• Home
  • SOCRATES’ THINKING
    • News and comment
    • Editorial
  • About
  • US
    • Sportsocratic team
    • Contributors
  • Reviews
    • Adventures
    • Books
    • Places
  • Contributions
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sportsocratic

Thoughts, ideas, opinions and postulations on sport and adventuring

  • Sport & society
    • Ethics & Values
    • History
    • Favourite photos
    • Cultural and social issues
    • Politics
    • Big questions
    • Sport fashion
      • Sartorialism and style
  • Wild sports
  • Silly stuff
  • Sports science
    • Research
    • Coaching
    • Innovation
    • HEALTH
  • The things that made me
  • Stories
    • General sporting stories
    • Waves of Pain
      • No Respect!
      • Death Wish at Fairy Bower
      • Fried nuts
      • The ocean is a trickster… especially Hawaii’s North Shore – Gas chambers bites the unwary!
      • Titus Kinimaka’s nightmare Christmas
      • Dix dumped – the trials of a self-confessed elite body surfer
      • The little surf that nearly ruined a promising career…
      • Rabbit killer – a master takes a caning at pipeline!
      • Death Wish at Fairy Bower
      • Easternmost memory – surfing in the wild at the end of the continent
      • Nothing ruins a good surf like a couple of blokes with automatic assault rifles…
      • Agony for Miki Dora
      • Smashed at Gas Chambers
      • Who was Europe’s first surfing woman? Introducing the wonderful Witch of Newbury.
      • A bad day at Palmy – surfies and clubbies at war!
      • When being a proven waterman is not enough!
      • The highs and lows of surfing Sunset Beach while competing at the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational
      • An American midnight surf – that goes very wrong!
  • What does it mean?
    • What is a snake?
    • What does “shag” mean?
    • What does “Freddy Jones” mean?
    • What does “hook and ladder” mean?
    • What does back walk-over mean?
  • Philosophers Sport Bar
    • Socrates and Aristotle debate football defence
    • Michel de Montaigne on coaching sports
    • Ancient philosophers discuss what makes the beautiful game beautiful! Laozi and Socrates get technical.
  • Travel

Confessions of an addicted mungo – my love for League (and the Rabbitohs)

June 20, 2018 By J. F. Campbell 5 Comments Filed Under: History

We’ve all heard the joke about the good ol’ boy from Bumcrack, Alabama, who likes two kinds of music – country AND western. Well, I am similarly mono-cultural in my appreciation of footy. 

They might be the Jets now but once they were the mighty Bluebags!

Being born and bred in Sydney in that golden age before the AFL’s South Melbourne arrived in town to re-brand itself as the Swans (until they won the 2005 grand-final, whereupon coach Paul Roos and his boys celebrated a victory for ‘the Bloods’), I am what ex-private schoolboys in the world of Rah-Rah dismiss haughtily as a Rugby League mungo – and an unreconstructed, dyed in the wool one at that.

Not brutal enough for my inner city, mean streets’ tastes 

Soccer (I’m too old-school to think of it as ‘football’) calls itself ‘the beautiful game,’ notwithstanding FIFA’s running neck and neck with the IOC for the title of world’s most corrupt sporting body. ‘Beautiful’ it may be, but in my formative years it was owned by strictly ethnic clubs – Yugal and Prague, Pan Hellenic and Hakoah etc. – with their own secret rivalries about which I knew nothing. And in any case, the round-ball game was simply not brutal enough for my inner city, mean streets’ tastes. 

Rugby Union goes one better and refers to itself as ‘the game they play in heaven,’ presumably in front of dead doctors and QCs in elbow-patched tweed-jackets. Having never been to Melbourne, I’ve no idea what moniker the AFL has adopted (to me it will always be ‘two hours of knock-ons’), but I endorse wholeheartedly Rugby League’s ‘the greatest game of all.’ As far as I am concerned, there can be no argument about my code’s bullish assertion. 

I fell in love as a child and, like my Old Man and my little brother Lonno, I might easily have become a Newtown supporter.

Becoming a Rabbitoh

Growing up in Tempe, Dad would take us to the Bluebags’ home games straight after lunch on Saturday in the days when there was only one match on Sunday. We’d sit on the Henson Park hill, opposite the George V Memorial Grandstand, shielding our eyes from the western sun as Newtown copped regular and, when the opponent was St George, fearful floggings. 

I loved my Scanlen’s bubble gum footy cards!

Then, one afternoon in the mid ’60s, the debonair Jimmy Lisle led a South Sydney team of young up-and-comers onto the field – dashing Michael Cleary, gangly Ron Coote, big Bobby McCarthy, a tough looking hombre with rolled-up sleeves by the name of Johnny Sattler – and I was an instant convert to the Cardinal and Myrtle. It’s been that way ever since, from the halcyon era of the Rabbitohs’ four premierships in five years (1967-71) to the outrage of expulsion from 2000 to 2002 by News Ltd and its running dogs. I was also there on the awful afternoon in 2006 when Souths got done 66-0 by the Warriors, and was present on that glorious Sunday in October 2014, when Johnny Sutton led the Bunnies to their twenty-first grand-final triumph. 

Despite its uncanny ability to shoot itself in the foot (come in John Hopoate, Todd Carney, Mitchell Pearce et al) the game rolls on, providing us mungoes with weekly doses of athleticism and artistry, courage and creativity, grace under pressure and primal, cathartic violence. There is little I would change in any of it … but (and there is always a ‘but’) … 

Is the practice really necessary?

In that dim and distant but never forgotten past, sitting on the hill at Henson, answering the quiz in the footy program after the reggies had battled it out, awaiting the main event, we were never subjected to the anti-climactic sight of the first-graders going through their warm-up drills. Is the practice really necessary? All grounds have an adjoining area where it might be done, rather than in front of the fans, who have come to watch the performance, not the rehearsal. I for one don’t want to see the Burgess brothers charging into the tackling pads, or Reyno bombing AJ time and again. Apart from draining the contest of hostility (there is no ‘them’ and ‘us’ when both sides are on the field in training gear), it sucks the air out of that electric sense of anticipation that you are consumed by, nerves a-jangle, as you sit on the edge of your seat, counting down the clock till kick-off. 

Back in that other-time, before saturation TV coverage demanded vision to accompany its talking heads’ endless babble, there were ten intense minutes of hope and fear and expectation. As a kid, I was awe-struck by the sight of Norm Provan emerging from the sheds, leading his all-conquering St George Dragons into battle, in their gleaming white strip with the intimidating red-V. There’s Johnny Raper … and Changa Langlands … and … there he is … Reg Gasnier! You just don’t get that thrill when the stars tool around in front of you for half-an-hour beforehand.

Two referees!

The great Ron Coote.

As for the referees … I can only quote a song by the Pogues, who would have no truck at all with jumped-up officialdom – “two wives are allowed in the Navy, but one’s too many for me.” 

Why we need to have a second referee has never been made clear to me – there was only one throughout the 2017 World Cup, which went swimmingly. From this punter in the outer, the presence of a second official only cranks up the pedantry of the whistleblower. Stoppages in the game now are driving me and others nuts, as the pocket ref scurries about looking to find fault, particularly in the ruck, no matter how innocuous or inconsequential it might be. Can you imagine yourself being pulled over by a copper for going 110.5 kph in a 110 kph zone on the freeway? The modern game is played at a breathless pace and to think that players are being pinged for having a toe over an imagined ten-metre off-side line is infuriating – no matter who you barrack for. 

“What I am watching is foreign to the game that I grew up with,” lamented Andrew Johns recently, after yet another penalty was blown in the match he was covering for Channel Nine. Joey may have been overstating it, but the frustration felt by all of us mungoes at the nit-picking self-importance of the refs is beyond a joke.

Let the players play 

So, before it’s too late, can we take flight from the stifling Orwellian regime of endless slo-mo replays, with Little Brother, cocooned in his bunker, delivering textbook explanations from on high as to why a try may or may not be awarded? Let the players play, that’s all we ask. Let it be the players who decide the outcome of the contest. 

Forget the PR and the smoke and mirrors and the mind-numbing ground announcers telling us when we should cheer, leave the Greatest Game of All to speak for itself. Mungoes like me are all ears for what it has to say.

Do we really need to watch the players warm up?

J. F. Campbell

John Campbell grew up in Sydney and is a life-long Rabbitohs supporter. He has been movie reviewer and rugby league correspondent for the Byron Shire Echo since 2007. His short story ‘The New Boots’ won the Herald-Sun short story competition in 2002 and was made into a short film that screened at the Sydney Film Festival and others overseas. John has written and directed four short movies and his paintings have been hung in the Wynne and Sulman Prizes (Art Gallery of NSW) and are in the private collection of John Singleton and Peter FitzSimons. In 2001 he was Artist in Residence at the Griffis Art Institute (Connecticut). John continues to paint and is currently working on his first crime novel … and hoping for a resurgence in the Rabbitohs’ fortunes in the 2016 footy season.

Support Sportsocratic

Thanks for reading this story! We appreciate your visit to Sportsocratic… and love providing alternative information, opinions and angles from the sporting world. The world of sport is so full of the same old stuff from the same old sources that it drives us nuts… and it makes our day giving voice to less orthodox views. If you appreciate our free service, give some thought to helping us out. It costs us big bucks to keep Sportsocratic going but, if our readers support us, our future is much more secure.

Help us to keep you entertained and informed… and enable Socrates to keep asking those big philosophical sporting questions.

Support Sportsocratic for as little as a $1 and we would love you to bits. It only takes a few seconds!

Support Us

Comments

  1. mandy thane says

    June 22, 2018 at 5:19 am

    I am not sure how I got to this site because I do not have one bit of interest in the sport. For some reason, I decided to read this (probably because my uncle ONLY talks about the Rabbitohs – yawn) but I found myself really enjoying the story. J. F. Campbell’s writing style, personal experience and quirky perspective made a game, where grown men (usually with really weird haircuts) run around a field chasing a ball, fascinating. I have bookmarked this page.

    Reply
    • TIMOTHY EDWARDS says

      June 22, 2018 at 8:57 am

      Thanks Mandy. This is not a sports web site per se. It tries to be a look at the social, cultural, philosophical and humorous aspects of sport and other adventures. I think John (J. F. Campbell) does a cracker job of looking at sport in way quite unlike the back page of the newspaper. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
      • mandy thane says

        June 22, 2018 at 6:24 pm

        Hey Tim
        I have been scrolling through your site. I love it. I hope John Campbell will be featured again. He is a stand out (and no, I am not related hahha)

        Reply
  2. Terrence says

    June 22, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    I am 80 years old and have loved the sport all of my life. I was a major player for the ‘Waratahs’ – Newcastle – back in the day (have shoulder and knee injuries to prove it – and have endless stories that bore the death out of anyone that I pin down to reminisce haha. I have always had a fondness for the ‘Bunnies’ because my late nephew was a real fan. This article really resonates with how I feel about the footy. Good work John Campbell,

    Reply
    • TIMOTHY EDWARDS says

      June 25, 2018 at 10:16 pm

      Thanks Terrence. John will be thrilled that his memories struck a chord!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

travel

Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar – reviewing a short (but lonely) journey

February 20, 2024 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

Socrates takes us back in time when he spins a travel yarn about his journey from Tanzania capital Dar Es Salaam to the beautiful island of Zanzibar. As an Aussie expat with years of living in cushy Europe he initially finds his destination intimidating. Find out whether things got better for the intrepid sissy adventurer as he settles into his guest house in the ancient and exotic “old town” of the city of Zanzibar.

To Jambiani – Exploring Zanzibar (travel destination review)

February 18, 2024 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

Shy and nervous Aussie Socrates doesn’t know what to make of unfamiliar and intimidating Zanzibar old town. The absence of the woman he is starting to fall for doesn’t help. Things make an unexpected turn for the better when the Netherlander heartthrob arrives at his hotel door and lets him know that she will be joining him on his exploration of the beautiful East African island after all. Join them in their journey from the bustling and eye-catching, ancient old town to the simple fishing villages of the Jambiani coast. Will the adventuring pair become an adventuring couple?

SOCRATES’ RECENT TWEETS

Tweets by Sportsocratic

Ethics and fairplay

When is cheating okay?

July 4, 2024 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

When Socrates found out that Rugby League legend Wally Lewis had pulled off an outrageous State of Origin scam without a soul even realizing, it occurred to him that sometimes pulling a swifty should be tolerated. Here Socrates explores the history of sport and tries to establish the circumstances under which a little bit of rule book stretching is okay. Click the pic and see if you agree with him.

Wallaby v France test – the moment that soared above all the others

July 20, 2021 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

There were many great moments in the final Wallabies versus France rugby test last week but according to Socrates, one stood our far above all the others. Was it a great try? A brilliant tackle? A perfect scrum or line-out? A fantastic bit of work at the break-down? According to the rotund Greek hooker it was none of those things. He reckons that the highlight of the game was a much quieter, simpler and more subdued moment. A moment that might have escaped the attention of millions of spectators. Find out about Socrates favorite moment of the test. Click the pic.

matildas

Just six words…

May 20, 2021 By TIMOTHY EDWARDS 1 Comment

Have you ever wished that you could meet and have a conversation with someone you idolize? What would you say to your idol to convince them to want to stay in the conversation? What would they say in response to your brilliant social skills? How would the conversation go? How would it leave you feeling? An Australian ex-professional athlete who had played with and against some of the greatest basketball talent that this country has ever seen (Andrew Gaze, Ricky Grace, Shane Heal, Phil Smythe) once, by chance, had a meeting with possibly the greatest and most famous professional sports person that has ever lived. The superstar he bumped into, in a New York elevator, just happened to be the Aussie basketballer’s idol. How did the meeting turn out? Click the pic and discover the six most memorable words in this Australian point guard’s life.

Outstanding achievement

Team Names on Sports Uniforms? Why?

May 23, 2024 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

Socrates has been playing and watching sport for decades and one of the (many) things that has mystified and annoyed him from a young age is the way that some teams (usually basketball teams) emblazon their uniforms with their team name in text. He doesn’t get it. And he worries about where this tradition might be heading!

New surfing podcast

One of Australia’s greatest ever surfers – one of surfing’s greatest story tellers – “Rabbit” Bartholomew – talks to award winning journalist Tim Baker about life, surfing and stuff. Perfect listening for lockdown entertainment.

professionalism

So Easy To Make Hasty Judgements – Angel Reese vs Catilin Clark

December 12, 2023 By SOCRATES NEWS DESK Leave a Comment

Is the behavior of some elite athletes judged more harshly than others because of their make-up, their nails, their eyelashes, and their personal style? My own reaction to the most recent NCAA women’s basketball tournament final and the shenanigans of one LSU star player in the final moments of the game had me wondering. At the very least the public reaction to these few seconds of hard-core “trash-talking” should remind us that we should not make hasty judgements about individuals on flimsy information. Always consider the full context.

wisdom

Its just a job. Grass grows. Birds fly. Waves pound the sand. I beat people up. – Muhammad Ali

sport at mardi gras

Rusty and an ice cold beer – Photo 4.

November 7, 2024 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

When it comes to best Australian sporting photographs with a killer back story, this one is hard to beat. What a beautiful image of a champion surfer and his mate at the infamous Sunset Beach in Hawaii. Think it looks good now? Wait until you see what the editors at an American advertising agency did to it. Ouch. Click the pic and read the full story!

A life with horses

Surfers and melanoma – how great is the risk?

November 21, 2024 By TIMOTHY EDWARDS Leave a Comment

We all know that surfers are at greater risk of skin cancer than the average non-surfer. It’s obvious. They spend more time in the sun. Should that be of real concern to surfer? Is it really that big a risk? Recent research from Southern Cross University indicates that it is a way bigger risk than most surfers… and people… imagine. Going through treatment for skin cancer lesions, even when the treatment is successful, is not fun. Surfers should be aware of the risks and take precautions. Click the pic to get the full story.

wisdom

“Pressure? Pressure is a Messerschmidt up your arse. Playing cricket is not!”

Keith Miller

One of the greatest cricket “all-rounders” of all time, Keith Miller was not only an exceptional performer in multiple elements of test cricketing (batting, bowling and fielding) but he was also gifted in numerous other aspects of his life. Witty, entertaining, handsome, a renowned war time pilot and gifted Australian Rules Footballer, Miller was famed for calling a spade a spade and acknowledging that there was much more to life than elite sports. Having flown fighter bombers in the Second World War under life threatening circumstances he was not one to take the “pressure” of high level sport too seriously!

trivia

Here is a cracker of a trivia question.

Who was the college recruiting scout talking about when he said the following to his head coach.

“I’ve just seen a fat guy… who can play like the wind!”

Yup. The same guy who told people that just because they had shoes like his, it didn’t make them like him in any other way. Charles Wade Barkley.

Etymology

Postecoglou coaching pointers

March 8, 2023 By SOCRATES Leave a Comment

Celtic football coach Ange Postecoglou’s post League Cup interview avoided the normal “we knew we had to…”, “full credit to the boys…” and “we talked about blah blah blah during the week…” bollocks that is so common in post-match player and coach chats with the media. The coach actually revealed important insights into the way great coaches think and how they seek to get the best out of their players. Any coach aspiring to become a great coach, no matter what sport they teach should listen to this interview. Postecoglou is the real deal. There are few coaches better at getting the most out of their team.

What does it mean?

What is Elvis leg?

Admit it. You’ve never heard of “Elvis leg,” have you? What the blazes is “Elvis leg?” As is the case with every other “What does it mean…” story we have ever posted, the answer is not directly related to the name itself. It is indirectly related to Elvis, though. Have a guess what the relationship is… then click here and check out whether your were correct. Find out for certain which sport uses this term and what it means.

What is a liberator?

Of course most you aviation buffs will think that a liberator is an American WW2 heavy bomber. Fair enough. But in a sporting context does it have a completely different meaning? Indeed it does. You are going to have to click here to find out what a liberator is and does in the world of sport.

Aphorisms, insights and wisdom

“The thing that’s depressing about tennis is that no matter how good I get I will never be as good as a wall.”

More perceptive sporting analysis from Mitch Hedberg, comic genius.

 

ebook

Phillip has returned to the south of India after eighteen years. But who is the young girl staying in his hotel? And what will he learn about his estranged brother through Inez, the Spanish backpacker?

To buy The Bangalore Test, John Campbell’s new ebook novella, just click the link.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

©2019 Sportsocratic