
Issue No 24		30 July 1999

Sport

Terry O'Brien on the Names We Play

Wot's in a name" she sez...An' then she sighs,
An clasps 'er little 'an' rolls 'er eyes.
"A rose" she sez "be any other name
Would smell the same.
Oh w'erefore art you Romeo, young sir?
Chuck yer ole pot, an' change yer moniker!"

Thus spoke C. J. Dennis's Sentimental Bloke paraphrasing some scribe called Shakespeare. So, what is in a name? Everything, it seems, to the advertising gurus. It's the estate agents equivalent of "Location, location, location." It all reached absurd heights when Geelong captain Gary Hocking took Juliet's advice to heart and changed his name to Whiskas by deed poll. For a week.

It was a stunt that made the ha ha funny sections of the press around the globe. OK, his motives were honourable. Money for the club, something here, something there, and presumably Hocking's court costs paid at either end.

Even though this is at the absurd end of the Richter Scale of name changes there are other somewhat disturbing aspects of this crazy rush to grab a share of the market. For example Footscray decided to call themselves the Western Bulldogs. North Melbourne "evolved" into the Northern Kangaroos. All in the interests of survival, apparently. Grabbing at more supporters in an already saturated market place in the case of Footscray and trying to develop a national following by North Melbourne. Along the way they seem to be denying their traditional supporters a part of their identity. Even in a national competition footy is a tribal animal, and a sense of place is integral to a supporter's identification with their team. The generic Bulldogs or Kangaroos may end up as a minus for these clubs in the long run.

This may sound strange coming from an avowed Sydney Swans supporter. But when the Swans came to Sydney they brought everything with them. The heritage of the club was retained. Obviously the name had to change, South Melbourne in the Harbour City wasn't an option, but the history was retained. This was not easily recognised by the old South supporters, and nor would you expect it to be. But the continued survival, and some success, perhaps, seems to have brought a lot of doubters back to the flock. Even though many of the old South Melbourne supporters think of the club as South or, more realistically Sydney/South, the continuity is largely recognised and respected. The Swans also have that sense of place - the whole of Sydney. The difference, as I see it, with the Footscray and North Melbourne is that they want the best of both worlds.

Nowhere is this lack of identity more evident than in Union's Super Twelves. The Highlanders, the Sharks, Stormers, Waratahs, or the Brumbies. I know the Australian sides but I have no idea where the other teams come from. My inbuilt prejudices have no focus. Consequently, whatever interest I might have in a Super Twelves match is lost. Perhaps time will cure my ignorance, but in the mean time the game passes me by.

On the subject of Union, I was listening to an ABC talkback segment on Stadium Australia recently. People were asked to describe their experiences at the new venue. One caller rang in and her complaint was not about the facilities or services. Her big beef was that the ground announcer, at every opportunity, called the Australian side the Vodaphone Wallabies. "We don't live in Vodaphone, we live in Australia" was the reasoning behind her argument. 'Nuff said.

This Name Game is going on in most sports. In League there was a mad rush to include Sydney in their names. Only Eastern Suburbs have kept the changed name. But for most the Sydney City Roosters are still Easts. Cronulla now want to be known simply as the Sharks. What the Union variety of Sharks think of this I don't know. In cricket Queensland became the Bulls, Victoria the Bush Rangers, and South Australia the Red Backs. Only NSW has retained their traditional name, the Blues.

This is not restricted to teams. Grounds are not immune to the name changing game. In Victoria Princes Park became Optus Oval and Geelong's Kardinia Park Shell Stadium. In Queensland Lang Park is now Suncorp Stadium and QEII Stadium is now the ANZ Stadium. Now the change from QEII is not something I can argue with, but perhaps a sports person could have been honoured. Commentators in the commercial media are required to use these ugly tags but many people stick to the original names, except, interestingly QEII Stadium. I suspect noone will care if Melbourne's Docklands becomes Colonial Stadium or Sydney's Stadium Australia gets a commercial for a name. These are not traditional grounds as yet. However the evolution of sport needn't, and to my mind shouldn't, totally discard tradition.

Two of my favourite team names are the Pepsi Rollers and Ten Past Eleven. The former is a wheel chair basketball side and Ten Past Eleven play in the Balmain cricket competition. Apparently the lads were sitting around the local trying to think of a name for the club and the bar staff told the it was ten past eleven and time to go. The logo on their caps is a clock with the hand in the appropriate positions.

Given time, people may call Footscray and North Melbourne the Western Bulldogs and the Northern Kangaroos respectively. Or they may just become a memory. New sponsors will come along and Princes and Kardina Parks will get another name change. If it goes on for long enough there won't be anybody who knows the original names. But Gary Hocking will for ever be remembered not for his deeds on the footy field, but the man who changed his name to Whiskas.

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Issue 24 contents

Interview: The Man in the Hot Seat
WorkCover general manger John Grayson cut his teeth in the trade union movement. Now heďż˝s trying to save the stateďż˝s workers compensation scheme.

Unions: Turning Up The Heat: Bush Fire Officers Seek Award Justice
"We want an award for the job that we do, not the job other people want us to do". Donald Bushby, and his fellow Fire Control Officers, know what they want. It's simple: an award for FCO's and deputy FCO's, an award that recognises who they are, the job they do, the pressures they have to live with.

International: The Virtual Labour Congress
International trade unions are launching an online debate on Labour in the 21th century.

Legal: The Source of the Issue
Recent legal developments place the spotlight on the outsourcing of government activities.

Review: The Split that Changed a Nation
A new book looks at the Cold War ALP split that redefined politics in this country.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
Read the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's resource for unionists.

Satire: Man Takes Home Pay - More Pokies Needed
The NSW government has expressed concern following the release of a second report by the Productivity Commission which shows that a majority of employed people still spend their pay on luxury items such as food and clothing for their family.

» Sixty Cents A Week to Protect Entitlements

» Workers Comp ďż˝ The Rorts Have to Stop

» Steggles Roasted Over Family-Busting Policies

» Youth Worker Death Prompts Safety Fears

» Rail Security Guards Miss Danger Spots

» New South Coast Labor Body Seeks Recognition

» Howard Ministers, Employment Advocate in the Dock

» Management Vandals Take to Sydney Water

» Boston Fiddles While Teachers Burn

» Lundy to Star in Workers Online Net Night

» STOP PRESS - Firefighters Seek End To Safety Apartheid