By Broonie
July 3 2002

I found myself recently browsing the boards on this network and must admit (somewhat uncomfortably) that among them all, one of the most amusing and maybe even one of the less arrogant was the one situated at pooh corner (aaaaaaarrrrggggghh !! ) . They've actually had some very amusing threads up, seem to have developed (probably condescending of me here, as I probably failed to notice it before) an ability to laugh at themselves a bit since the neuel bock incident , and have generally been quite a witty and welcoming bunch for some time now .

This made me think somewhat of the "mote & beam" parable in the big yin's book ,and think that maybe losing the PG cup was not such a bad thing in the scheme of things ? Before we sneer at the PCP for just wanting to support the top team, remember how many finals they actually lost before they started winning . With last years final, I wonder if maybe we did all think we were going to win beforehand or that we were entitled to win as of right or something ? we had after all got very caught up in some decent performances against falcons etc following our dire start to the season , and maybe we were getting a bit used to being condescending to supporters whose teams came to the gardens and copped a beating ? Maybe catching a public humiliation like we got in the PG cup final will be a positive for us as well as the squad ? Maybe it will help us remember that this is not footy and just cos my team beats your team does not in any way make me bigger , better, stronger faster or smarter than you ? Or indeed any bigger, better , stronger , faster or smarter than I was before ?

If you have a look at some of the other boards over the last couple of months, you'll see some fairly triumphalist stuff, extending to a goodly amount of reasonably low spite out west a bit . Everyone with a condescending word for quins, etc. A lot of it is low level also, but I’d not like to see us go that way . Yes, I want to see Saints get to the top, yes I’d like to see us knock the PCP off their perch, but equally I’m prepared to give them the respect as an organisation (including those who buy the tickets,) of acknowledging that they didn't get there by accident or without effort . If you do not respect your opponent, you lose the justification for engaging him. I’d like to think that if we won something next season we might be readier to handle it with some grace than we would have been this year, partly through being on the wrong side of it last time ?

So, personal resolutions for next season :-

1. Shout my head off at games, be as one-eyed as before, but be prepared to laugh at myself too, and to talk to travelling fans at home games.

2. Get involved more with away supporters- get them the odd drink in and talk to them about the match, their players and their club-it's often fascinating , and it's what rugby should be about

3. Before posting something derogatory about other clubs, particularly on their boards as opposed to ours, think once, think twice and then most times, resist the temptation