Billy Boston knighthood call: campaign launched for Wigan legend

[bertina]

100% deserves one.

Some of the people with Knighthoods- it's laughable at best and a disgrace at worst.

Boston and Sinfield should be a shoe in.

Totally agree

Absolutely correct.

[morley pie eater]

It’s shit these days that you can become a Dame for winning a running race once or twice. Then do nothing else in your career.

It’s the recognition of our sport that’s the issue. Kevin Sinfield, Billy Boston for example but what about Ray French people like that


In our luck we will get Sir Nigel Wood

In my view it is poor that anyone is knighted for simply doing their job.

I hate the honours system. But what makes it worse ppl get them for nothing.

Billy Boston will be remembered in a 100 years time whilst 99% of the knighthoods will be forgotten. Sinfield had a great career but is a better person on top of that. he will get a knighthood before Boston which is wrong and Sinfield deserves one.

That is the problem it's a popularity or bought system today. Tbh might have always been.

Better to be a true legend than a Sir

I'm with you 100%. "Honours" are a way of maintaining the "touch your forelock" or "doff your cap" attitude towards those who think they're our "betters".

My Grandad was a pit mon from Hindley. No titles, just Billy Roughley, but for me he was a better man than any titled aristocrat.

In the last week or so I was reading about some Earls of somewhere, who handed their stately home over to the National Trust, who then spent millions renovating it before handing it back to them. "Saving it for the nation" apparently.

Rugby League has always been a working man's sport (not excluding you, Josie, just using a common phrase), and we don't need concessions or awards from the toffs.

[Wintergreen]

In my view it is poor that anyone is knighted for simply doing their job.

I hate the honours system. But what makes it worse ppl get them for nothing.

Billy Boston will be remembered in a 100 years time whilst 99% of the knighthoods will be forgotten. Sinfield had a great career but is a better person on top of that. he will get a knighthood before Boston which is wrong and Sinfield deserves one.

That is the problem it's a popularity or bought system today. Tbh might have always been.

Better to be a true legend than a Sir

I'm with you 100%. "Honours" are a way of maintaining the "touch your forelock" or "doff your cap" attitude towards those who think they're our "betters".

My Grandad was a pit mon from Hindley. No titles, just Billy Roughley, but for me he was a better man than any titled aristocrat.

In the last week or so I was reading about some Earls of somewhere, who handed their stately home over to the National Trust, who then spent millions renovating it before handing it back to them. "Saving it for the nation" apparently.

Rugby League has always been a working man's sport (not excluding you, Josie, just using a common phrase), and we don't need concessions or awards from the toffs.

Honours certainly used to be as you described. These days they are more "playing to the crowd", as well as some really, really strange ones.

It's sometimes difficult for those inside the RL bubble to realise just how marginal it is in the rest of the UK, rightly or wrongly.

I would suggest that has more to do with the relative lack of honours, rather than an outdated class system.

If RL wishes to grow it needs to ditch your views. If it doesn't then it need not.

[jobo]

I hate the honours system. But what makes it worse ppl get them for nothing.

Billy Boston will be remembered in a 100 years time whilst 99% of the knighthoods will be forgotten. Sinfield had a great career but is a better person on top of that. he will get a knighthood before Boston which is wrong and Sinfield deserves one.

That is the problem it's a popularity or bought system today. Tbh might have always been.

Better to be a true legend than a Sir

I'm with you 100%. "Honours" are a way of maintaining the "touch your forelock" or "doff your cap" attitude towards those who think they're our "betters".

My Grandad was a pit mon from Hindley. No titles, just Billy Roughley, but for me he was a better man than any titled aristocrat.

In the last week or so I was reading about some Earls of somewhere, who handed their stately home over to the National Trust, who then spent millions renovating it before handing it back to them. "Saving it for the nation" apparently.

Rugby League has always been a working man's sport (not excluding you, Josie, just using a common phrase), and we don't need concessions or awards from the toffs.

Honours certainly used to be as you described. These days they are more "playing to the crowd", as well as some really, really strange ones.

It's sometimes difficult for those inside the RL bubble to realise just how marginal it is in the rest of the UK, rightly or wrongly.

I would suggest that has more to do with the relative lack of honours, rather than an outdated class system.

If RL wishes to grow it needs to ditch your views. If it doesn't then it need not.

Plenty of marginal sports have Knights and Dames.
Personally, I think there still exists amongst the award givers, a touch of nose holding when it comes to RL.

[morley pie eater]

If RL wishes to grow it needs to ditch your views. If it doesn't then it need not. (Wintergreen)

I'm not sure how ditching my views would help RL to grow???? Or of any connection whatsoever.
But even if your assertion was true, I can assure you that I'd ditch RL and my beloved Wigan before I'd change my views about the prejudices of the "ruling class" towards decent, honest working people in this country.

[Wintergreen]

If RL wishes to grow it needs to ditch your views. If it doesn't then it need not. (Wintergreen)

I'm not sure how ditching my views would help RL to grow???? Or of any connection whatsoever.
But even if your assertion was true, I can assure you that I'd ditch RL and my beloved Wigan before I'd change my views about the prejudices of the "ruling class" towards decent, honest working people in this country.

Well simply that a "RL is a working class northern game" mindset is unlikely to help it market itself into areas that don't fit that definition.

I am conscious that politics are not allowed on this forum so will choose my words carefully with that in mind, other than to say that "ruling class" is subjective, and there are decent honest, and indecent dishonest people in all walks of life, irrespective of "class".

[mickali1]

If RL wishes to grow it needs to ditch your views. If it doesn't then it need not. (Wintergreen)

I'm not sure how ditching my views would help RL to grow???? Or of any connection whatsoever.
But even if your assertion was true, I can assure you that I'd ditch RL and my beloved Wigan before I'd change my views about the prejudices of the "ruling class" towards decent, honest working people in this country.

Well simply that a "RL is a working class northern game" mindset is unlikely to help it market itself into areas that don't fit that definition.

I am conscious that politics are not allowed on this forum so will choose my words carefully with that in mind, other than to say that "ruling class" is subjective, and there are decent honest, and indecent dishonest people in all walks of life, irrespective of "class".

Very true.

[archiekeith]

In my view it is poor that anyone is knighted for simply doing their job.

I hate the honours system. But what makes it worse ppl get them for nothing.

Billy Boston will be remembered in a 100 years time whilst 99% of the knighthoods will be forgotten. Sinfield had a great career but is a better person on top of that. he will get a knighthood before Boston which is wrong and Sinfield deserves one.

That is the problem it's a popularity or bought system today. Tbh might have always been.

Better to be a true legend than a Sir

I'm with you 100%. "Honours" are a way of maintaining the "touch your forelock" or "doff your cap" attitude towards those who think they're our "betters".

My Grandad was a pit mon from Hindley. No titles, just Billy Roughley, but for me he was a better man than any titled aristocrat.

In the last week or so I was reading about some Earls of somewhere, who handed their stately home over to the National Trust, who then spent millions renovating it before handing it back to them. "Saving it for the nation" apparently.

Rugby League has always been a working man's sport (not excluding you, Josie, just using a common phrase), and we don't need concessions or awards from the toffs.

I think some of the criticisms levelled at the knighthood system in some instances are true but in this case they seem to be missing the point of the campaign. RL is historically a working class sport agreed but in this case we are referencing a player. Who is recognised has a legend both within and outside our game. As for the comment re getting a honour just for doing ones job misses the point in relation to Billy and Kevin. I mentioned in a previous post Mark Cavendish (believe d to be the Words best sprinter RoadCycling has ever produced a fantastic achievement. Kevin Sinfield whose dedication and brotherly love shown to his RL colleague over and above "just doing is job"! Moved me to tears. The honours system as nothing to do with the jaundiced and out moded class system it's especially in Bill and kev's case of showing respect to people who have earned the respect and gratitude of others

[morley pie eater]

I'm not sure how ditching my views would help RL to grow???? Or of any connection whatsoever.
But even if your assertion was true, I can assure you that I'd ditch RL and my beloved Wigan before I'd change my views about the prejudices of the "ruling class" towards decent, honest working people in this country.

Well simply that a "RL is a working class northern game" mindset is unlikely to help it market itself into areas that don't fit that definition.

I am conscious that politics are not allowed on this forum so will choose my words carefully with that in mind, other than to say that "ruling class" is subjective, and there are decent honest, and indecent dishonest people in all walks of life, irrespective of "class".

Very true.

Just to be clear, I didn't say that "RL is a working class northern game", nor do I have that mindset. I'm afraid that you are making assumptions about my views. My comments were not about RL but about the "honours system".

I don't want to have an argument with you, but you seem to have made assumptions and connections from my comment about the prejudices of the ruling class and applied them to RL.

I watched Billy B, unfortunately only for the last 3 years or so of his career, and met him twice. He is absolutely one of my heroes and deserves to be recognised at every level of society and in every part of the country.

When it comes to "honouring" him, or anyone else, I personally don't see any merit in doing so through a system which was set up by, and designed to maintain, a stratum of our society based on antiquated views of inherited class.

Many noble people have refused such honours for similar, or other, reasons: LS Lowry, Ernest Bevin, Alan Bennett, William Gladstone, Charles Babbage, JK Rowling, Jack Jones, JB Priestley, Ramsay McDonald. So it's hardly an anti-RL view.

[moto748]

Shame there's no 'like' buttton.