The question or issue I'm talking about here is 'Football-free Sundays'.
Over the recent row over Easter Sunday football, the Archbishop Vincent Nichols weighed in opposition to live football on Easter Sunday.
Now, the ever famous Desmond Tutu lookalike (John Semantu, Archbishp of York) has weighed in, too.
Using Sunday trading laws or not to prevent games on a Easter Sunday, for a footballing neutral, I would have to say more has to be done to stop games being played on a Sunday as it is.
Historically, games are played on a Saturday at 3PM. With the advent of Sky and tv football, games are moved from 3PM to earlier on a Saturday or on a Sunday/Monday (or any day, take your pick) so that the ones played at other grounds, for the smaller clubs, don't lose out. That is the idea - on the one hand small clubs don't lose out, but also more people watch the tv games too.
If the first argument for tv football is the case, and should we accept Sunday trading laws; should it not be at all possible to prevent games being played on a Sunday at all? Sky have a choice of channels to choose from and are no strangers to interactive "match-choice" via the red button when it comes to the UEFA Champions League. This could be easily acheived by 7-8PM kickoffs on a Saturday and 11AM kickoffs on a Saturday respectively, so no matter what the case is TV football and the traditionalists will win in the end.
Super Sundays (as Sky love to call them) will become Super Saturdays. What is there to lose?
1) Tradition will be somewhat restored - for football and religion
2) Clubs can rest in the knowledge that fixture schedules are in sync with the rest of their league so they cannot gain an unfair advantage or be at a disadvantage.
3) More fans will be able to travel to the games with public transport BETTER on Saturdays than Sundays.
I can't see where the great advantage is for Sundays - other than filling in blanks in the tv listings. Sky could easily throw on repeats of 'Hold the Back Page', WWE, 'Boots 'n' All', etc. Nobody will miss out.
The argument to agree with what Semantu and Nichols are saying, is not a religious argument as the media paint out. It's more one of tradition, heritage to the British nation.
Like the campaign to 'Save the Coachmakers', I'd feel only one party in the political system would be in favour - the BNP.
Heaven forbid!
Over the recent row over Easter Sunday football, the Archbishop Vincent Nichols weighed in opposition to live football on Easter Sunday.
Now, the ever famous Desmond Tutu lookalike (John Semantu, Archbishp of York) has weighed in, too.
Using Sunday trading laws or not to prevent games on a Easter Sunday, for a footballing neutral, I would have to say more has to be done to stop games being played on a Sunday as it is.
Historically, games are played on a Saturday at 3PM. With the advent of Sky and tv football, games are moved from 3PM to earlier on a Saturday or on a Sunday/Monday (or any day, take your pick) so that the ones played at other grounds, for the smaller clubs, don't lose out. That is the idea - on the one hand small clubs don't lose out, but also more people watch the tv games too.
If the first argument for tv football is the case, and should we accept Sunday trading laws; should it not be at all possible to prevent games being played on a Sunday at all? Sky have a choice of channels to choose from and are no strangers to interactive "match-choice" via the red button when it comes to the UEFA Champions League. This could be easily acheived by 7-8PM kickoffs on a Saturday and 11AM kickoffs on a Saturday respectively, so no matter what the case is TV football and the traditionalists will win in the end.
Super Sundays (as Sky love to call them) will become Super Saturdays. What is there to lose?
1) Tradition will be somewhat restored - for football and religion
2) Clubs can rest in the knowledge that fixture schedules are in sync with the rest of their league so they cannot gain an unfair advantage or be at a disadvantage.
3) More fans will be able to travel to the games with public transport BETTER on Saturdays than Sundays.
I can't see where the great advantage is for Sundays - other than filling in blanks in the tv listings. Sky could easily throw on repeats of 'Hold the Back Page', WWE, 'Boots 'n' All', etc. Nobody will miss out.
The argument to agree with what Semantu and Nichols are saying, is not a religious argument as the media paint out. It's more one of tradition, heritage to the British nation.
Like the campaign to 'Save the Coachmakers', I'd feel only one party in the political system would be in favour - the BNP.
Heaven forbid!
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