Could netball be the answer

NFL season starts in a couple of weeks
My team will probably disappoint again
( repeat for every effingsport I follow)
 
Are there netball fans?

It's a genuine question. It seems like a sport that is quite big in a participatory way but that no one actually watches. I've never noticed it on telly or seen an advert for a game or tournament but I've known a fair few people who played it (compared to other sports that do get spectators at least)
 
td53 said:
Are there netball fans?

It's a genuine question. It seems like a sport that is quite big in a participatory way but that no one actually watches. I've never noticed it on telly or seen an advert for a game or tournament but I've known a fair few people who played it (compared to other sports that do get spectators at least)
Click to expand...
There is a professional women's league in many countries including the UK, yet the mens league is amateur (the Aussie men's team recently had to pay $2000 each to go to the world championships!)! It's a disgrace I tells ya!! 😁

I played for a charity event at work a couple of years back. It's actually much more fun to play than I expected. I find it about as good to watch as basketball (which is not a compliment coming from me!).
 
hills98 said:
There is a professional women's league in many countries including the UK, yet the mens league is amateur (the Aussie men's team recently had to pay $2000 each to go to the world championships!)! It's a disgrace I tells ya!! 😁

I played for a charity event at work a couple of years back. It's actually much more fun to play than I expected. I find it about as good to watch as basketball (which is not a compliment coming from me!).
Click to expand...

I played it once at school when the girls played basketball and we had to play netball for some reason.

I couldn't get my head round it.

I very briefly went out with a girl who was really, really good at it. I didn't even go out with her long enough to go and watch her play though 🤣
 
td53 said:
I played it once at school when the girls played basketball and we had to play netball for some reason.

I couldn't get my head round it.

I very briefly went out with a girl who was really, really good at it. I didn't even go out with her long enough to go and watch her play though 🤣
Click to expand...
I used to play a lot, went on a couple of tours with school, and my sister was county level if my memory serves me.

It’s fast pace and fun, but yeah, it doesn‘t have a captive audience at all.
 
Lala said:
I used to play a lot, went on a couple of tours with school, and my sister was county level if my memory serves me.

It’s fast pace and fun, but yeah, it doesn‘t have a captive audience at all.
Click to expand...
I don't think I went out with your sister. 🤣

I find it weird to have sport that is relatively well known but seems to have almost no profile at all in the media.
 
td53 said:
I don't think I went out with your sister. 🤣

I find it weird to have sport that is relatively well known but seems to have almost no profile at all in the media.
Click to expand...
It never really has. Maybe it’s too fast moving as the ball does most of the travelling. Maybe it’s just not complicated enough. Or maybe it’s low popularity is because it’s a girls sport 😳
 
Lala said:
It never really has. Maybe it’s too fast moving as the ball does most of the travelling. Maybe it’s just not complicated enough. Or maybe it’s low popularity is because it’s a girls sport 😳
Click to expand...

Possibly but you'd imagine that being 'the girls sport' as it was when I was at school at least (i.e. girls basically did netball and gym) would have given it a marketability, even within a niche market.

Lots of things are 'for girls' and also a product at the same time. Although, I'm struggling to think of a sport to be fair.
 
td53 said:
Possibly but you'd imagine that being 'the girls sport' as it was when I was at school at least (i.e. girls basically did netball and gym) would have given it a marketability, even within a niche market.

Lots of things are 'for girls' and also a product at the same time. Although, I'm struggling to think of a sport to be fair.
Click to expand...
From my memory at school there were the netball team and a few stragglers who took any interest at all in the game, even though they made to play it at school. Unless they were sporty they had no interest at all. And this was an all girls school.
It‘s possibly why some women who like a bit of sport latched on to football.

My daughters played in the football team and not the netball team at primary school. So one generation later football had evolved much more amongst the sexes. I think netball is just very uncool and football is seen to be the opposite.

I’m not sure how you would even start to market it to be honest.
 
td53 said:
Are there netball fans?

It's a genuine question. It seems like a sport that is quite big in a participatory way but that no one actually watches. I've never noticed it on telly or seen an advert for a game or tournament but I've known a fair few people who played it (compared to other sports that do get spectators at least)
Click to expand...
The World cup final was shown on the BBC the other week and the venue was packed. We lost to Aus btw.
 
OneStepBeyond said:
The World cup final was shown on the BBC the other week and the venue was packed. We lost to Aus btw.
Click to expand...
I did hear this on the radio to be fair. No-one else I know knew though. Maybe it has a cult sport following but it’s very niche.
Well done the BBC, but I just cannot see it garnering much popularity universally.
 
Lala said:
From my memory at school there were the netball team and a few stragglers who took any interest at all in the game, even though they made to play it at school. Unless they were sporty they had no interest at all. And this was an all girls school.
It‘s possibly why some women who like a bit of sport latched on to football.

My daughters played in the football team and not the netball team at primary school. So one generation later football had evolved much more amongst the sexes. I think netball is just very uncool and football is seen to be the opposite.

I’m not sure how you would even start to market it to be honest.
Click to expand...

If they can market Bournemouth vs Luton to a global audience as a sporting event of major significance, they can market anything.
 
Lala said:
I did hear this on the radio to be fair. No-one else I know knew though. Maybe it has a cult sport following but it’s very niche.
Well done the BBC, but I just cannot see it garnering much popularity universally.
Click to expand...
I've just watched about ten mins of it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001p8qf/netball-world-cup

If I ever watched live telly, then I might actually watch this. It's not bad. I see what you mean about the ball doing the moving, but it's quite interesting how they try and make different plays and also how it's kind of a reverse of football in that the turnover (i.e. stopping the goal) is more significant than a goal.

In a way, it's not unlike modern football to watch in that often players don't actually travel so much with the ball these days at top level and it's all first time passing and angles and off the ball movement.
 
td53 said:
I've just watched about ten mins of it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001p8qf/netball-world-cup

If I ever watched live telly, then I might actually watch this. It's not bad. I see what you mean about the ball doing the moving, but it's quite interesting how they try and make different plays and also how it's kind of a reverse of football in that the turnover (i.e. stopping the goal) is more significant than a goal.

In a way, it's not unlike modern football to watch in that often players don't actually travel so much with the ball these days at top level and it's all first time passing and angles and off the ball movement.
Click to expand...
There are other little rules like you can’t hold the ball for 3 seconds or more. You can only have two touches on the floor when holding the ball, one foot each landing is your lot. A defender shouldn’t be closer than 3 feet of the opposition player when using arms to distract etc etc. You can’t bounce or drop the ball and then reclaim it. Certain players can’t go in certain thirds of the court.

It’s a decent little game. I played in the Blackpool league for a few years after leaving school.

Then I met with life’s usual distractions and quit 🤦‍♀️
 
Last edited:
td53 said:
I've just watched about ten mins of it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001p8qf/netball-world-cup

If I ever watched live telly, then I might actually watch this. It's not bad. I see what you mean about the ball doing the moving, but it's quite interesting how they try and make different plays and also how it's kind of a reverse of football in that the turnover (i.e. stopping the goal) is more significant than a goal.

In a way, it's not unlike modern football to watch in that often players don't actually travel so much with the ball these days at top level and it's all first time passing and angles and off the ball movement.
Click to expand...
Good for you for having a watch and taking an interest 👍👍
 
Lala said:
Good for you for having a watch and taking an interest 👍👍
Click to expand...


Netball IS the answer!!!

Why?

1) Blackpool Netball Club play in tangerine! (https://www.instagram.com/blackpoolnc/)
2) I have now learned that Eleonor Cardwell who is England's goal attack (I think! - the one who does all the shooting anyway) started at Blackpool - that's like having Harry ** Kane as one of our own!

Netball ftw!
 
Lala said:
There are other little rules like you can’t hold the ball for 3 seconds or more. You can only have two touches on the floor when holding the ball, one foot each landing is your lot. A defender shouldn’t be closer than 3 feet of the opposition player when using arms to distract etc etc. You can’t bounce or drop the ball and then reclaim it. Certain players can’t go in certain thirds of the court.

It’s a decent little game. I played in the Blackpool league for a few years after leaving school.

Then I met with life’s usual distractions and quit 🤦‍♀️
Click to expand...

I found the rules a bit hard to follow. Then again, I learned baseball over time so...
 
Lala said:
You’d pick up the rules in no time watching a few games. The new championer of women’s netball is you 🙅‍♀️🥳
Click to expand...

Who knew? 😂

Might hijack the podcast tonight...

'What did you make of the line up'
'Never mind that, what about netball lads?'
 
td53 said:
Are there netball fans?

It's a genuine question. It seems like a sport that is quite big in a participatory way but that no one actually watches. I've never noticed it on telly or seen an advert for a game or tournament but I've known a fair few people who played it (compared to other sports that do get spectators at least)
Click to expand...
My girls both played for Cheshire and the younger one was taken on by Severn Stars. Loads of running them around and Macclesfield to Stafford twice a week for the youngest was tiring. The mothers were worse than “soccer moms” in my opinion and incredibly bitchy.
The matches are shown on sky regularly these days but the players aren’t paid massively and most top up their income by doing master classes and camps during school holidays.
 
Lala said:
I used to play a lot, went on a couple of tours with school, and my sister was county level if my memory serves me.

It’s fast pace and fun, but yeah, it doesn‘t have a captive audience at all.
Click to expand...
Remember PE options at Sec Mod school we all decided to jack football in favour of hockey to get amongst the totty. Unknown to us all the quality girls had gone off doing other sports leaving us with the gargoyles 🥺. Had potential to be a sport I'd enjoy but so stop & start with over zealous female sport teacher refs.
 
td53 said:
Are there netball fans?

It's a genuine question. It seems like a sport that is quite big in a participatory way but that no one actually watches. I've never noticed it on telly or seen an advert for a game or tournament but I've known a fair few people who played it (compared to other sports that do get spectators at least)
Click to expand...
Like fishing with skirts innit.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
Like fishing with skirts innit.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but there's loads of fishing shit. Like fishing magazines all over WH Smiths and that fishing programme with Bob and not Vic and Bob Flowerdew or whatever he's called that does fishing stuff (it may not be Bob Flowerdew. There is man called that and a man who does fishing things who has a name which may be that or something totally different) and 'tight lines' on Radio Lancs.

I think this is one of my less coherent posts ever, but I still think the gist is conveyed. If you went to the dentist and they had 'angling times' on the table you woudn't be surprised, but have you ever seen 'netball monthly?' I'll wager no...
 
td53 said:
Yeah, but there's loads of fishing shit. Like fishing magazines all over WH Smiths and that fishing programme with Bob and not Vic and Bob Flowerdew or whatever he's called that does fishing stuff (it may not be Bob Flowerdew. There is man called that and a man who does fishing things who has a name which may be that or something totally different) and 'tight lines' on Radio Lancs.

I think this is one of my less coherent posts ever, but I still think the gist is conveyed. If you went to the dentist and they had 'angling times' on the table you woudn't be surprised, but have you ever seen 'netball monthly?' I'll wager no...
Click to expand...
Isn't Bob Flowerdew off of the Fast Show?

I'd be much happier with Netball Monthly at the dentist, I'd call it 'Hoops and That' though.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
Isn't Bob Flowerdew off of the Fast Show?

I'd be much happier with Netball Monthly at the dentist, I'd call it 'Hoops and That' though.
Click to expand...

I think he is now I think about it. Well, at least we know the fishing guy isn't called Bob Flowerdew and we're a little closer to knowing who he is.

Hoops and that. 👍

It's a growing movement.
 
Netball is like curling we all become interested (and expert!) about every 4 years if a gold medal is possible. Then again I think cricket is God's own sport so what do I know?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top