Quote Quacoe="Quacoe"
Union people understand the need to project a positive image, lots of League people act like the game is going to hell in a handcart
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Correct, and my above post will no doubt lead you to believe that i think the same thing.
The thing is, I KNOW, as do a lot of people that RL is the superior game. It has to be - it's faster, easier to understand than union and the players are fitter.
We're the betamax of sport though. We have the better product, but we're being f*cked over by union's ability to market itself better. They have the media on their side, but do you really, honestly think that this is some kind of accident? Course it isn't! Union make a conscious effort to market themselves. We don't.
What gets me though, is that it isn't hard. We have a start - I speak to a lot of people from all over the country because of my job. They all know I'm based in Wigan, and therefore the conversation always turns to RL. When I tell them my wife is from St Helens, everyone, and I do mean everyone sucks their teeth and ask me how I put up with her, or if they're feeling particularly humorous, how she puts up with me! Trust me, THEY ALL KNOW about RL and they all know about the Wigan V Saints rivalry. This is a great start.
Secondly, a lot of these people I speak to tell me just how GREAT rugby league is. They don't see it much because they never think to seek it out, but when its on TV and they happen to catch it, they watch it and thoroughly enjoy it. Most say it's much better than union. Off the top of my head I can think of one Essex based bloke who said "I love Rugby League" and a pair of St Johns Wood based Jewish business partners that I deal with who said "League is MUCH better to watch". How proud did that make me feel, and I'm just a supporter!
So, we have all these people who claim to think RL is great. We have a start. All these people will read about RL if it is printed and will watch it if it's on the box. Why don't the RFL compel ALL super league clubs to release one press statement per day. The RFL should also release at least two per day. This is exactly what other sports do - the journalists in the nationals don't look for the stories; they're lazy. They rely on stuff being sent to them.
I could go on. I have loads of ideas for the RFL to market themselves that won't cost loads of money, because lets not kid ourselves, the RFL is not exactly flush with cash, are they?
RL has so much potential, but I really fear that if something is not done, and we allow RU to catch up with us, then we're going to find it harder and harder to get noticed.
