David EdwardsMark Gasnier and "Tazo-gate"
July 17th 2008 02:09
Tazo's. You know what they are. When i was at school they were known as "Pog", an innocent symbol of youth. A form of social currency, to be traded amongst school friends as freely as trade flows within the borders of the European Union. Schoolyard squabbles over perceived value of such tazos were mediated by child 'experts' who understood the market value of certain cards, and were prepared to bargain in order to attain the best and most enviable pog/card there was. In my day, an NBA Dennis Rodman Rookie card would sell on the street for at least $100, so i was told. A Mark Gasnier card today would be worth a pittance - with market analysts urging those with said card to sell immediately, before the market dwindles any further.
The thriving, rapidly expanding Tazo industry threatens to undermine the NRL, and thankfully Mark Gasnier has alerted the Rugby League authorities of the dire need to act now before the player exodus increases even further. One way the NRL could act would be to give each player a royalty on each card that is sold by the Daily Telegraph, so that they don't just get a measly lump sum of $1000, a tremendously low sum for players consenting to have their image plastered on a NRL card for children. Much like Radio Stations pay royalty fees to APRA, who in turn pay a small fee to a band whose song is getting air-time; each time a child trades a card/tazo in the schoolyard, a yearly fee that is paid by the child to the NRL is then forwarded upon trading directly into the pocket of whichever player the tazo is themed upon. Therefore the players get their money, the children get their tazos (albeit at a slightly higher price), and players will stay in the NRL.
Gasnier should be shaking his head at the sheer nerve of the Telegraph to not reimburse him with a lucrative pay out for having his image on the NRL tazos. One can only imagine the disgust one would have, as a professional rugby league player, to have your own image out there in the playground, to the enjoyment and adulation of young school-children who admire your brilliant footwork and speed. Just having that image bandied around in the public is obviously enough to make one restless at night.
But why stop at the Tazo's? Rugby league players deserve more than just royalties from Tazo sales. The whining about wages and 3rd party contracts are wearing thin on the punter, who could be forgiven for confusing the NRL with the Federal Treasury. Perhaps a NRL player budget should be drawn up and delivered by David Gallop, to relieve the pressure on working-class players. Although, i'm not sure Gasnier would approve of such a budget, particularly if the NRL followed in the footsteps of the Federal Government's luxury car tax.
Therefore the only rational solution to this dilemma lies in our hands - the public. Let us give to the players, dig deep into our pockets and help keep our great players in the competition. Perhaps we should have a collection bucket go around at every NRL game this week (and every week), with fans throwing in a gold coin to help keep our players in the competition. 10,000 people at a game could bring in $20,000 dollars, which we could then give to the players after the game as a symbol of our "thanks", for being the admirable heroes that they are. Because they deserve it, contrary to what is said by sections of the media. I would love nothing more than to tell my first-born that "I saw Mark Gasnier play, and here's a Daily Telegraph Footy Tazo to prove it". Unfortunately, i would only have been contributing to the problem, by buying a tazo pack that props up a News Ltd publication, instead of helping pay our sorely underpaid players important royalties that will keep them in the game.
Shame on you, News Ltd. First Super League, now "Tazo-gate"! I have no bones about using the "gate" suffix for this controversy. This is worse than Watergate and 'Iguana-gate' combined. This is Rugby League, our livelihood!!! Please, won't somebody think of the children??
-SportingMind
The thriving, rapidly expanding Tazo industry threatens to undermine the NRL, and thankfully Mark Gasnier has alerted the Rugby League authorities of the dire need to act now before the player exodus increases even further. One way the NRL could act would be to give each player a royalty on each card that is sold by the Daily Telegraph, so that they don't just get a measly lump sum of $1000, a tremendously low sum for players consenting to have their image plastered on a NRL card for children. Much like Radio Stations pay royalty fees to APRA, who in turn pay a small fee to a band whose song is getting air-time; each time a child trades a card/tazo in the schoolyard, a yearly fee that is paid by the child to the NRL is then forwarded upon trading directly into the pocket of whichever player the tazo is themed upon. Therefore the players get their money, the children get their tazos (albeit at a slightly higher price), and players will stay in the NRL.
Gasnier should be shaking his head at the sheer nerve of the Telegraph to not reimburse him with a lucrative pay out for having his image on the NRL tazos. One can only imagine the disgust one would have, as a professional rugby league player, to have your own image out there in the playground, to the enjoyment and adulation of young school-children who admire your brilliant footwork and speed. Just having that image bandied around in the public is obviously enough to make one restless at night.
But why stop at the Tazo's? Rugby league players deserve more than just royalties from Tazo sales. The whining about wages and 3rd party contracts are wearing thin on the punter, who could be forgiven for confusing the NRL with the Federal Treasury. Perhaps a NRL player budget should be drawn up and delivered by David Gallop, to relieve the pressure on working-class players. Although, i'm not sure Gasnier would approve of such a budget, particularly if the NRL followed in the footsteps of the Federal Government's luxury car tax.
Therefore the only rational solution to this dilemma lies in our hands - the public. Let us give to the players, dig deep into our pockets and help keep our great players in the competition. Perhaps we should have a collection bucket go around at every NRL game this week (and every week), with fans throwing in a gold coin to help keep our players in the competition. 10,000 people at a game could bring in $20,000 dollars, which we could then give to the players after the game as a symbol of our "thanks", for being the admirable heroes that they are. Because they deserve it, contrary to what is said by sections of the media. I would love nothing more than to tell my first-born that "I saw Mark Gasnier play, and here's a Daily Telegraph Footy Tazo to prove it". Unfortunately, i would only have been contributing to the problem, by buying a tazo pack that props up a News Ltd publication, instead of helping pay our sorely underpaid players important royalties that will keep them in the game.
Shame on you, News Ltd. First Super League, now "Tazo-gate"! I have no bones about using the "gate" suffix for this controversy. This is worse than Watergate and 'Iguana-gate' combined. This is Rugby League, our livelihood!!! Please, won't somebody think of the children??
-SportingMind
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