Quote: SEB "Not necessarily. Those of us who point out the tradition behind playoffs are usually (just like on this thread) responding to suggestions that they are a new fangled gimmick invented by Sky.'"
Oh they're certainly not new fangled. But the original reasoning behind using them was very much because of the logistical implausibility of running a true league fixture list in an era where overnight stays/journeys would be required, where said travel and stopovers would be very expensive and would very much conflict with the 'day jobs' of the players. This is a fact that should not be lost to the discussion. You simply can't point to the history of something without mentioning the history of something.
I'm quite happy to accept that we use playoffs, even in a manner for which they were not initially devised in the sport, if the structure is right. For me, the best structure we've used since 1998 was the initial Top 5 one.
Quote: SEB "
It's quite simple. A neat home&away fixture list (plus one neutral match) provides equal opportunity for clubs to attract revenue. If, for example, saints got a home match v Hull (who generally bring a good number), but we got one v Hudds instead (who don't), then that is unequal financially. That was less important in the old days when the clubs were less reliant in income.'"
Yeah, I get the economic arguments for it - what I'm referring to is a fundamental problem for Rugby League - selling itself. It's a difficult sell to a lot of the public. We can all sit here and call the uninitiated unpleasant names, and say that they're blinded by football, and so on and so forth (as has happened here previously when I've tried to make this point), but the fundamental fact is that in order to sell a product you have to produce a product that people want. I'm afraid that of the people I know and meet who have a passing interest in Rugby League, most regard the current system as a joke. They get that it's entertaining, they get that it's a great spectacle, but they continually argue to me (and I can never find a good counter-argument to this one) that it renders the majority of the 26 game season leading up to the playoffs as totally inert in the context of the championship.
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