Quote: Cruncher "When we first made the shift to summer, there were certain views aired in the RL press that we'd been blinkered fools not to do this 100 years earlier and that summer would be the happiest hunting ground ever because of the new supporters the more pleasant experience of spectating in sunshine would draw in. Moreover, this view was aired so passionately by some that I almost bought it.
I'm not advocating we go back to winter. That wouldn't work for so many reasons, not least because so many SL clubs now share their stadia. But the idea that summer was a long period of nothingness which we could totally inhabit and make our own was complete fanciful nonsense. There are lots of sporting events in summer that are marketed far more aggressively than RL is. The football off-season is barely worthy of that name, it is so short. And then we have August - the dead zone, the silly season - when even traffic levels are noticeably down because so many people are away on holiday.
I'm sure there've been periods during the summer era when we've pulled in great crowds, but it always seems to me that each year our 'business end' of the season coincides with the time when more people are away from home than any other. Out of all my personal friends, I'd say that about half are away on holiday at this moment. We can moan all we want, but there's nothing we can do about that.'"
Back in 1996 the football off season was a lot longer. Sky Sports also had a smaller portfolio than it does now. Rugby League had it's place and it kind of made sense (holidays aside). These days the football off season is non-existent, the cricket season is far more compelling than it was back then (largely due to 20-20 and quicker one day matches), a lot more people travel abroad and how people spend their time during the summer has probably changed a lot. Rugby League has a lot more competitors than it did in 1996.
Let's not forget to that Sky are only concerned with TV audiences. Rugby League is for the most part a great T.V sport - it's relatively short, fits into a busy schedule, can be exciting and is generally entertaining. Whether the crowds turn up or not at the ground, the T.V audience will always turn up and keep Sky and it's advertisers happy.
My main concern with the switch to summer is that, apart from 3-4 seasons the game is nowhere near as exciting as it was. Summer has failed to improve standards or make RL more exciting.
I've said this before but watching old matches from the 80's and 90's on Youtube is a breath of fresh air. Today's game is dominated by size, speed of defense and is very structured - creativity is stifled and frowned upon.
