Quote JerryChicken="JerryChicken"
And the reporter is not all criticism either, or did you miss the bit where he mentions...
"rugby league’s qualities, in an age of plastic fans, synthetic emotion, unreconstructed greed and absentee ownership, should not be denigrated casually. Despite its search for credibility, this is a sport in tune with its community. It has not succumbed to football’s get-rich-quick mentality, though it would probably be tempted to do so if given the chance. Shirt sponsorship is the province of local institutions, such as East Yorkshire Scaffolding Ltd, rather than multi-national corporates who couldn’t identity “their” club on a map."'"
Of course that is criticism, it is one of the most obvious jibes in the whole piece, have you never heard the phrase damning with feint praise? It is basically taking the Michael out of the sponsors that Rugby league has and the fact that Rugby League cant get decent sponsors. It is certainly a valid criticism but it is criticism all the same and certainly isnt meant as a compliment to Rugby League.
I do get the impression that no matter what the game or general occasion was like that article, or a slight variation of the same theme, would have been printed anyway. I have seen many similar articles over the years, in various Newspapers, even after some cracking finals.
