The Sports Thread

So, most of you probably don't know this but Ben & I are both sports nuts just as much as we are music fans. My big three sports are basketball, cricket & rugby league. I religiously follow the NBA, NBL (Australian basketball competition), international cricket & the NRL (Australian rugby league). My teams are the Detroit Pistons in the NBA, the Sydney Kings in the NBL, Sydney Sixers/NSW/Australia in cricket & the Manly-Warringah Sea-Eagles in the NRL.

I guess the reason behind this thread is to gush a bit over how proud I am of my beloved Pistons who have come from having arguably the worst season ever in 2023/24 to tripling their win total & making the playoffs in 2024/25 & now leading the Eastern conference in 2025/26. At this point I can easily see us making the second round of the playoffs this season & the future is looking really bright. Also pumped for today's Sydney Kings versus Illawarra Hawks match although I'm not feeling confident.

And I'm devastated about the news that the Aussies have lost Josh Hazlewood for the First Test in the Ashes series that starts in Perth on Friday. That means we'll be without our best two fast bowlers but I'm still gonna back us with Smith & Labuschagne batting so well right now.

What are your chosen sports/teams?

I am a Liverpool FC fan and had a season ticket on the Kop throughout the 90s and 2000s. I had to give it up after the 2009 season as I just couldn't afford it anymore. I don't really watch much football now though as it just isn't the same watching it on TV. I do still miss that matchday buzz though. 

My favourite sport over the last decade or so has been biathlon and I feel an affinity for the Norwegians mostly seeing as the UK has no representation. Unfortunately it has switched from being free to watch on Eurosport and gone to some channel that wants like £25 a month to watch, so I will probably end up watching it with slovakian commentary on YouTube.

Other than that I love track and field (my wife used to be a national-level 100m hurdler back in the 1970s) and watch a fair bit of the NFL with my team being the Washington Commanders. So in both the Premier League and the NFL my teams are following up a great season with a pile of shit this time around. Add to that the fact that my favourite biathletes, Johannes and Tarje Boe both retired at the end of last sesason and this winter's sport is looking a bit grim.

Do you not follow Aussie rules football Daniel because that shit looks insane?!

Easy for me, none.  I follow no sports and therefore no teams.

It really depends on which state you were brought up in as to which footy code you were most exposed to Sonny. Traditionally, New South Wales & Queensland were stronger in rugby league & rugby union while the rest of the country were stronger in AFL. That’s become a bit muddier over time with Melbourne winning NRL premierships & Sydney & Brisbane winning the AFL competition but I still can’t understand the appeal of AFL. It just seems so messy & lacking in structure to me. Gimme the brutality of rugby league any day of the week.

It really depends on which state you were brought up in as to which footy code you were most exposed to Sonny. Traditionally, New South Wales & Queensland were stronger in rugby league & rugby union while the rest of the country were stronger in AFL. That’s become a bit muddier over time with Melbourne winning NRL premierships & Sydney & Brisbane winning the AFL competition but I still can’t understand the appeal of AFL. It just seems so messy & lacking in structure to me. Gimme the brutality of rugby league any day of the week.

That sounds a lot like rugby in England. If you grew up in the north of England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire, then you were most likely into league, whereas the south was union. Like Aussie rules that has become blurred over time mostly due to union finally turning professional and some high profile league players switching code because of the higher profile of union, especially at international level with the Six Nations tournament. I played union at school, but actually prefer league and its quicker pace.

Well football is my preferred sport. I am an Ayr United fan, but only from afar these days. I moved down to the south east of England in my early 20s - and while I used to go back up to watch them a few times a season, this has become more and more impossible. I don't support any other team. I think supporting Ayr has been good for me, built up a kind of resilience (I was born in Kilmarnock, who are Ayr's rivals and I didn't know a single person growing up that supported Ayr. They have also helped me deal with disappointment: Ayr  have won nothing in their history. 

In the 70s, 80s  I watched loads of sports on TV: cricket (test matched during the summer and the B&H Cup which was always on Sunday); Rugby Union and League (there was always a League game on Saturday afternoon with Eddie Waring providing the commentary), Italian football, NFL and Aussie Rules on Channel 4. Hell, I even used to watch the Kabaddi when that was on. It's much more difficult to watch sport on TV these days unless you are willing to pay. My son has been exposed to much less sport on TV these days, even though (or perhaps because) there is so much choice.

My biggest thing I do these days is as the assistant coach for my son's team which I am loving. I regret not doing some coaching badges when I was younger, but my main aim back then was to play for as long as I possibly could. Now, I hope to pass on any useful tips to the kids.

Oh and following up on Sonny's comment about the affordability going to watch Liverpool in the UK. It seems going to watch live sports has become so expensive these days. Is it a similar issue in Australia Daniel? When I first moved down to London in 1991 and not really supporting any English team, I decided that each Saturday I would just look to see who was playing at home and turn up to pay at the gate. You could do that then, and prices for the top league games ranged from £7 to £9 depending on who the visiting team was. So for instance Chelsea v Liverpool was £9. But I went to loads of grounds: Highbury, Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane, Upton Park, Brisbane Road and Craven Cottage. Leyton Orient and Fulham were in the lowest division on those days. Saw some great teams too. Something that just seems unavailable for my son these days.

He is a Leicester fan. And the reason for this is that he read a Michael Morpurgo book when he was about 5 about two foxes who lived near Filbert Street and discovered the grave of Richard III. As good a reason as any to pick a team to support. He's been kind of lucky and has had all the emotions of supporting a team from winning the league to relegation - he hasn't swayed in his support. Trouble is we live way down in the South East and getting to see a match is next to impossible - still trying.

That sounds a lot like rugby in England. If you grew up in the north of England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire, then you were most likely into league, whereas the south was union. Like Aussie rules that has become blurred over time mostly due to union finally turning professional and some high profile league players switching code because of the higher profile of union, especially at international level with the Six Nations tournament. I played union at school, but actually prefer league and its quicker pace.

It used to be that if you went to a private school you played rugby union & if you went to a public school you played rugby league but rugby union has really taken a nose-dive in popularity in this country over the last decade. Its cause is certainly not helped by the fact that you can't watch any of it without paying for yet another streaming service (i.e. Stan) which I refuse to do. I used to watch every Test match but these days I'm resigned to having to Google the result the next day.

And yes dk, the price of attending sporting events has gotten to the point where I can't afford to take my family to see anything these days. The food & drinks at sporting events are unaffordable in themselves, without even thinking about the ticket prices.

My Sydney Kings had a commanding 98-71 away win over the Illawarra Hawks (who had beaten us six times in a row before this match) on Sunday which was built on impenetrable defense with the Hawks turning the ball over a kazillion times. Loved it! This puts us in equal fourth position with a 7-5 record after winning five in a row following a shithouse start to the season. Our next match is against the Tasmania JackJumpers this Sunday.

Pumped for the Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers match today. The Pacers are 1-12 for the season so far so we'll be red-hot favourites which is always a red flag.

Pretty much everyrhing is becoming beyond the financial reach of the average family and we are being taken for a ride. I was talking to a Spurs fan recently and he said that for a seat right at the back of the top tier it now costs £75 each. Iron Maiden tickets are priced £87 - £110 for a show in Glasgow. I saw them several times early on, the last time being the Somewhere in Time tour when I paid £6 for a ticket which, allowing for inflation, would still be less than £20 today. Even a ticket for Chester Zoo is £39 for an adult and £27 for a kid - £132 for a family of four!! They are taking the piss and anything but the essentials is becoming unaffordable for the average Joe.