I am saddened by the Telegraph's demise as much as any, given my personal ties.
But, let's be honest - Coventry Rugby's average attendance last season was 2,307 (up on previous seasons).
Wasps was 16,161.
It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, amid claims of tickets being given away or whether those Wasps fans are from Warwick, Wycombe, London or Timbuktu. Wasps have a greater engagement on match days and the Telegraph wants to reflect that, cash in on it (not a flogging offence) or promote that engagement - with both clubs.
Figures would dictate the bigger club gets the bigger coverage. When I was desking in Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke City had the lions' share of coverage and Port Vale fewer column inches on average. It happens.
Back then, we had bigger editorial halls, bigger sports desk, just like when the CET produced the Pink. When we had dedicated journos for Cov Rugby, Cov City, Cov Bees...whether I like it or not, life ain't like that in newsrooms today.
As I understand it, with so few working journos, we're lucky to even have a rugby reporter at Cov. But Wasps has the bigger audience, it's in the premiership, it has the internationals playing, the glamour ties, European rugby. When I started my journalistic career in the 1980s we had 100 journos at Corporation Street and sold 92,000 copies a day.
I love my club, and while we have 'old scores' being settled with other 'old foes', it's not as attractive when you strip away that loyalty to a newspaper audience compared to Wasps. Cruel, cold figures.
There is a similar predicament on BBC local radio.
Cov Rugby could be doing more. The Cov Tel could be doing more. BBC CWR could be doing more.
But we fans are the best way of spreading the gospel. Ticks in the 'win column' this time out will be a great way of spreading the gospel, producing performances that cannot be ignored.
We've come along way from the days of Coundon Road being a sell out, with 9,000 given out as the official figure, presumably as not to alarm the fire brigade of over-crowding. It's only a couple of seasons ago we were averaging 1,200 crowds.
So, we can moan and groan all we like. Times have changed. I started out in journalism on typewriters, smoking at my desk and getting drunk in the Town Wall Tavern (other hostelries were also patronised). It ain't like that anymore.
Nor do we have a team boasting internationals galore, supplying five players to the England side that beat New Zealand at Eden Park, or four and a half players (counting Fran Cotton when he was almost a Cov player) to win the first international sevens tournament, or winning the Knock Out Cup, topping the Sunday Telegraph Anglo-Welsh Merit Tables and joint top of the Sunday Telegraph English Merit Tables...all in one season.
We should be proud of our club, our players, the likes of Rowland and his coaching set up, and Jon Sharp and his management team. Things are getting better, season by season.
But from a cold headed, logical newspaper view - we ain't the Wasps and don't carry their clout.
Yet...
Mark
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 16/09/2019 20:58 by Diesel74.