Are the fans killing off British Speedway?

It's been a while since I last penned my views on current affairs in British Speedway, but I have felt compelled over the past few weeks to pick up the laptop again, and string a few sentences together, and bring my views and opinions to a wider audience.

Round the Boards goes from strength to strength, and along with the support of Rob and Cain, we are always looking to improve, ways of making the product much better, and attracting a wider audience.  A bit like speedway, or speedway riders, we make mistakes along the way, but as long as we learn from these mistakes, we will become a better version of ourselves tomorrow, than we are today.

This is part of the reason I write today, and the comparison above, is kind of a point I am trying to make.  Speedway riders make mistakes, nobody is perfect.  Indeed this week, I hear Richie Worrall in an interview reveal the reason for his poor performance at Peterborough was down to a genuine mistake.  When they changed his back wheel, probably to turn the edge round, the wrong sprocket was refitted, something which was not picked up until after completion of the meeting.  He openly admitted this, but all the same, a mistake that could happen in any walk of life, in any job.

This takes me on to the recent World Cup in Poland, and my titled question, are the fans killing off British Speedway?  Now, I am fully aware that this could alienate, and even cause utter outrage amongst speedway fans, so why would I do it?  The reason, I need to express my opinion, and as we know, everybody has an opinion, and generally, nobody is either right or wrong.

Great Britain make it to the World Cup Final with a fantastic display against Sweden, Czech Republic and Germany, led superbly by the 3 GP riders, Tai Woffinden, Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert.  Tom Brennan gets a 2nd place in his only ride, and showed a glimpse of what might be to come in the future.  Then, there is Adam Ellis, and I very much hope he didn't go to sleep reading anything on Social Media after Tuesday evening.  "He's not good enough", "Why is he even there", "He'll never be good enough", these are all phrases I found during the meeting, and shortly afterwards.

Dare we forget, we have just made it to a World Cup Final, and yet "fans" can't take in the moment and enjoy our success.  We have to point fingers at individuals, pick holes in displays, and essentially hide behind a keyboard to personally attack riders, for whom have performed admirably in reaching the final, and deserve recognition for being part of this team, a team to be proud of.

Fast forward to the final, and we take Poland to the very last lap, in their own back yard, a display of sheer determination, and skill, to pick up the Silver Medal, a display which should make any GB fan proud of the achievements.  But, no.  Instead, its a finger pointing exercise, and somebody has to be to blame.  Step forward Tai Woffinden.  The abuse Tai has received since that final, is severely damaging, and makes you wonder why he would return to these shores to ride.  But he has returned, and why?  Because he is a proud man, proud to captain his country, proud to be a British Champion, and proud to be a 3 x World Champion.  So why can't we be proud of him?  Lest we forget, this was a world class field on show Saturday.  Poland had 3 GP superstars, including the current World Champion, a 4 x Polish Champion and a former Polish U21 Champion.  Australia had 3 GP superstars, plus a 2012 World Champion and a former World U21 Champion.  Denmark had 3 GP superstars, a 3 x World Champion and the current Danish Champion.  This was a top class field, and Tai may have taken the burden of responsibility for this but nobody was to blame, he scored 7 points in a top, top meeting, and thus helped GB to the Silver Medal.

Riders are by no means immune to criticism, but how many "fans" would speak to a rider face to face like they do behind a laptop, phone, tablet etc.  I would hazard a guess at none.

So, we move back to British Speedway, and there are so many points I could pick out, where fans feel the need to pick holes, far beyond opinions. The SCB, BSPL and promotions across the country come under heavy artillery fire from fans on a daily basis.  The weather, as it is at the moment, is one of huge debate.  Why have they called it off so early?  Why have they called it off so late?  And then there is the favourite of fans commenting on the weather which is only damaging to clubs, as you feed enough people, and all of a sudden, they don't want to risk it, because all of a sudden the average speedway fan has become Michael Fish.  And for some of us, we all know what happened to him.

I could really go on with so many examples of how "fans" are damaging this sport, but I'm not sure that some see beyond what they are doing too damage the sport.  Round the Boards has always been an escape for me, an adventure where we are both serious and light hearted at the same time.  We are here to promote a sport that we all care deeply about, and we want others to be the same.

All I can say to these speedway fans is, think before you write.  I have thought long and hard before writing this piece tonight, will it damage the sport?  No it wont?  But the fans are damaging the sport with their negative behaviour.  If you have criticism, make it constructive.  Nobody will stop you from helping if you can, and nobody will do it if you don't, so why not try and help with ideas.  If you think speedway is that bad, either walk away or step up.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I'm sure there will be divided opinions, but I am always happy to put my head on a parapet, and we appreciate all comments and feedback.

For now, enjoy your speedway, support your local team, and make memories.

Nathan