So Why Do You Watch Rugby?
By Razcal February 6 2003
This might seem a pointless question on a rugby site but I bet amongst us we could come up with several different answers.
By Razcal February 6 2003
This might seem a pointless question on a rugby site but I bet amongst us we could come up with several different answers.
I like to watch rugby because I have always enjoyed the game since I took it up at the tender age of 11. Back then I enjoyed playing more than watching though I used to make an effort to watch the five Nations.
I used to go to the Tigers starting in 1969 because a colleague of my dad's played for them. Back then I used to sort of want the Tigers to win but quite honestly the result didn't matter one way or another as I walked home in the days of friendlies only. It was just a cheap way to spend Saturday afternoon in the fresh air. I also thought, in a hopelessly naïve sort of way, that by watching good players I would become one myself.
But one major plus point even back then was that rugby watching was very much safer than watching soccer. I witnessed one very nasty mass fight when taken to watch Leicester City play a "friendly" as part of a friend's birthday treat. I also have a memory of walking up to the Aylestone Road turnstiles when a large group of Derby County supporters arrived. Their police escort did not prevent them shouting "there's one" and rushing on mass towards me. Razcal was less portly and faster on his feet then and bravely ran away.
Inside Welford Road itself all was calm and peaceful. Smaller crowds and less at stake except for the Barbarian games .Don't get me wrong , I am not harping back to the good old days. I like the large crowds and heightened atmosphere at today's games. But so far we have mostly managed to hold onto the good things from those days as well as adding other good things. And nowadays I must admit the result is important.
I can still appreciate good play by the opposition and with junior we usually select an opposition player to follow all game to help improve his game.( junior's not the hapless opposition player.) Usually the poor player has a stinker just because we've marked him out as good. However, I do confess to feeling a tad miserable when we lose and very happy when we win.
At away grounds we often get into conversation with opposition supporters. It is invariably friendly and I will shake hands and congratulate them when they win. This apparently doesn't happen in football because the fans can't sit together. I understand that the Leicester v Llanelli game holds the record attendance at the Notts Forest ground because blocks of seats have to be left empty for football matches to assist with segregation.
Another attraction of rugby is the fact that whatever your build there is a position for you whereas in football the prop physique is disadvantageous. Mrs Razcal also feels that most rugby players have more attractive bums than football players but then I suppose she is biased.
Over the years I have found a lot of good humour at many different grounds. I sometimes think we should collect good bits of banter we hear at games on this site and publish them when we need a charity fund raiser. One of my all time favourites was at a Leicester Sarries game two seasons ago when a dubious penalty was awarded but not to Leicester. The kicker sneaked the kick several yards nearer the posts before taking it then missed. The drop out led to another penalty for Sarries. A bloke near me shouted "What's this, miss one get one free?"
Other funny moments include the dog at the Stade Français pool game in Paris in 2000. Every time Stade score they play some tinny music. This dog, which sat on a seat all game without it flying up into the closed position proved Pavlov's theory all over again. Every time it heard the tinny music it barked.
By going to away grounds you sometimes realize how fortunate we are at Leicester. Who remembers the ticket office at Rotherham? It was a camper van with "Ticket Office" written in shaving foam on the windscreen.
As we move forward into an era when you can go to the loo at Franklins Gardens without gagging or stand at Newcastle without getting your feet muddy I just hope we don't lose the magic of rugby grounds. Insulting music for visiting teams, bawling during kicks at goal, aggressive posting on other teams boards or shouting offensive insults at players or refs may seem trivial to you but I value the absence of violence and police at rugby grounds and wonder how many small erosions added together would be needed to get to a situation where I would ask myself, "Do I want my kid/grandkids exposed to this?"
I used to go to the Tigers starting in 1969 because a colleague of my dad's played for them. Back then I used to sort of want the Tigers to win but quite honestly the result didn't matter one way or another as I walked home in the days of friendlies only. It was just a cheap way to spend Saturday afternoon in the fresh air. I also thought, in a hopelessly naïve sort of way, that by watching good players I would become one myself.
But one major plus point even back then was that rugby watching was very much safer than watching soccer. I witnessed one very nasty mass fight when taken to watch Leicester City play a "friendly" as part of a friend's birthday treat. I also have a memory of walking up to the Aylestone Road turnstiles when a large group of Derby County supporters arrived. Their police escort did not prevent them shouting "there's one" and rushing on mass towards me. Razcal was less portly and faster on his feet then and bravely ran away.
Inside Welford Road itself all was calm and peaceful. Smaller crowds and less at stake except for the Barbarian games .Don't get me wrong , I am not harping back to the good old days. I like the large crowds and heightened atmosphere at today's games. But so far we have mostly managed to hold onto the good things from those days as well as adding other good things. And nowadays I must admit the result is important.
I can still appreciate good play by the opposition and with junior we usually select an opposition player to follow all game to help improve his game.( junior's not the hapless opposition player.) Usually the poor player has a stinker just because we've marked him out as good. However, I do confess to feeling a tad miserable when we lose and very happy when we win.
At away grounds we often get into conversation with opposition supporters. It is invariably friendly and I will shake hands and congratulate them when they win. This apparently doesn't happen in football because the fans can't sit together. I understand that the Leicester v Llanelli game holds the record attendance at the Notts Forest ground because blocks of seats have to be left empty for football matches to assist with segregation.
Another attraction of rugby is the fact that whatever your build there is a position for you whereas in football the prop physique is disadvantageous. Mrs Razcal also feels that most rugby players have more attractive bums than football players but then I suppose she is biased.
Over the years I have found a lot of good humour at many different grounds. I sometimes think we should collect good bits of banter we hear at games on this site and publish them when we need a charity fund raiser. One of my all time favourites was at a Leicester Sarries game two seasons ago when a dubious penalty was awarded but not to Leicester. The kicker sneaked the kick several yards nearer the posts before taking it then missed. The drop out led to another penalty for Sarries. A bloke near me shouted "What's this, miss one get one free?"
Other funny moments include the dog at the Stade Français pool game in Paris in 2000. Every time Stade score they play some tinny music. This dog, which sat on a seat all game without it flying up into the closed position proved Pavlov's theory all over again. Every time it heard the tinny music it barked.
By going to away grounds you sometimes realize how fortunate we are at Leicester. Who remembers the ticket office at Rotherham? It was a camper van with "Ticket Office" written in shaving foam on the windscreen.
As we move forward into an era when you can go to the loo at Franklins Gardens without gagging or stand at Newcastle without getting your feet muddy I just hope we don't lose the magic of rugby grounds. Insulting music for visiting teams, bawling during kicks at goal, aggressive posting on other teams boards or shouting offensive insults at players or refs may seem trivial to you but I value the absence of violence and police at rugby grounds and wonder how many small erosions added together would be needed to get to a situation where I would ask myself, "Do I want my kid/grandkids exposed to this?"
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