I can`t agree with you on the soccer issue, one of the reasons its so popular is that the underdog can pull off an upset and the result is usually in doubt until the final few minutes. My opinion is this is because the game is easy to play and quality is lacking apart from obvious exceptions. I get to watch my grandson play both codes of Gaelic and other older teams as a sideline fix nowadays, the result of these games are usually in doubt until the final minutes, is free scoring and can be physical. I find myself as entertained and immersed as at KR, I could never feel that at Goodison though I accept I may be in the minority or at the wrong side of Stanley Park
It is nearly quarter of a century since Super league`s inception our game has regressed as a viewer friendly sport and in its management.
Is the apathy that fans now have because of the former or latter, I suspect the disillusion is how the game has been run.
Once a sport is fully professional the margains for failure become smaller this may take from the spectacle, Nathan Graham`s errors added to 1996 excitement for me personally, I doubt that would happen nowadays, though Francis Meli was making a claim for that title in finals. I suspect it will only become more robotic in future years, we may have to grow the rivalries that soccer thrives on, though I want to sit next to opposition fans but only if we are winning