News: How the NRL lost a fan

[Dan]

This is a story of a simple man, a man of few needs and a man who asks for little but the happiness and health of his family, a man who puts his family before all else including himself, and the story of how the NRL lost him as a fan.


<a href="http://www.silvertails.net/news/General-NRL/how-the-nrl-lost-a-fan.html">Read the full article</a>

 

[Cameron]

great work dan
awesome read

It made me think of my dad, he would be turning in his grave.
The stories he told me of being out on the drink with his good mate
Fred Jones even nights before Fred would run out on to brookie.

The game has changes and its not for the good.

 

[Dan]

thanks mate. without my fathers passion, this site wouldnt exist as i would never have learned the same passion

 

[Mal Cochrane]

i see what you are getting at, and the angle you are taking...i don't want to disrespect anyone's fathers, but if manly had won the 1st 4 games despite all that happened, this would not have been written.

Let's not feel sorry for ourselves and blame the NRL guys. The charges DID have an effect on his suspension..I know gallop said differently, but it has been shown to be fact. Is this unfair, i think yes. But Enough to stop loving the game, no! Gallop is a small part in the history of the game and his decisions on Brett is not enough to sway me. A new CEO there will soon be...

i say to your father to continue to support the guys who last year gave us so much!

This nice story was more a practice in heart tugging journalism really...

 

[Dan]

i see what you are getting at, and the angle you are taking...i don't want to disrespect anyone's fathers, but if manly had won the 1st 4 games despite all that happened, this would not have been written.

Let's not feel sorry for ourselves and blame the NRL guys. The charges DID have an effect on his suspension..I know gallop said differently, but it has been shown to be fact. Is this unfair, i think yes. But Enough to stop loving the game, no! Gallop is a small part in the history of the game and his decisions on Brett is not enough to sway me. A new CEO there will soon be...

i say to your father to continue to support the guys who last year gave us so much!

This nice story was more a practice in heart tugging journalism really...

I can understand why you would think that, but it is not Manly who my father has stopped supporting but the NRL. Whether Manly were winning or losing the result would be the same. The article is written based 100% on truth and my dads standing and has nothing to do with the results and everyththing to do with Gallops unfair treatments, he has not even watched a single game this year, not even the first game of the season for Manly. I dare say I will have a hard time convincing him to watch any games at all this year, and to me that is incredibly sad, beyond any of my words can express.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Good read Dan, you must be a journo??

My Dad's been gone for 20 years this year, very keen football fan but loved of all teams, the bulldogs....made his day in the mid 80's when the airline I was working with at the time brought Steve Mortimer up to Moree (where I lived at that stage)....I said "Turvey could you do me a favour....the plane doesn't go until 8.00pm tonight and you are finished your committments at 5.00pm, we can do one of two things, go to a pub  for a few beers(and get harrassed by a bunch of tossers) or we can jump in my car and I can take you out to the family farm and you can surprise my Dad", he chose the latter....can you imagine (for him) what it was like when I walked in the front door of the family home saying " Mum / Dad I have a visitor to see you"...fair dinkum I thought my dad was going to cry and being a tough old "bushie" that had never happened. Turvey was very moved by the whole thing as well, this was not long after he had captained NSW to that special SOO win, so to do what he did was a real top effort.

When my dad passed away (about 4 years later) we buried him with a Canterbury Jersey signed by Turvey that day.

Small things can make a BIG difference!!

This may not bear much relation to your story but reading it brought back those memories of 25 years ago!!

 

[Dan]

No Mark I am no Journalist, not even close. I am an IT Technical Support Mannager. I just read a lot of books, the craft must e wearing off on me.

 

[QldEagle01]

Yes!! all the pompus guys runnig the game have had thier day, driking falling down learning, yet when the youth do it they look down thier noses (Daley, Sterling, Gould) you name it. I dont know enough about Gallop but im sure he had a few of this or a few of that id assume, let boys be boys, get of thier backs, the so called sport is no longer a sport, it is business pure and simple. FULL OF HYPOCRYTES

 

[Dan]

I meant to go into detail about treatment as a cure vs punishment as a prevention, but the article was too long and I had to set it up, but it at least gives you a hint as to what my next article will be

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

You might be in the wrong job Dan, maybe a gig with the Sydney Telegrapgh might be just the thing....oops I forgot, you give "balanced" reports....sorry back to computers for you!!!

 

[Dan]

You might be in the wrong job Dan, maybe a gig with the Sydney Telegrapgh might be just the thing....oops I forgot, you give \"balanced\" reports....sorry back to computers for you!!!

Perhaps you're right, though I don't think I could handle the journo's world, i don't suffer bosses and ego's with the best grace, and I know there are a few in that industry

 

[niccipops]

Dan, it's fans like your Dad that the game needs to keep so it's the NRLs loss that he doesn't watch anymore.
I think a lot of Manly supporters are very disillusioned about the whole Stewart/Manly/Media saga this year. 
Unfortunately the NRL doesn't give a crap about losing decent people as fans.
I'm not going to say that the Sea Eagles haven't performed badly so far this year, but I truly believe that their title defense suffered a major blow from the hands of the NRL and the media before a ball was kicked this season.
The NRL has certainly lost me as a fan in me, but Manly haven't. I just really want the fellas to win us a game.

 

[Dan]

Dan, it's fans like your Dad that the game needs to keep so it's the NRLs loss that he doesn't watch anymore.
I think a lot of Manly supporters are very disillusioned about the whole Stewart/Manly/Media saga this year. 
Unfortunately the NRL doesn't give a crap about losing decent people as fans.
I'm not going to say that the Sea Eagles haven't performed badly so far this year, but I truly believe that their title defense suffered a major blow from the hands of the NRL and the media before a ball was kicked this season.
The NRL has certainly lost me as a fan in me, but Manly haven't. I just really want the fellas to win us a game.

Thats exactly right, My dad sort of sees it as Gallop may as well have just told Manly they are not allowed to play for 4 rounds, this was said as soon as Stewart was banned, before a ball was kicked.

I don't subscribe to the idea that the NRL is against manly or any other conspiracy theory, though there are some things that seem evidential of one.

But no doubt, in my opinion Gallop understood the impact of the decision.

Further to that, had the other players Friends and Sermor both been given 4 weeks, the NRL would not have lost my dad as a fan

 

[Fluffy]

having met your dad once or twice at the games i can say thats a real shame.

tbh i have thought similar things but you just cant let that bastard win, hopefully your dad will be back

 

[Mal Cochrane]

well said Fluffy, this makes my support 4 manly even stronger. Not sure I've ever followed the NRL anyway, the Gallops and the like come and go.....it's manly i support!

 

[Garts]

As long as Manly are in the NRL I will be a fan.  As much as I hate the NRL or whoever runs the game I could not dump my team.  Hope your old man comes back.  I suspect he will for Manly's sake.  

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

As long as Manly are in the NRL I will be a fan.  As much as I hate the NRL or whoever runs the game I could not dump my team.  Hope your old man comes back.  I suspect he will for Manly's sake.  

Haven't actually read the article but sounds like it may be a bestseller, although a tear-jerker. I'll try to read it next week when I'm a bit stronger emotionally. (I hope your dad comes back too)