Alex Smits is piloting a campaign about sideline abuse.
Alex Smits is piloting a campaign about sideline abuse.
Micheal Jackson sang about the man in the mirror and now we are as a region.
Well, maybe we won't sing but certainly talk about it.
With honesty being the best policy, Northlanders need to have an honest look in the mirror and ask themselves "am I an egg?"
Rugby League Northland's "Don't be an egg!" campaign is brilliant. They are attempting to get buy-in from sports fans so they can use the tongue-in-cheek expression of "don't be an egg" as a way of telling someone to pull their head in.
We have all seen at least one over-excited supporter on Northland sidelines - through my work I have seen plenty - and no one really wants to approach them.
Often you will see spectators purposely avoid the angry supporter, avoiding the confrontation and the problem. At least by saying "don't be an egg", rather than more adjectival curse language we Northlanders would probably tend to use, it can keep the situation lite.
Another use of the campaign which has been mentioned to me is by using technology to further take the edge off the situation.
If you go to YouTube and search "Don't be an egg" you will find the video RLN has created, from there it can be emailed to a supporter who you feel would benefit from watching such a thing.
If I was a child and wanted my parents to chill out on the sidelines, this campaign would be perfect for casually saying to mum and dad "check this cool video out", before joking that "it looks like you guys".
RLN has really taken the charge on anti-sideline abuse and they should be applauded for it - not snobbed and told the problem only exists in league, because it doesn't.
We have been given the tool to make change, now the challenge is using it to make a difference.
