I've never really cared for Rugby in any form. I can tolerate Rugby Union, but League has always reminded me of what it might look like if you asked a group of troglodytes to try and built an ant hill. That the ground remains as flat as it does is telling.
My feelings regarding Melbourne are not dissimilar to my feelings on Greece; in that I bear neither ill will, but will lose little sleep pondering their respective (and respectively unfortunate) fates. That Melbourne now has a new, almost-completed White Elephant - in the form a stadium for a team in disgrace from a sport barely tolerated - seems sad, smirk-worthy, fair and apt in equal measure. It seems somehow appropriate that a rather insubstantial code - in its quest for a greater market share - has fallen foul of the law.
And yet, the real crime is not one of just of greed, but of also hubris; the belief that a select few were above the code and its conditions. And I include the recipients of this fraud as well as those who perpetuated it; after all, it is only because certain players were willing to be bought that a crime of bribery - and that is what a salary cap breach is in effect - was able to be committed.
I sincerely hope that the Melbourne Storm can play out the season with the kind of commitment that sportsmen were once able to display when their remuneration was little more than pocket money. That the players are not in a position to receive premiership points does not mean they cannot play to win. Imagine how much sport would benefit from seeing a humiliated side show some resilience and some pride.
The Melbourne Storm may no longer be a financially viable franchise. But they can still demonstrate that they are a fan-viable team, by playing like one.
No comments:
Post a Comment