Posters not from the heartlands: how did you first become interested in rugby league?

[deluded pom?]

22 minutes ago, CanadianRugger said:

Primary & Secondary School.  Pre-University Schooling.  We have a grading system in Canada, Kindergarten to Grade 12

Kindergarten - Age 5

Grade 1 - Age 6

Grade 2 - Age 7

Grade 12 - Age 17

and so on.

We’ve now adopted this system in the UK except we say year 10 which is just the same as your grade 10. Another Americanism.

[Michael1812]

1 hour ago, deluded pom? said:

We’ve now adopted this system in the UK except we say year 10 which is just the same as your grade 10. Another Americanism.

How can it be an Americanism if you are talking about Canada?

[burnleywelsh]

1 hour ago, Michael1812 said:

How can it be an Americanism if you are talking about Canada?

Canada is in North America maybe ??

[Oxford]

6 hours ago, burnleywelsh said:

Canada is in North America maybe ??

I was wondering about that?

[Oxford]

This is a fascinating thread. I didn't know there was rugby until I was about ten years old yet where I was born is considered the heartland.At least I think it is though some comments do make me feel dobtful about belonging.

I wonder if it's not so much an M62 boundary as social/cultural one.

[Somerset Casual]

First game for me was 2009 CCF.   My RL mad work-mate kept telling me how great the game was - so I told him if he could get tickets for Wembley I would go.  (I actually thought it would be like the FA cup final with tickets impossible to get)

So went along knowing nothing and expecting very little.  BUT....I loved it. And that included the whole 'occasion' element of it - the many groups of fans from so many different club, the happy mood, the RL family feel.

Been to CCF every year since then - a must do event in my personal sporting calendar.  Now we also make a couple of trips up north every year - One for GF,  one for SL.  Did a 3 match weekend to Cas/Dewsbury/HKR back in May.   Tickets and accom booked for Wembley & OT for this year.  

Being in Somerset, location / distance is the biggest problem - Is it possible some fans in or near the Heartlands may not appreciate how lucky they are to have so many game watching options to hand ? 

[RoverBear]

So here goes me.

Grew up in SW London/Surrey from a (very) Welsh family, my Great Granddad having played Union for Wales. Naturally I was given a rugby ball around the time I could walk and played union from minis to U16s. 

Fell out of playing when I went to a 6^th form college where to play for the college you had to join their ‘Academy’ and give up an A Level. I didn’t want to do this so fell into playing Hockey for fun instead.  Went to Uni in Hull and a friend who was a Rovers fan took me along one Sunday. Added to being in St John Ambulance which meant I’d regularly be On Duty at either Hull club, often being on the stretcher team at the KC. It was great for my education in the game to be at such close quarters.

Moved back south, kept following KR from afar (including a few trips to Magic Weekend including a freezing Murryfield) and got involved at the Sussex Merlins when I lived in Brighton. A friend who was an RFL development officer at the time knew I’d done a bit of radio presenting and asked if I could do some games for them.

A couple of years later I saw the news about Oxford RL being formed and became their PA announcer for all of their existence, including going to Toronto's first ever home game. I’ve also played a bit (badly) and ran the London and South East rep squad for 2 seasons. I also had a London Broncos season ticket while they were at the Stoop however it became too hard once they moved up to Barnet and it would have taken around 2.5hrs door to door from where I was at the time.

Now I’m happily at the Coventry Bears as the announcer there, so if you’ve ever seen us you’ll know me as Mr ‘Come on Bears’. I’m also a regular co-host on fans podcast the super league pod which is great fun and has put me in touch with all manner of fans from pretty much every club.  I live in Swindon for work so an average matchday sees me travel a 120 mile round trip. With rail replacement works a journey of 3hrs+ each way isn't uncommon.

It’s often frustrating following RL in the South, I’ve introduced a few friends to internationals in particular over the years and they’ve often asked ‘When’s the next game’ as soon as we’ve walked out. 9/10 I’ve not been able to tell them. The games administrators definitely need to think more of the wider picture and get out of Leeds more if they ever truly want a national game. A lot of the time I'm not really convinced they do.

[Onieda FC]

From Boston, Massachusetts

Somewhere in the mid-00s I became aware of the NRL from the then-Spike Network airing the NRL playoffs. Being a big soccer fan since USA '94, that meant until very recently spending a lot of time in Irish or British bars to watch games. I caught wind of rugby union in the late 90s, but I don't think I saw the NRL coverage I knew I there were 2 forms. 

Then I caught some local games (Boston 13s, Oneida FC) basically randomly. My friend lived in a house with 2 Aussies who told us about the local teams. My big "OK now I'm in" moment was the USA Tomahawks run in the 2013 RLWC, which got some coverage on SportsCenter in the highlights roundups. 

Having the Wolfpack around, and potentially more expansion here (SOMEONE COME TO BOSTON, FFS) solidified my interest and now I read about or watch RL as much as I possibly can from this end. 

 

 

[The Dude]

American here. 

I did not know anything about rugby. In 2016, I was looking for a rugby game on Steam because 6 Nations just started. I bought Rugby League Live 3. I had no idea that union and league were different. I thought rugby was just union & there were just different leagues. I was confused why South Africa was so bad in the game. I looked up Rugby on Wikipedia & found out the difference. I have been following the NRL & Super League ever since. I like League a lot better, but I do still follow Super Rugby & International games for Union.

 

[fighting irish]

5 hours ago, The Dude said:

American here. 

I did not know anything about rugby. In 2016, I was looking for a rugby game on Steam because 6 Nations just started. I bought Rugby League Live 3. I had no idea that union and league were different. I thought rugby was just union & there were just different leagues. I was confused why South Africa was so bad in the game. I looked up Rugby on Wikipedia & found out the difference. I have been following the NRL & Super League ever since. I like League a lot better, but I do still follow Super Rugby & International games for Union.

 

Welcome Dude. 

[RP London]

On 04/07/2019 at 21:00, CanadianRugger said:

Primary & Secondary School.  Pre-University Schooling.  We have a grading system in Canada, Kindergarten to Grade 12

Kindergarten - Age 5

Grade 1 - Age 6

Grade 2 - Age 7

Grade 12 - Age 17

and so on.

ah ok cheers.. we split that down a bit more so was wondering if it was the equivalent to senior school/high school or junior etc

 

[RP London]

On 05/07/2019 at 15:25, RoverBear said:

So here goes me.

Grew up in SW London/Surrey from a (very) Welsh family, my Great Granddad having played Union for Wales. Naturally I was given a rugby ball around the time I could walk and played union from minis to U16s. 

Fell out of playing when I went to a 6^th form college where to play for the college you had to join their ‘Academy’ and give up an A Level. I didn’t want to do this so fell into playing Hockey for fun instead.  Went to Uni in Hull and a friend who was a Rovers fan took me along one Sunday. Added to being in St John Ambulance which meant I’d regularly be On Duty at either Hull club, often being on the stretcher team at the KC. It was great for my education in the game to be at such close quarters.

Moved back south, kept following KR from afar (including a few trips to Magic Weekend including a freezing Murryfield) and got involved at the Sussex Merlins when I lived in Brighton. A friend who was an RFL development officer at the time knew I’d done a bit of radio presenting and asked if I could do some games for them.

A couple of years later I saw the news about Oxford RL being formed and became their PA announcer for all of their existence, including going to Toronto's first ever home game. I’ve also played a bit (badly) and ran the London and South East rep squad for 2 seasons. I also had a London Broncos season ticket while they were at the Stoop however it became too hard once they moved up to Barnet and it would have taken around 2.5hrs door to door from where I was at the time.

Now I’m happily at the Coventry Bears as the announcer there, so if you’ve ever seen us you’ll know me as Mr ‘Come on Bears’. I’m also a regular co-host on fans podcast the super league pod which is great fun and has put me in touch with all manner of fans from pretty much every club.  I live in Swindon for work so an average matchday sees me travel a 120 mile round trip. With rail replacement works a journey of 3hrs+ each way isn't uncommon.

It’s often frustrating following RL in the South, I’ve introduced a few friends to internationals in particular over the years and they’ve often asked ‘When’s the next game’ as soon as we’ve walked out. 9/10 I’ve not been able to tell them. The games administrators definitely need to think more of the wider picture and get out of Leeds more if they ever truly want a national game. A lot of the time I'm not really convinced they do.

these sorts of stories are great.. especially when the complaints about away fans come in and the difficulty of crossing the M62... I know its not easy for anyone (and its not everyone that complains) but its the lengths that people go to in expansion areas regularly and just get on with it.. 

[dkw]

On 06/07/2019 at 16:15, The Dude said:

American here. 

I did not know anything about rugby. In 2016, I was looking for a rugby game on Steam because 6 Nations just started. I bought Rugby League Live 3. I had no idea that union and league were different. I thought rugby was just union & there were just different leagues. I was confused why South Africa was so bad in the game. I looked up Rugby on Wikipedia & found out the difference. I have been following the NRL & Super League ever since. I like League a lot better, but I do still follow Super Rugby & International games for Union.

 

The Dude abides.....

[RoverBear]

3 hours ago, RP London said:

these sorts of stories are great.. especially when the complaints about away fans come in and the difficulty of crossing the M62... I know its not easy for anyone (and its not everyone that complains) but its the lengths that people go to in expansion areas regularly and just get on with it.. 

I worked it out to be approximately 2,500 miles last year. Included leaving the house at 6am for one game, battling through snow to get onto a train and then as I sat down the game is called off...

[TheReaper]

7 hours ago, RP London said:

ah ok cheers.. we split that down a bit more so was wondering if it was the equivalent to senior school/high school or junior etc

 

Might be different out west, in Ontario "grade school" typically refers to K-8, synonymous with "elementary school" . As opposed to high school.  In some places there may be a "middle school" of grades 7-8 or something similar. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 08/07/2019 at 08:09, dkw said:

The Dude abides.....

Shut the **** up Donny