Eels Blogs

Replies

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  Tinkerbell April 30, 2011 at 10:51pm

  Hi SuperEel,

   

  I understand where you are going with this blog. I say it over and over and over again - the reason I am so proud to be a Parramatta supporter is because men like Luke Burt and Nathan Hindmarsh do not exist in the game anymore. They truly are genuine role models and players that make not just our club proud, but the entirety of RL proud.

   

  I think the problem with making such genuine nice guys the 'face of League' is that League is a business and is all about money. In order to make money, the NRL have to use every tactic possible to get people interested. 

   

  At what level do you want to get people interested? The answer to that is at the youngest level possible. Enter kids.

   

  While you and I might recognise the value of having a guy like Hindy as a role model, the 6 year olds idolising Benji and Jarryd aren't so interested. Kids love talent, they love sporting ability and they love razzle dazzle (especially little boys). Little girls also like razzle dazzle, but they also like good looking men. This is why Morts is so heavily promoted and why Jarryd is every young Eels fans favourite player. Kids want to be like Jarryd - they don't want to be like Hindy, making 200 tackles a game.

   

  And unfortunately here is the problem - these young men who often have a tremendous amount of money thrown at them at a very young age, make mistakes and sometimes very big ones. And unfortunately it opften brings the game into disrepute and tarnishes the 'glowing superstar' perception that a lot of little ones have of these players.

   

  Sorry for such a long response!
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  SuperEel 22 April 30, 2011 at 11:11pm

  Completely agree with you there. Players like Jarryd and Benji are the ones who bring the crowds to the games. I think next year Lockyer should be the face of League. Who better than the new king of RL to promote the greatest game on earth. I know that the NRL is a business but Lockyer is the man that drags the crowds to the game. He is both brilliant and level headed at the same time. The only reason that kids look up to Jarryd and Benji is because they are the ones talked about week in and week out in the media. The media picks up on them and continually puts them on a pedestal. All the media would need to do is to start making more stories on the leaders of the game and the kids will look up to them. Growing up I didn't idolise the flashy players or a player just because he could do a flick pass or a chip-kick. I looked up to Hindy and I still do because he was a leader and he epitomised the meaning of being a RL player.
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  SuperEel 22 April 30, 2011 at 11:36pm

  Fair point. That should be implemented next year.
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  GOlling May 1, 2011 at 7:45am

  Maybe I could get my old mate Ray Higgs to promote some footy ! Imagine Rays appeal to younger fans.

   

  I can see the kids relating well to Ray they will soon forget Slater Hayne Thurston when we start telling them about 1978 and captain Ray !!!

   

  Kids will be flocking to the video cassettes exited with old school glory stories. Forget the modern era Im with you lets get all the old guys back to promote footy.