Disgusted!

By Rabble Rouser
April 16 2003

Floozies, Boozers, Fezboys and Loozers. John Lydon once said "Anger is an engery". If that's the case, this week I could easily complete an Ironman triathalon, scale Mount Everest and still have enough in the tank to go to work in the morning. Yes, I'm that ANGRY! GRRR!

First of all, I was working over the weekend and missed every televised European game bar the one between Leicester and Munster (though I wish I had, it was awful). Not a good start.

Then I hear about some unsavoury incidents at Adams Park involving some unruly people (I refuse to call them rugby fans) allegedly swearing and spitting at some Pests.

Now, I'm all for a few scoops before, during and after the game and I have been known on occasion to hurl a few mild expletives in the direction of the pitch, but for people to be SPAT at by so-called supporters who can't hold their drink? That's disgusting.

The exchanges between Pests and Ponty have been less than pretty with one side (Ponty) calling the other lot racist (do me a favour, racism is about colour, not where you live) and Pests, rightly, refuting it. Thankfully it blew over quickly and none of the nastiness suffered by Sarries fans back in 2000/01 at the hands of a few imbeciles from Cardiff ever materialised.

Ponty fans are a great bunch. So are Wasps, but it worries me to death that we are getting behavhiour associated more with Saturday night at chucking out time than with a game of rugby football. It just HAPPENED to be at this game and I apportion no blame to any individual or club, but it is the top of the slippery slope, mark my words. AND IT MUST BE STAMPED OUT. NOW.

Speaking of Welsh teams, I was bemused this week to read that the New Zealand Rugby Football Union are trying to prevent Neath using their nickname The All Blacks on any merchandise, claiming that they will take the club to court if they do so. The NZ version got their nickname in 1905, Neath a quarter of a century earlier in 1880.

But really, how silly is all this? It's almost as daft as Victoria Beckham suing Peterborough Utd. for using their "Posh" nickname when the singer believed it was hers and hers alone. Rubbish! The 1920s-vintage Posh won the day over the 1990s starlet and rightly so.

It's CERTAINLY as daft as Nike suing Cotton Traders a couple of years ago over the latter's use of the red rose on it's "classic" England rugby shirts. Result? Fran 'n' Steve won, Nike and the RFU were told they couldn't trademark the flower. Damn right.

Back to Neath v the New Zealanders. Neath head man Mike Cuddy reckons he and the club will trademark the name in the UK and Europe to protect their identity from the big guns. I wish them all the best. The £42 is in the post for a replica Welsh All Blacks shirt, Mikey.

As I'm in an angry mood, I should comment on the abusive post on the Sarries' official site's forum about long-time Saracens follower Mr.Angry. I don't tend to agree with the chap's belief or his vocal outbursts and I have at times bellowed out a tongue-in-cheek "shut it!" when he's finished some of his high-decibel monologues, but the filth that was posted on the Boredom was awful. I'm with Tony Blair when he spoke about internet message boards. Registration, registration, registration!

Seriously, though, if anyone from the Sarries media department is reading this, please get rid of the offending thread and trace down the culprit. We must not let these people get away with it.


Finally, I - along with many of you reading this, I am sure - tried everything to stay out of sight or earshot of Wednesday's football match between two teams who play in red shirts. So I thought I'd listen to the Stains v Showgirls game via the internet as I am out of range for any radio coverage.

This, above all else, has enraged me the most this week. I tried for the entire first half to find the webcast advertised on the BBC rugby page, BBC Northampton page, BBC Bristol page, the official websites of both teams and the Zurich Premiership official site. Nada. Nil. Zip. Bog all.

For some inexplicable reason, the fishal Saints site's link pointed at the ERC website and the "return here on matchday to listen to live commentary" page on the Beeb didn't even HAVE a link. BBC Bristol had a link which went nowhwere and the fishal Bris site's url seem to disappear up its own behind.

Rugby is already trying to compete in a crowded marketplace dominated by the round ball game and for we egg chasing fanatics to be sold short like this is terrible. The clubs, if they have any backbone, should complain vociferously about this shoddy state of affairs. And so should we.

Then again there may, just like this rant I'm about to end, not be any point. The media types will probably be watching the poofball.