It is now the time of the year when many start questioning why they stick to their favourite team.
Quite simply, it is an emotional rollercoaster for many fans, but it is the game itself that provides the great moments they look for.
The fans are often the forgotten component of sport, when in fact they may be the most important.
Players do provide the entertainment and are at the core of all sport, but it is an interesting puzzle if you allow your thinking to be outside the square.
Administrators get little recognition and yet without them you don’t have a game – some would argue many of them don’t deserve any.
However, just like players, there are some that are better than others.
Coaches and referees also attract varying degrees of publicity.
But the thing that our game of rugby league does create, particularly at this time of the year, is passion.
Raw and at times even primitive, the unbridled passion that roars around not only the stadiums, but also the millions of television screens, is something quite special.
And this passion can and often does turn the Clark Kents of sport into Superman.
Characters – the NRL is full of them and I think this is great. Too often characters are discouraged if they don’t fit the mould of the expectations of others.
During my coaching career in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, I have certainly seen and also come across a number of great characters and it is too difficult to separate them in any order.
But you can’t form any list without the great Allan (Alfie) Langer being on or near the top of it.
I certainly couldn’t argue with those who say he has been the most influential character in the history of the Broncos.
