Letter: Being a good sport is enough

WHAT has annoyed me most about the so-called rugby league revolution is not the haste with which the decision was made. Nor the fact that Murdoch's millions will be in the hands of the same people who already run the game so badly. It is not the politically correct hysteria that has swamped any chance of real debate. I'm no fan of Murdoch and his works but both summer rugby and a Super League were being discussed long before he made his offer. And he has not "bought the game", just the rights to screen its matches.

No, the thing that has annoyed me most is the excuse that it has given rugby league's parochial flat-cap tendency to get all dewy eyed about "roots" and "tradition" and "community", implying it is a Northern sport that should stay there. At least Simon Kelner was honest enough to state this openly ("The betrayal of a heritage", Sport, 18 April). However, I must disagree. Like him I am a Northerner and, yes, rugby league is my game. But I don't watch it because I admire its "moral authority" or because I want to follow the traditions of my forefathers. I watch it because I enjoy it. For me it is simply the greatest game, one which for speed, aggression, skill and sheer entertainment value leaves all other sports looking pedestrian. I want to see rugby league become the national sport it deserves to be, not the national joke it frequently is.

Peter Hardy

Manchester