Well said.
The BBC have been huge cheerleaders for rugby union for years. They also massively promote tennis. I know they've had Murray in recent years to try to justify it, but even before tigger Timmy Henman was an also-ran, they'd devote time in sports bulletins to report on some foreign tennis bloke beating another in the Kuala Lumpur Open or the Cape Town Invitational. And don't get me started on f***ing rowing, and the slavish coverage of two groups of posh men from universities paddling along the Thames once a year.
I agree with what you say about the BBC. I simply didn’t want to make this about women’s soccer. I hope women’s soccer thrives like it once did but I’d prefer its success not to be at our expense.
The promotion of Rugby Union by the BBC, when they no longer even have all the Six Nations games and, as far as I’m aware, no domestic league or cup games, really gets me down. I’m amazed that some users of this board just don’t see the bias. However, I think the name Super League (I got it wrong earlier) is being successfully taken over by other, mainly female, sports and I think we should lose it. I agree with those that don’t think we should follow others like sheep. For me, Rugby League and divisions 1, 2, 3 and so on would do fine.
It’s a pity that the powers that be seem so attached to the Super League name but if the women’s soccer team wins their World Cup, the name will become primarily associated with their sport. Are any Rugby League fans actually attached to the Super League name or is it just a past its sell by date marketing term?
I’ve just resurrected this thread because of the proposed European Super League football competition. If it isn’t a ruse to get more money, it will totally overshadow our comp.
I bash on this a bit but it really is time to lose the Super League name and revert to something including Rugby League.
Totally agree and it's fair to include football because this is down to our sporting heritage and culture being ••••ed with as RL has been ••••ed with for years.
As you say, we should use this massive news to distance ourselves from that tacky name, no matter what happens with the football (and I don't think much will actually happen). I don't for one minute think anyone at SLE is on that page and will probably see it as some kind of positive more likely in their deluded little world.
It says a lot when we were the first sport to use the term Super League and now we will probably be asked to change.
If we have to - what about the ERL ( European Rugby League) instead?
Do we actually need to change it legally or would we be spending the little money we do have on a cosmetic change that doesn’t actually influence or change the sport? That’s how I’m looking at it. We could have a trademark on the term Rugby and I’d still not be confident in our ability to have confidence in our product and ability to sell it.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
When the Rugby League became a summer game at the rquest of SKY we became the European Rugby League .
Plenty people in the country are unaware that there are two types of rugby. You say rugby to them and the first thing they think of is union. I wouldn’t mind a complete rebrand and distance ourselves from the word rugby altogether.
League 13 or Code13. I realise that will sound horrible to some people but i don’t mind it. Or even ERL for European Rugby League.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Gray put an exellent piece together with the idea of sending it to all the people whoe mattered in the game of Rugby League but did not get as many backers as he thought he would , in that my comment was drop the name supue er league ,just a quwstion though for people more knowledgeable than me we know most people who have watched Rugby League for a long time knew the game by the name Rugby League , could it not be that the name is Rugby League and legal?. Rugby League bowed down to SKY i have always thought that they want us so why be afraid i used to enjoy watching Saints play Rugby League . I do have a thought though that SKY want a worldwide programme that is just for them , it is SKY that is changing things why be afraid to tell them that we are going to READOPTE Rugby League as our name . Ido know that the odd country does not accept the name Rugby League and wont let it be called that in there country face up to SKY even if we have to take less money dont let them frighten you Rugby League even if you go back to what it was before SKY it will be Rugny League.
The sport has to move away from using the "Superleague" name that's for sure.
If anything it's become rather trite, to say the least and we are overshadowed by other sports.
I'm all in favour of the competition being called the ERL (European Rugby League). We need to reclaim the use of Rugby League if nothing else as part of the sports integral identity.
I don’t think it matters what we call ourselves we are pretty much insignificant in global sport. We lost our image profile many years ago, we are mushy peas and foxy bingo standard.
What is criminal is the sport allowing itself to be pretty much a Northern caricature. I've made the point before - the likes of Builders merchants, investment and pensions trusts, sports products including and mens grooming products etc are all realistic targets but we go down the Big Soup, Bingo and Fags route. The sport is run atrociously. There is zero concept of how to build any sort of brand consciousness.
I think we have to accept that our sport will function at rock bottom for a very long time yet, if SKY pull the plug then we go pre Superleague to a part time sport. The RFL/Superleague have had their head in the sand for quite a long time and is probably a prime example of how not to run a sporting business.
I think we need to keep the 'rugby' name in there, too. We should not give up the 'rugby' name to the posh boys.
I'd have been happy with 'Rugby Super League' from the outset. Now, perhaps 'The Rugby League Premiership'