NRL, and why I think there's some hope yet
So, I think now would be the time to mention that, for the last few weeks, I've been watching The Footy Show.
I'm from a League family, and I remember when I was little we all used to watch The Footy Show together (except for Mum, of course). That was a long time ago though, and it's been years since I've really cared for it. It went through a long phase when it was hugely stupid. Even Dad got sick of it. It was all gags and mucking around, and nothing really had anything to do with the game. Given that all the blokes involved are footy players, not actors or entertainers, the sort of stuff they did in that period was, generally, crap. It was bawdy blokey stuff, a bit crude, and very, very stupid.
But lately, all of a sudden, it's finally come back to footy. I had it on one night because there's nothing else on of a 9:30 on a Thursday, and found myself actually enjoying it. They actually talk about the game, and, even though I don't follow the game, I love them talking about it. I love the appreciation of it, the history.
I think a lot of it comes from spending so much of my life around blokes like my dad. Dad isn't an intellectual. He left school in year nine and has always done very manual work. It really warms my heart when I see him and blokes like him show how much they do know about things. Footy players know footy. They can remember players and games from years ago, and they can have very involving, intelligent discussions about it. I love that. I think that expertise, in any area, is a thing of merit, and I'm often genuinely impressed by the expertise shown by people who know sport. And, in my own way, I love the game itself too. So, The Footy Show finally coming back to that really pleases me. They can still be idiots, and it's still obvious at times that these blokes are there because they know footy, not television, but I don't mind so much.
What I really, really appreciate though, is how good it's coming to be in its attitudes.
There was a controversy a few years ago, when they had a woman join the panel and the regular hosts treated her badly. Ignored her, if memory serves. This doesn't surprise me at all. The kind of bloke you get on The Footy Show isn't really known for having a great understanding of women, especially in the context of sport. And this was back when Sterlo was on the show, and he in particular is just generally a bit of an enormous arsehole.
Since that episode though, they are doing so much better with women. This week's show is the second in a few weeks that they've had Jacquelin Magnay on the panel, and she is being asked for her opinion, and when she gives it it is given proper consideration. The others seem to be accepting her pretty well; it's on the telly in front of me at the moment, and really, she's being treated like one of the blokes, and it's extremely heartening.
There was one thing though, the last time she was on, when Fatty was saying the thankyous and goodbyes, and he referred to her as "the best female sports journalist in the country". It was a shame; he was doing so well up to that point. But, really, baby steps. Honestly, I think that comment was more bred from the fact that he was making an effort to make her feel welcomed. He meant it as a compliment, and, though it is still a fundamentally flawed statement, I think he was probably just ignorant to the implications of it. The point is, these things take time, and the way she was treated in the show itself shows such an improvement over previous levels of sexism that I find I can forgive him that one bit of ignorance.
A few months ago, they had a forum composed entirely of women, actually talking about League and feminism, which Fatty hosted very well. And they often make an effort to talk about the girl's teams that exist around the place, which is wonderful, because the women’s League gets very little publicity otherwise.
And, of course, there's been the way they've handles sex and alcohol scandals lately.
Intelligent discussion and real concern. Addressing the issue at the very beginning of the episodes, and bringing it up again throughout. They are talking about this stuff. It's not secret player's business anymore. They're not playing it down, not defending it, they presenting it as a real problem and discussing it.
Unfortunately, I missed a bit of what was said at the beginning of tonight's episode regarding Matty Johns, as that's when my Mum rang to chat, but I did see that they devoted a good deal of time to it. I did hear what Fatty had to say on it, and thought it a fine and honest response, with respectable condolences offered to the girl involved. Of course everyone supports Matt; he's a mate, and they'd been working together for years. Heck, I'm bothered by him leaving the show - he was a likable host. He was cheeky and charming, and he and the Chief came across as nice, normal blokes, and they treated women well even when the other blokes were still awkward about it. I don't want to say anything here about the incident itself, because that's not really the point of this post. I do want to say though, that, no matter what the circumstances regarding the girl’s consent (and I'm filled with rage by those "why should he get in trouble? She asked for it!" comments), the act itself was entirely disgusting, and I don't support it in any way.* Despite liking Matt as I see him on the show and at matches, I'm not going to try and defend him at all. I don't know enough about the incident to attempt to discuss it adequately, although I do know that this sort of twisted group think, this insular, out of touch sort of culture, is a real and complex problem in League, and though that doesn't forgive Matty's part in it, and though I condemn the act and the culture unreservedly, I'm loathe to condemn him entirely, knowing that it's a far bigger problem than just him, and not really knowing him or the situation enough to make a proper judgement.**
I think this is similar to what The Footy Show did: despite liking and supporting him as a person, they refrained from openly supporting his actions, and overall (from what I did get to see) handled the situation diplomatically and sensitively. I wish I had heard more of what Phil Gould had said - he was openly crying, obviously deeply moved by something. I did hear the beginning of his speech, urging players to consider the reprocussions of their actions, and to think rationally and realistically about what they do while out with the blokes or on the grog. I wonder if, perhaps, they might discuss the actual scandal in more depth on the Sunday Footy Show (if it still exists?), but, either way, I think that, perhaps, it was best that they didn't try to discect the incident itself too much tonight. I think it's probably too complex and too serious for them, and really, ultimately, it's not the job of a show to tackle these things. The fact that they talked about it at all was enough, and the fact that they talked about it sensitively and well was even better, and that they didn't show blind support for the players and the culture is hugely significant.
It's hardly a perfect show, and there are still things they could be doing better in terms of addressing scandals and sexism, and all the problems in League culture. But it's making a concentrated effort to address and change the problems that were ingrained in the culture for so long.
The point of this post, is that I wanted to say that I am proud of The Footy Show.
I'm proud of the progress it's making, of the effort it's going to to improve, both in terms of the show itself, and the game culture. I'm proud of the way it's addressing the problems as well as the positives, of the way it's trying to encourage more of a perception of footy as a family game, and how fondly they talk of the way it used to be. I'm proud of how they're sticking to what they know, and leaving behind all the stupidity of trying to be a variety show when none of the people on it are performers. I'm proud of Fatty, for showing honest concern about the players' attitudes to alcohol, and of him and the others for bringing the issues up of their own volition, when it's relevant to the discussions, not just because they've been told to.
I'm proud of them for recognising that they were treating women badly, and for changing that, even if it's just because the network told them to. I'm proud of them for being able to joke around with Jacquelin Magnay, for organising segments that directly relate to women as serious and informed players or critics of the game, rather as just pretty little things that can hold a microphone and ask inane questions.
I'm proud because I know footy blokes, and I know that, really, a lot of them don't know better. I know that some men are products of their upbringing and their society, and I know how wonderful and significant it is for them to change the views that were so ingrained. I'm proud because, if The Footy Show is talking about these things, and if it's changing its view of footy as a bawdy blokes thing, then other people might too. If The Footy Show can talk about the previously secret and accepted behaviours of teams and openly condemn them and present them as something abnormal or immoral, then maybe the players will see it that way too. If it gets talked about, maybe it'll be understood as a bad and completely bizarre thing, and maybe then it can be resisted, or, at the very least, maybe the victims of it will be treated with more respect and given more weight.
I like watching The Footy Show now because, while doing so, I can see how much has changed already. I can see that there's real hope that things will improve. Footy should be fun and interesting based on the game itself, not gags or drinking or being cut off from others, and the show is finally reflecting that. Watching it now makes me want to go to a game with my Dad. The way it is now I actually have footy-related things to discuss with him, and I wouldn't be ashamed to tell others that I watch it.
The Footy Show now is beginning to represent the way that footy itself should be, and I'm proud of the effort it's making.
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*I do think there might be a bit of merit to what Annabel Crabb wrote in her column, as linked by Highly earlier. Before that, most of what I'd heard be offer of explanation fo rthese behaviours was put down to team building, group think, and poor perceptions of women, but I think that she brings up a far more interesting point. Not just that a bunch of blokes masturbating in a room together is not something they need a woman for, being on the surface a pretty bloody homoerotic thing to do, but that there may be a weird, psychosexual sort of vibe lurking in some teams. This is another thing I’ve not studied enough to talk about with complete confidence yet, but, really, masculine cultures breeding masculine sexual rituals is hardly a new thing, nor is men making masturbation a group activity. I really don’t think I fully comprehend the way [some] men seem to perceive sex, but it seems that there’s a casualness regarding sexual behaviour and masculinity, and a disconnection between this and actual sexuality or real sex. Footy being a physical game, and players working in close physical proximity, and being encouraged to spend so much time together, and being treated differently to regular blokes, that’s going to breed certain behaviours, especially when alcohol is thrown in.
I think I’m a little too tired and a little too under-read to give this sort of issue proper thought t the moment - I'm not even entirely convinced I'm making any sense here, just sort of thinking out loud - but it is something that I find very interesting, and that Annabel Crabb article, though it might be meant a bit more in jest, makes a very intriguing point in regards to male homoerotic and homosocial behaviour.
**I've just found this, and, really, Jacquelin Magnay is expressing these issues a lot more clearly than I am.