You don’t have to watch the grand final – there’s always The Amazing Race Australia. Photo: Paramount.
Nighttime grand finals are like Woollies’ self-service checkouts, Jim Courier’s tennis commentary and Patricia Karvelas hosting Q&A. Nobody in Australia wanted or asked for it, except for those making the decisions.
It’s time Australia stood up to out-of-touch NRL bosses and demanded a return to the 3 pm kick-off.
This year’s grand final is a who-cares affair between an unlikable Melbourne Storm and an undeserving Brisbane Broncos, who fluked their way to the season’s climax. So it’s the perfect opportunity to send a message by boycotting the match.
TV executives love prime-time evening football matches because they drive ad revenue and profits. However, polls show that an overwhelming majority of Australians prefer a daylight grand final, and it’s not hard to understand why.
Nighttime matches are at an inconvenient hour for families. Kick-offs keep getting later and later. By the time preambles, anthems, Welcome to Country and fireworks are all done, the game doesn’t get underway until after 7:40 pm.
If you go to a grand final BBQ or gathering, half the crowd are usually sloshed by then, when the living room resembles a scene from the movie Don’s Party. Guests are chatty, boisterous and distracted, making it difficult for true fans to focus on the game. At 3 pm, the grand final is the focal point of the occasion, but by 7 pm, it becomes an afterthought.
Given all the Bunker interruptions and delays during the game these days, the captain doesn’t get to hoist the trophy until after 10 pm. That’s too late for children who are struggling to stay awake. It creates problems for parents who need to dampen their kids’ excitement and get them off to bed. Heck, as an ageing adult, I need an afternoon nap just to make it to the full-time siren.
The late finish doesn’t leave much time to reflect on and celebrate the result.
When the Canberra Raiders won the 1989 grand final, things were done and dusted by 5 pm. We then watched Greg ‘Robbo’ Robson capture the mood of the city on the evening news. After that, I recalled seeing kids waving green flags in their front yards as we drove to a friend’s house, where we spent hours talking about ‘Chicka’ Ferguson’s miracle try and Benny Elias’s missed field goal. Those were unforgettable moments I still remember 36 years later. None of that would’ve happened had the clock been approaching midnight.
Robbo famously wore a Raiders scarf when reporting on the 1989 grand final win on the evening news. Photo: Supplied.
It’s no coincidence that we haven’t seen a grand final as good as the 1989 epic since then. Playing in the daytime produces higher-quality football. The two best matches of this season were the recent Sunday 4 pm finals: Canberra v Brisbane and Penrith v Brisbane (even though the better team lost on both occasions). A combination of warm weather, natural sunlight and no dew on the ball is conducive to open, fast, error-free footy. That’s why ratings for those two games went through the roof.
As the least appealing season finale in modern memory approaches, we have the chance to hit the NRL where it hurts. Switch over to The Amazing Race on Channel 10 and let their ratings suffer. If enough people do so, you never know, rugby league’s ‘big day’ could return to its rightful place. The daytime.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Canberra.
