Today I was browsing around the web and happened to notice the announcement by Russell Crowe and Co. that South Sydney has struck a deal with Star City as a jersey sponsor for the next three years.
I stated in my earlier post that it has become the norm now for players to disregard loyalty for the next big deal, so I guess that it's fine for Russell Crowe to "bend" the terms of his pokie free stance, right? Some may say that he is striking a deal with the devil in promoting star city on the clubs jerseys. But is that really the case? Or is he securing the future of the club and keeping alive the hopes of an army of fans?
When he made the original announcement that the Souths Sydney Leagues club would be doing without the use of poker machines, there were many critics out there who already believed that it was PR spin and that the club would not last without some form of cash cow behind it. So after this announcement can anyone honestly say that they didn't see it coming?
It was believed inconceivable that any NRL club could survive without Poker machines, however three years on, the club is in the best position that it has ever been in. In 2009 South Sydney had a ticketed membership base of 8,500 then in 2010 it increased to just over 10,000.This year the Bunnies have over 10,000 ticketed members already and lead the league on total memberships with over 15,000 members. This is ahead of the Dragons, who are promoting off the back of a Premiership.
In a world that is used to disappointments and back flips, there are really no surprises when it comes to life, especially in the entertainment world. What Peter Holmes a Court and Russell Crowe promised was that they would keep poker machines out of the Leagues club where their supporter base is. In return they have grown the club and made it an exciting powerhouse with a host of talented stars that wouldn't have considered the club before.
As a league supporter I believe that if we had more organisers. promoters and ambassadors such as Russell Crowe, Rugby League would be in a far better position than it currently is in.
If anyone has any thoughts, please comment and tell us whether Russell Crowe has sold out or not.
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