Quote ="tigertot"If someone as reasonable as you makes such a statement it shows why the game is in such a precarious position. Most people who I know who profess to prefer football or (spit) yawnion, don't go regulalry, if at all. There is a huge number of armchair supporters & consequently potential speccies. Whereas most of the RL fans I know attend regularly. The game needs those passionate fans, if it lost 10,000 Bradford fans that's about 10% of the paying public every 2 weeks. It's a slippery slope back to a part time game, which I grew up on, but it will be bye bye to our better sportsmen & any chance of my lifelong ambition of seeing us stuff the Aussies.'"
I'd be very sad if that were the case, but I know from experience that I couldn't rekindle the motivation, let alone the passion, for RL in any other way. I used to be just as enthused about cricket, but I haven't watched it live since Park Avenue was abandoned as a county ground. I still follow it in the press, but struggle to imagine ever going to Headingley or Scarborough.
With RL, perhaps it's something to do with the background of rivalries, but I couldn't be a supporter, and probably not even an interested follower, of another Yorkshire / Lancashire club. Also, international sport doesn't do it for me. Without Bradford, the only way I think I could regularly watch a RL live and with interest (not passion) would be if I were to move to somewhere like southern France and support a local side - or perhaps even to a non-traditional part of the UK, where a new club is trying to spread the game.
I think that I do understand and respect your viewpoint, but I'm sorry I just can't share it.
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