BWitcher

So why are they being warned then is the question I would ask? If they don't touch the tapes (with their wheel/bike), let it go.

Why? Are they different to the rest of the world, the majority of the population of most countries are manipulated by media/propaganda.

No, because that would just look as above like a kickabout game of football where you are wearing bibs. In the past it wasn't so bad as most riders wore black leathers. The team kevlars, at least all the ones I have seen, have the club emblem in exactly the same place as a race jacket has it. So I really don't see what your issue is!

So to clarify, your argument is You want fans to able to identify with their TEAM. You want it to be like football and rugby where they all wear the same colours. You want all the riders to wear different colours. Ok.

That's a myth as you know HA. In my job role I speak to many people in the UK daily. Many of them are Poles, I always slip speedway into the conversation to see if they are a fan, I'm yet to find a single one who is/was and many oblivious to what it is. Over the last year spoke to around 200 I would say.

When watching 4 bikes racing round a track from the terraces, the race jackets aren't particularly visible at the best of times. Speedway is far far more professional looking in team kevlars. Fans, new and old can tell at a single glance which team the rider races for.

Of course they will, have you not seen the negativity already shown towards it? The OneSport propaganda machine will ensure that Poles continue to be educated that anything BSI = Bad. Anything OneSport = Good.

Sorry WK, but really struggling to follow you now. You're saying identity is important to youngsters, and its part of what attracts them to a team... You're saying look at Football, Rugby.. that they have their colours prominently displayed... I'm with you and agreeing with you so far.. But you want to have 7 riders in completely different colours instead of 7 of them wearing the colours of their team.. as in the other sports you mention!

I'm really not sure what you are trying to say here WK. If you were arguing that it was better when riders had their own individual leathers from which the avid fan could identify them then I would agree with you to an extent.. However, you seem to be going down the path of new fans having something to identify with, in which case team leathers are an absolute must! A team kitted out in the same leathers/kevlars looks far more professional than 7 riders in completely different colours. Most team leathers I have seen have the club emblem in the usual place anyway, so I'm not sure where the issue is?

I think you have missed out a 3rd reason which of course is the non-stop anti BSI propaganda they are being fed on an almost daily basis.

We're all like that Sidders to be fair. My happiest days as I said before were in the Ermolenko/Correy/Karlsson/Jones era at Wolves. I was a teenager, they were my heroes. Nothing will ever beat it. I almost don't like watching the DVD's of the matches from that era as in some ways it tarnishes the memory! Better to just remember it as being bloody brilliant every race, every week If only the powers that be could use some imagination to get bodies back onto the terraces. Big crowds make the whole spectacle so much better. I like the GP's and they bring a sense of big time speedway, but for me, you simply cannot beat seeing your own team in a vital match in front of a big crowd. It's why I love the playoffs so much.

No, not at all, the issue arose when you denied that it was your view. You're perfectly entitled to your own view on things and the posts you make, particularly those reporting on the news from Poland are most interesting, keep them coming.

Excellent post GRW. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone rubbishing the greats of yesteryear to be honest though, its usually the other way round, the starts of today being rubbished in comparison. Apart from that, you hit the nail on the head though in my opinon.

If you read some of his earlier posts you will see his stance. He's now trying to hide behind his 'messanger' cloak, whilst still pumping the OneSport propaganda into the forum.

Home track specialists were a lot more pronounced in the past in my belief. Some riders were superb on their home track and garbage at others. You still get that to an extent now but nowhere near to the levels that you used too.

Because there were more teams and the top riders were racing against each other less. Thus they lost less races and you perceive they were all great. Plus as has been said by a few other posters, 2nd string riders are of a much higher calibre now than they used to be, so the top riders don't have it as easy anymore. I found it interesting reading an article about Chris Pusey in a recent Speedway Star (tail end of last year). Chris Morton was quoted as saying he saw Pusey in a race where he forgot to turn his fuel taps on, had to reach down and do it on the back straight by which time he was half a lap behind. Morton raved about his immense talent as he still managed to get up and win the race... There is absolutely no way in hell that would happen now. Even against the NL riders that will be riding in the EL this year.

Is there? The rider predicted to be 15th last year won the World Title.. Spot on. The other significant factor was that there wasn't a Heat 15. This gave the impression that the top riders of yesteryear were somehow more dominant or better than the riders of today. You would always have your top riders of course, but there were a lot running high averages who in todays format would be 8pt men.

Some of you Poles really are brainwashed aren't you. BSI have absolutely nothing to do with British riders competing or not competing in the One Sport Pairs Challenge meeting.

The number of heat leaders is governed by one thing alone, the number of teams in the league. The more teams, the more heat leaders. I and I am sure most others agree with you Sidney that league speedway isn't as 'exciting' now as it was. That's mainly due to the crowds and atmosphere, they play a big part in our perception. An average race in front of a loud crowd will be more enjoyable than a great race in front of a sprinkling of quiet fans.

So there were 'no hold ups' in the old days? Oh dear.

Nobody is stirring anything. Just stating reality. Well done though, I knew it wouldn't be long before you posted your 'did you go' crap. The answer is yes I did. I went in late 70's when very young, throughout 80's, 90's, 00's. Like yourself, GRW and indeed many others I have GREAT memories of the racing. Attending Monmore in the late 80's through the 90's my memory tells me the racing was unbelievable every week. We had Ermolenko, Correy, Karlsson etc. Monday nights were the best night of the week, the crowds were good, the atmosphere was great. However... I also have every single one of those meetings on DVD (Mike Bennet kindly put all the old seasons onto DVD's for me) and watching them the racing was quite honestly MORE strung out then than it ever is now. There were riders literally half a lap behind in a number of races. The point is our memories are selective. We will remember the great races and forget the mundane. The mundane races we will have enjoyed anyway if the atmosphere was good. The actual racing was no better.

Also if you have a league with 15 teams, you will appear to have more 'star riders'. Likewise people have an impression riders were better back then because bonus pts were included in the averages. You see so many people commenting how many '10pt' riders there used to be and only a couple now.. barmy. There were of course more of the worlds top riders racing here then, before anyone jumps on it.

It's a rose tinted post from GRW, particularly the 'brilliant speedway' part. The actual racing wasn't much different to what we see now, the difference is that there were bigger crowds so even mundane meetings would have 'felt' to be far better than they actually were.

We don't need to wait, we are fully aware of this 'slavery' issue you have brought up. As it originated in Poland.

Maybe so yes, I was answering someone who was saying too much was paid though.