Footy fans of the 1970s and ’80s will remember footy commentator Rex Mossop.
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Most likely, they’ll remember him as not being very good at his job.
He was renowned for saying clumsy things, like apologising for getting two players mixed up during a call of a game because they looked similar “especially around the head” or claiming the referee was giving someone “a verbal tongue lashing”.
I swear I once heard him express disapproval of a player’s actions during commentary by saying “I threw up a little bit in my mouth”.
He often struggled to keep up with what was happening in a game and would go off on extended rants and effectively ignore the match he was supposed to be commentating on.
For his flaws, he represented a good time for rugby league – a time when each round would start on Saturday and be finished by dinner time on Sunday.
In my book, that was far preferable to what we get today with the NRL intent on scheduling games on weeknights purely because TV wants it.
For the longest time I loathed Monday night football because it meant I’d get to the end of the weekend and my team still hadn’t played.
As a parent it was also a hassle because it was scheduled around dinner and bedtime, which meant I always watched those games on delay.
No one was happier than me when I heard they were giving Monday night footy the flick.
Until I realised they were just moving it to Thursday night. And, at the same time, they scheduled a Friday game at 6pm, which is of no help to parents with bedtime routines to follow.
Hey NRL, start the games on Saturday and make sure they’re all finished by Sunday. And, jeez, put some on in daylight hours.
