No you didn't, you said parents drag their kids. You're basically saying that nearly every kid that gets into the game only does so because of their parents and that's just not true. The majority it may be the case, but most of my friends got in to the game because of me. There are loads of influencing factors on why people get into the game. Parents are just one of many - friends, siblings, neighbours, teachers. The majority of my friends' parents don't even follow the sport. And the majority of the schools I've worked in around the outskirts of Leeds don't even have kids RL supporting families. When the majority their parents come to pick them up, they have little idea about the game.

Common sense would target everyone, not just one group.

RLFC or Tigers? Tigers for me.

I was just checking out the NRL kids mascots and saw this:
[urlhttp://www.nrl.com/nrlhq/referencecentre/nrlmascots/mascotinfostorm/tabid/10803/default.aspx[/url



Looks like they haven't updated this page since 2007 when the Titans came in...

Not to be an a-rse, or anything, but I said in a nutshell, "kids want to go to games primarily because their dad/parents go", a generational rights of passage. You're right, in that I said some parents do drag their children to games but merely as a sideline. But whether or not this has to do crests, names, mascots, "razzmatazz", however, I would argue is minimal either way. Though, I think you raise good points which go beyond my own insight on the matter.

that'll do for me

It's a fair enough comment, but like I say, you'd be surprised by how many kids are into the game that have parents that aren't.

Names, crests, mascots, etc. are all subliminal. They aren't intended to be THE reason, they're A reason, and many don't even realise it. It's basically like saying a club could have a rubbish name, no entertainment and a crappy badge and still do well. It simply isn't the case, and you just have to look at the Bulls' crowds since they cut down on the razz. (Not saying that's the only reason, but it's contributory).

There's a journal online called "4 A's to Allegience" that I based a lot of my dissertation on at uni which basically sums up what I mean in a nutshell. It's quite short but definitely worth reading if you're interested? Basically explains why people get into watching sport.

"Les Diables Rouges de Salford" has history to it. No need of a logo though (and it's also a nickname shared with the Belgian National Association team).

Although I would warrant we had it first

Trinity is a superb sporting name and there is no need for the Wildcats tag.

I also prefer the authentic and original wakefield Trinity nickname of "Dreadnaughts" to anything that might be thunk up nowadays.

My suggestion for the name of the new stadium is THE TRINITY DREADNAUGHT STADIUM.

Red Devils or Rouge Diable is historical. Not City Reds, I for one would be happy to see the back of City Reds and just be Salford Reds or Salford RLFC. Bring back the scary devil on our crest rather than the orange blob thats there now.

Must resist.




Quite happy with our F.C. logo.

This:

Nowt wrong with that imo.

Dear boy,
Where do I start?

Dunno

Yep a good one is Rovers.

So is there actually any connection with Widnes and Vikings?

The history of Vikings in Britain is not my best subject... I do know York, the Isle of Man, Northumbria and the North East coast of Scotland were Viking strongholds.

But Widnes?

Germaic people, such as the Vikings and the Saxons, would use names which describe the topography of the region explored as a tool of navigation. Widnes was a Viking town and the name Widnes literally means “Wide Nose.” This describes the promontory which juts out of the Mersey. Some Viking encampments can still be found on the salt marshes nearby.

The promontory can be seen here to the left:


Does this answer your question?

Here’s the Danelaw boundary, which clearly shows the areas of Viking settlement:

Thanks mate I didnt know that.


I'll be honest.. I thought Widnes was a lot further inland than that



Interesting how some British towns got their names.

Sorry mate but you talk a load of tosh. I see you're from St. Helens. How exactly does a man dressed as a dog with a huge cartoony head fit in with this "adult environment"? And have you ever heard of the Bulls, whose appeal to thousands of kids is what started the original and much copied Bullmania, with its face painters, bouncy castles, Bullman and Bullboy etc etc. and packed the ground with legions of kids?

RL is not an adult environment but absolutely a family sport, as a cursory look around any ground will tell anyone without a blindfold.

Oh, and it may be "common sense to aim for a demographic who have full incomes"



but at Bradford we prefer to appeal to even those mucky unwaged you would eschew, by offering discounts of varying sorts. Shockingly, other clubs seem to want them in too! not only that, but pensioners! You never know, even these poor undesirables might share a hot dog between them

That was my situation when i was a kid, leading to my brother to follow suit. I was first member to get into RL from a football supporting family. Mum eventual got into it, but my Dad never did and never will.

I don't see how folk can say Rhinos and Bulls work better than Wildcats. The fans might have chants associated with the nicknames, but they're God-awful chants and don't really indicate success as such. Wasn't the Bulls chant manufactured by the club, rather than created organically by the crowd? They're just horrible.

The main issue I have with these names is their lack of reference to the club, to history, to culture and to local wildlife. How many Rhinos have ever wandered through Beeston?? Wakefield has a rich history with its castle and reputed to be the birth place of Robin Hood, why do we have to name ourselves after a feline from Canada? These names might work in Oz and the US, but folk don't really take to them here. Here we don't suppport sporting brands in the same way, we support our local sporting community.

Having said that they can occassionally work well. Dewsbury Rams is my favourite modern name; you've got a modernised name, you've got something to market and it has an historic connection to the local area.

Don't apologise. If you disagree, fair enough.

I'm not discounting or suggesting RL is not inclusive to all ages, genders, races, etc... It is. But the point ed upon nickname gimmicks, and other assorted "-mania" which is overwhelming ed upon children is the connection i'm disputing. All this has to do with personal experience, of course, which I secede affords me limited insight, but as far as I'm aware children turned-up to RL matches prior to 1996, WHEN rugby league was an "adult" environment, and less visually, aesthetically rooted towards pre-teenage sensibilities.

Bullmania, of course, was an interesting phenomena certainly within British sport, but its unsustainability is perhaps more telling than its hayday.

In fact, if I remember rightly Trin' were nicknamed Dreadnaughts, not because of their fearlessness on the field, but because the team were mostly pit workers during WWII. They were christened that because if you're prepared to climb into a big black hole in the ground to dig while you leave your family at home where they might be bombed and you could potentially be trapped underground after a bomb strikes there must be very, very little that spooks you.

That to me is far more inspiring than a walking, furry pillow that wonders about by itself not really liking anything or anyone around it and has a face that looks like someones just farted!

Nice one! I did search on google/google scholar but couldn't find it. Is it on Jstor? Could you provide a link? Cheers.

Completely agree.

The Rhinos and Bulls crests are really cheesey. I also thought the Celtic Crusaders crest was the worst offender of all. They have now changed this to one of the best imo. I would hope that the Rhinos and Bulls will do the same.