say is...bring it on.

 

[Eels Dude]

Instead of thinking about things too much... maybe we should look at the fact as to why the entire North Shore of Sydney has been lost to Rugby Union. Do you we really want to lose more areas to other codes?

 

[charlie]

If Newcastle folded through natural attrition I'd probably end up supporting another team, maybe the Bears when they come in? But making the transition would be a long process.

If the Knights got kicked out like Souths or screwed over like Norths I would still watch the game on TV, but I doubt I'd bother going to a match unless friends of mine were going and invited me along. I'd just have little/ no enthusiasm supporting a game that didn't support my club.

AS LONG AS YOU DON'T START SUPPORTING QLD I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO:lol:

 

[Loudstrat]

Stupid question.

If my mob folded, there probably wouldn't be an RL to follow anyway.

In you question there is an attitde, backed up by Poor Brain Blues, that a diehard 'bleed for the club' type of person is bad for the game. Funny, these people are more than likely to be the biggest financial contributors to the game.

One could argue that you are not a true League supporter, given that you want Sydney teams culled just so you can have a team. A tru fan of any sport is hardly likely to campaign for it to get smaller, is it!

 

[Lockyer4President!]

If the NRL vanished overnight I'd still watch QLD Cup footy and Super League.

If anyone stops following football just because their favourite team isn't in the top league anymore then they were never a fan of the code in the first place, just a glory hunter.

 

[Loudstrat]

LOL. Love the concept. A diehard fan of a club, who probably has the car seat covers, beanie, doona cover, coffe mug, every new jersey, a signature of a forgotten winger who played 80 games in the 1970's, a budgie named after their current test player, goes to every away game, fan day and testimonial, knows the CEO personally after following him around and annoying him for a decade etc, isn't a fan.

I worked with a bloke about 3 years ago who supported Easts. He saw one bloke one day, who Ididn't recognised, crossseed the street, bailed him up, and told him the Chooks could still use him - they's had a run of losses. I asked my workmate who the bloke was. He gfave me a name I didn't recognise, with such enthusiasm that one would have thought he was Clive Churchill. He wasn't, he was a 25 fg game halfback from the early 1960's!

These people are the living soul of our game.

Not true League fans? Possibly, in the strict sense of the word. But their passion, and therefore investment, is greater than the fan who doesn't give a stuff if their club is in or out.

 

[Johns Magic]

dumping the code if your team went bust would be like swearing off women if your girlfriend dumped you

I'd say it'd be more like your wife of ten years who you were desperately in love with dying of cancer. You just wouldn't have the same passion for another team.

 

[Apey]

I'm a bit like others.

I don't mind NRL but if the Knights got booted, I probably wouldn't watch a whole lot of games.

 

[God-King Dean]

I wouldn't be alive...

 

[Rogue.9]

If the club folded due to going broke then I will still follow league but a lot less for a while and & eventually follow a new club after a few years. If the NRL just decided to just kick my club out then I probably watch only the occasional game

 

[Bring it home Knights]

Yeah I would. Might watch some games on TV but not religiously.

And no, that doesn't make me selfish, it makes me a Knights fan. So how about you shut the f**k up and get off your high horse.

Discuss that.

hahaha luv it!

If the knights were to be kicked out, my interest in rugby league would drop a good 95%!

 

[Matt23]

No, but i would me more inclined to follow the local comp more then I would the NRL.

 

[ibeme]

No. With or without the Bulldogs doesn't change the fact that it's the game that I love the most.

 

[macavity]

I would be a Souths fan

South Newcastle that is. Go the Lions - originators of the Red V.

 

[Dazraider]

Would certainly be interested as I am now in the game, its a great game and if the raiders where gone then i would have to choose another team which would be tough but as for the game itself i would always follow it

 

[Whoosh]

I love rugby league and I love the Bulldogs. If the Bulldogs weren't in the comp I would be very, very disappointed, but it wouldn't actually make the sport less of a spectacle. I'd probably just have to gamble on it a lot more to maintain as high a level of interest as I have now when the Dogs are playing.

 

[Eels Dude]

I'd say it'd be more like your wife of ten years who you were desperately in love with dying of cancer. You just wouldn't have the same passion for another team.

If you cop a bit of bagging for your response that's not your fault... yours was a much better analogy in comparison and I agree.

 

[hutch]

Instead of thinking about things too much... maybe we should look at the fact as to why the entire North Shore of Sydney has been lost to Rugby Union. Do you we really want to lose more areas to other codes?

the entire north shore hasnt been lost, but a hell of a lot of fans were lost to the game as seious followers when the bears were punted.

 

[redvscotty]

dumping the code if your team went bust would be like swearing off women if your girlfriend dumped you

if you then started following AFL it would be like switching to homosexuality

lawl

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

The question is much more complicated than it first seems.

Personally, I love the code. It may have been the Eels that introduced me to it but it was the game they played that I also came to love and kept me coming back... I mean, if the Eels converted to playing professional tiddly-winks I doubt I'd be a Season Ticket Holder.

If they were to fold it would be a extremely bitter pill to swallow and it would probably take some time to recover (it took a fair time to recover from the 2001 Grand Final) but I'd never abandon the code - I just enjoy watching it, talking about it, reading about it, etc., far too much - the game is bigger than just the NRL or any club (even my own) and it's welfare is more important.

But, of course, most of the money I spent in 2008 on supporting the code was because of the Eels - aside from the tickets I bought for the RLWC08 and a few pieces of Kangaroos supporters gear everything was Eels-related. Without the Eels, I would still be a supporter but not much of a financial one.

Without the clubs that fans passionately support we'd be in a pretty sorry state. You can sit at home of a Friday Night and love watching the action but if you're not reaching into your pocket to buy merchandise or making the weekly pilgrimage to your home team's ground then the code is clearly going to suffer. Are you still a supporter of the code - yes - but it's not going to mean anything to the game's welfare.