1 I’d like to tell you a story about horrible, greedy pigs who were shamed, about a wise, old boar who began an empire, and a handsome bull who became Bradford.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, all the animals played together and were happy.

2 Unfortunately, all the best animals came from the north and the animals in south were very jealous of them.{I’m sure you can understand that, boys and girls.}

3 Although they knew they couldn’t play as well, the animals in the south thought they were cleverer than the other animals because they had all the money and the power. And they didn’t want to share with the northern animals.BOO!{It’s very hard to imagine that, isn’t it, boys and girls?}

4 The northern animals thought this wasn’t fair.They wanted to have a say on when and where and how they played, and wanted a little extra feed from the money they raised so they could play their best after working in the mills of Bradford, factories of Huddersfield and collieries of Wakefield.

5

BOO!

The Rugby Football Union wanted only those men who could afford to take time off work unpaid to play.

The southern animals, who had enough feed to last them a thousand years, didn’t want to give up any control and didn’t want to give any of the poor northern animals even a little extra feed for playing.BOO!

6George Hotel, Hudds

The Start of the Schism

HURRAY!

So the northern animals said,“You don’t play fair! We’ll build a fairer, better, more exciting game!”They wanted to play fairly, have a say on how they played and, most of all, honestly share all the money they created through playing, so they left the Animal Union.HURRAY!

7 The southern animals were very unhappy and made life difficult. They said that anyone playing with the northerners was bad & wicked & wrong.BOO!But in the north, all the animals were happy. They played better & harder & faster & were more exciting & exhilarating & thrilling than their southern neighbours. And this made everyone in the north happy.HURRAY!

8NORTHERNNORTHERNNORTHERN

A leader of the northerners, a wise old boar from Bradford, loved the new game so much he renamed himself Bradford Northern and when he played everyone chanted“Northern, Northern, Northern”

9

1954 Challenge Cup Final Replay at Odsal Stadium, Bradford

Record Crowd – 102,569

And the people of Bradford built him the biggest and best field outside of Wembley Stadium for him to play in.And it became the biggest and best rugby league stadium in the world,and over 100,000 people watched a cup final there.

10 For many, many years, all the animals in the north were happy, and played together every week. The best players trained like warriors, played like Giants and were treated like saints, even when they were sinners.And everyone was happy.HURRAY!

11 So the animals said, “Our game’s super; let’s make a Super League to see who’s best.” So they played each other every week to see who was best.Two of the most ferocious animals began a long and bitter feud.

12COME ON

YOU BULLS!

COME ON YOU BULLS!

COME ON YOU BULLS!

The finest animal on the paddock was Bully the Bradford Bull, the son of the wise old boar. Handsome and charming, he was the best player. And he always played his best when people sang“Come on you Bulls!”

13L**DS WHINOS

BOO!

But he had a fierce rival: Ronnie the Rhino.BOO!None of the other teams really liked Ronnie because he was sneaky and cheaty and always whined when the farmer said he’d done something wrong.And, mainly, because he was from Leeds.

14Bradford Bulls v L**ds WhinosSuper League record crowdat Odsal Stadium, Bradford

Whenever Bully and Ronnie played together, it was always exciting. Bully and Ronnie would push and shove, pull and tug, and it was always a great match, so much so that record numbers of people would come and watch the animals play. And more people came to that old boar’s home in Bradford to watch these two than anywhere else.

152003

to 2004League

Leaders

Grand Final Winners

Challenge Cup Winners

World Club Champions

Bully ran around the paddock feeling the wind on his horns and the adoration of the people from far around on his back. And he pushed and tackled and kicked and won and won and won.HURRAY!He became the most successful Super League animal and, at one point, he held all the treasure in the world at once – something no animal has done before or since.

16 And every one of Bully’s friends was happy.And every one of Ronnie’s friends was unhappy.And this was right and just and good.HURRAY!

17 At the moment, Bully’s sleepy and tired after all those years of success.But he wants to play well; he wants to get his hooves back on those trophies. But he needs your help to wake him up. Can you help him, boys and girls?

18COME ON

YOU BULLS!

COME ON YOU BULLS!

COME ON YOU BULLS!

To help Bully, we have to show him how much we love him and how much we love Bradford by shouting:“Come on you Bulls”.

19 Together, as one city, we can bring rugby league home and make Bully the Bradford Bull the best again, and help him to become once more the best supported and the most successful animal in the whole of the world.

20RUGBY LEAGUE

is Northern kultchais w

orking cla

ss kultch

a

is Bradford kultchais Betta Kultcha

is OUR kultcha

Rugby League’s culture stems from standing up to bullies, sharing what should rightfully be shared, treating everyone fairly, testing your own limits, and being the best you can possibly be.Rugby League is about respect – respect for yourself and respect for others.Tonight is about better culture, and there’s nothing in the world that says Bradford culture and northern culture and better culture like Rugby League.We’re a family – come and join us.