Play it indoors , give them ' blades ' and motorbikes , along with metal studded gloves

ROLLERBALL



They could franchise it around the world to places Like Houston , Tokyo and Madrid



Stupid thread

Oikball.

Whenever I talk to anyone about RL I always say rugby no matter what fan of any sport they are.
It's what I and I would say the majority of fans have grown up with so we obviously call it rugby.

Very appropriate.

open rugby

I bet there are more RL fans in the world that call it footy, since that's what the Aussies call it and that's where the most RL fans are.

Except in Australia, where RL is biggest.


Last time I checked, we were gaining clubs. Clubs have been struggling in the lower leagues for years, in all sports, at semi pro level. Can you name a significant amount of time when they weren't?

All it proves is that some fans will look so hard for something to complain about that they'll actually make up facts to back up a point that isn't there. It's called being a cynic.

Why do you so often use such exaggerations ? There was never a global recession let alone a massive one, there was a slowdown not strictly the same as a recession. If as you claim there was a global recession why were China and India themselves would have been experiencing negative GDP growth.

Geoffrey

Although RU is named after the school whose rules were adopted, they were adopted at a meeting in a Pall Mall restaurant.
So, we should tell them to change theirs to Pall Mall Ball.

RL was called League because it was played in Leagues, which RU wasn't, they were a bit picky about stuff like that, you had to play for the sake of playing, winning was an incidental and, as for having a league table ... well, that would have been beyond the pale, old boy.
(That's "beyond the pale" comma "old boy" ... not "beyond the pale old boy"icon_wink.gif.

If we dropped the League part of the name, the RU crowd would swoop it up pretty damn sharpish to describe the league structure of their divisions.

I say we keep League.
And we keep Rugby too because it evolved from the Rugby rules game.
And we keep Football for the same reason.

But RL did the "playing in a League table" bit before RU did.

So how about "Original Rugby League Football"? ... and compel the BBC to call it by that name.
They'd have to keep saying "Original" over and over again.

Brilliant.

I astound myself sometimes.

League Rules Rugby
Northern Rules Rugby

How about "League Rules Rugby" and then let Union call themselves "Rugby"! It would then be both a name and a statement of fact.

Reckon we could get a list of the serious suggestions we've had so far?
There's been some pretty good discussion here, but unfortunately there's also a lot of wannabe comedians doing really poor jokes as well.

Bet you're a right laugh on a night out

There's a difference between trying to be funny and being funny without trying.

And I'll assure you, I'm a hoot on a night out!

Thats because its a really stupid thread

Call it 'The Bronco League'

That seems to be a great way of papering over cracks and making things better, so i hear.

When 99% of what you say is negative or complaining about something, it's hard to really care about it.

It is indeed. Therefore, they are not desperately trying to find a new name, in a vain attempt to generate a broader interest in it.


Gaining and losing. Those we have already are struggling, even with a lowered salary cap. Just because we are adding new clubs, doesn’t mean everything is rosy. That is a very naïve view.


Clubs have indeed struggled for years, but things are even tougher now. There were all kinds of competitions that gave lower league clubs games with top class clubs: Yorks & Lancs Cup, Challenge Cup, Regal & Floodlit Trophy, &c. Now there is only the Challenge Cup, and that is slowly losing its appeal to SL fans; appalling attendances over recent years a proof in point. Some SL club chairmen and players have talked about wanting to get involved in a later round, to avoid extra games against lower league opposition.

Add to that the impetus generated by P&R in the lower leagues, which has now been lost, and it is causing an apathy amongst communities where the game was once so strong. I don’t recall ever seeing so many clubs go to the wall, as I have in the last 3 or 4 years. It is not merely down to recession. There is a much deeper malaise amongst lower league clubs which cuts much deeper than that. The lower leagues seem to be treated as an afterthought in Red Hall and all it ever gets in help are ridiculous gimmicks that it would never introduce to Super League. (Although, to be fair, SL does have ‘Club Call’)


I think that there is a certain amount of weary cynicism, but I really do not have to look too hard to see the problems. I admit that I don’t have the answers but neither, it seems, do those at Red Hall. I guess that’s why they are putting all their eggs in the Super League basket in the hope that this alone will increase interest in the game nation wide, and away from small industrial towns and pit villages. Throwing the baby out with the bath water is always a massive risk. You can lose a lot more than you gain which, in time, could weaken the sport even further.

The lower leagues have been cast adrift and left to rot, and do not receive enough central funding, as almost everything is put into Super League. That is where Red Hall is concentrating its effort. It is now the be all and end all of the sport at a pro level. Rugby League, in this county, [iis[/i Super League.

Indeed they aren't. They are the dominant code of football in the most populous areas, therefore they can call it that. However, they wouldn't try calling it that in AFL strong areas, they call it something else. So why do we insist on "rugby" in the rugby union strongholds I don't know, and we definitely can't call it footy!


How many clubs have we lost in the last decade? Blackpool.
What about the decade before that?
How many clubs have we gained in the last decade? Skolars, Crusaders, Scorpions
How many clubs did we gain in the decade before that?

I never said it was all rosy. I said that we were gaining clubs, and we are. You said we were losing clubs, and we aren't. We've lost A club. We lost more clubs in the decade before. So how are things much worse?


Once the top league became full time, it was always going to be harder for some of the small town clubs to compete. It's about finding your level, and clubs have struggled trying to get to a level they clearly aren't ready for.


Blackpool? Who else?
A lot of clubs have been in administration recently, but a lot in the past have as well.


How can you be so sure? Sports clubs across the country are struggling. Why are RL clubs different?


Apart from the different points system, what other gimmicks have been introduced?
What amazing treatment do lower league clubs in other sports get that RL clubs are missing out on?


Super League is what makes the money, gets the attention and is going to help the international team. It's the same for any other sport that their top league is the be all and end all. And isn't there more central funding for lower league teams now than ever?
Should we just call football "Premier League"?


No, it is not. When people play the game, are they thinking SL?
You're just thinking from purely a spectator point of view.

Sitcomball

We add a completely pointless laughter track to every tackle. Every game has an extra special message about running away etc. Flagging clubs get special guests in who are introduced to whooping from a fake audience. Rename the matches episodes. Commentary by Norm from Cheers.

That would actually be a good skit on the Footy Show.

Just to check....if they produced a skit of this, would it invalidate it as a serious rebranding idea for rugby league?

I don't think it would matter either way really, do you?

More like 50 percent , it's just that people arguing against me makes it looks like 99 percent

There is no reason to change the name of our sport , it fine as it is , it's marketing that will get it recognised as a different sport to Union , not a different name