Tim Blair

Funny how the Australian publishes a letter by Mark Latham, who has all the access in the world to the media, but elects not to publish a letter from a Joe Average like me trying to get my voice heard. Ironic too, since its the first time I've disagreed so strongly with Tim... Here is the letter they rejected:

"Like many Victorians, Tim Blair mistakenly associates higher crowd figures with an overall superiority of his code compared to Rugby League. In reality, Australian Rules football is a game with soaring kicks, a lot of manoeuvring of players well away from the ball, and rapid shifts in the position of play. All of these factors make it a game which is best appreciated by attendance at the game, and television cannot do it justice.

Rugby League on the other hand has most play centred on the ruck area, and the skills are difficult to appreciate from a distance, resulting in a game which is more suited to viewing on television , rather than from the grandstands.

This may explain the differences in attendance, but as for watching either game, I'd rather walk around a restaurant with a Campari and soda."

Spot on, Geoffrey. It's almost as if League was made for television. The viewing audience for the big games is huge and there is serious money in coverage rights. It's true that you miss the excitement of the crowd with tele-coverage but at least you get to see the game. And whether you gather in a suburban lounge room or in front of a big screen in a bar, copious amounts of alchohol and a few dickheads cheering for the other side make it more fun than being there anyway.

Tim is surprisingly off-beam on this one. Unless he is just trying to get a rise out of League fans, of course. If so, good luck Tim! League fans don't take themselves or their sport very seriously (how could you?), which is more than I can say for the AFL. In that respect, it's like the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry itself - Sydney-siders laugh about it but Melburnians are as defensive as all fuck and take it very, very seriously indeed. I'm from Brisbane, so I should know!

Tim, old chap. How are the silvertails at the Laverton end of the Werribee shit pond?

We are doing just splendidly, Bernard! Shall we meet at McDonald's for our traditional Saturday repast? Toodle pip!

The only sport about which Latham knows anything is Gutter-Mouthing and Tall-Poppy Cutting.

Do you guys bet the dogs down there? Now that is a freakin' low rent sport.

Not true re the dish-lickers Andrew. You've obviously never had the curried prawns and rice at Wentworth Park.

I know its my fault, but we've really lost sight of the original theme of this thread, which was to respond to the letter which Mark Latham got published, in contrast to moi....

I must confess myself to be in a quandry.

I had, up until this very moment, been highly skeptical in regard to the soundness of many of the views expressed by Mr Blair. I shall not elaborate further on this, as it will diverge too greatly from this particular topic.

However, through this column, he has turned the tide, and I find, quite to my surprise, my rising impulse to stop tuning into the site thwarted. Will this be a Stalingrad, wherein my doubts are hopelessly put to rout, and herald in a resurgence of optimism in Mr Blair and his unique perspectives? I cannot say.

What I can say is this: I admired the piece tremendously. For any journalist to make such a baldfaced, public assault on Singleton and his cronies is a courageous stand.

I commend you Sir.

I'm thinking Latham->Singleton:

suck-hole
arse-licker

Latham's terms, not mine.

love your work mick. so florid.. yet horrid as well.