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Sporting
class not class warfare
We're supposed to think that just because the Roosters make their home in Bondi Junction, their fans are trendy professionals who sup on chargrilled octopus washed down by a glass of chilled chardonnay. Panthers fans, on the other hand, are meat pie and beer sort of people. Most of them think a short black is a halfback from Fiji. At least that's the stereotype. Essentially it's pretty insulting to those living in the west, who no longer consider themselves in the cultural boonies of NSW. The geographical heart of Sydney is now the western suburbs, and smart young urban couples have been buying their houses west of central station, not east, for many years. These days you'd be lucky to find more than a handful of Roosters fans living in the east. Most of them were priced out of Bronte 15 years ago. Canberra Stadium was alive with Roosters fans in the final round of the competition a month ago. You can bet your life they didn't bus their way down from Double Bay. Rather, they were forced out of Sydney back in '88 and have been living in working class Tuggeranong ever since. The main problem with these east-meets-west cliches is they clash with the principles of rugby league. Anyone who understands league knows team loyalty creates unlikely friendships. When two footy fans meet in a pub, it doesn't matter that one might have crossed the street to avoid the other 10 minutes earlier. Or that one earns $70,000 and the other is on the dole. Suddenly they're talking footy, and they're mates. While the commentators tell us about the great gap between east and west, everyone who knows football knows there's no such thing as a class divide on the rugby league field. Rugby league was formed as a breakaway game to rugby union. In those days union was full of the well-heeled, who could afford to play for nothing, while the working-class man couldn't afford time off work to play for nix. Now times have changed, and most players are earning far more than their working-class supporters. You've got to suppose that's progress. But the basic premise remains. League is a game for everyone. It doesn't discriminate, and any attempts to fix the competition as a clash between flashy Mercedes-driving eastern suburbs supporters and their down-and-out Westie counterparts is a farce. Rather than talk about the alleged differences between the clubs, we should talk about their similarities: the incredible fitness of the players, the fierce dedication of fans and the arrogant – yet highly plausible – belief that their code is the best in the world. The real blue-bloods of the football world are the rugby union supporters. But while they gear up for the World Cup, league fans just smile conspiratorially, knowing there's only one footy game worth watching. Although league is played in other states and territories, it's fair for Sydney and surrounds to lay claim to being the code's spiritual home. That's why we should be celebrating tonight, and relishing the competition between two great local teams. It's not about class in the sense of how much money you've got; it's about class on the field. It's a rugby league grand final after all. And barring State of Origin, nothing else quite matches up on the footy fan's calendar.
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IT'S
been billed as east meets west, silvertails vs the working-class man,
the latte set takes on the true-blue westies. But how much truth do
you reckon there really is in the idea of a class divide between the
eastern suburbs rugby league club and their counterparts at the foot
of the Blue Mountains?