Mocked for reading at the football. Can't a man peruse a catalogue in peace?

I’m sure the mystery reader never imagined his habits would capture the attention of the nation, but all it took was one brief camera shot to change everything.

This is the story of catalogue guy. A man, and maybe even a rugby league fab,  mocked on national television for reading a catalogue during a match.

Sitting in wet weather gear beside a woman who appears more into the action than he is (she’s drinking a beer! Gender norms be damned!), the man was filmed for the briefest of moments during the Roosters and Cowboys NRL match on Thursday night.

Still, it was long enough for Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss to catch the action and begin laughing down the camera.

“He’s looking at a shopping catalogue, what’s that about?” said Voss.

“That is the girl bringing the man to the football and he couldn’t care less. He wanted to be at home reading a book on poetry.

“That is embarrassing for that bloke. I hope his mates are texting him right now.”

It didn’t take long for social media to join the scrum.

They speculated on his relationship with the woman beside him, took potshots at him personally and the “catalogue” he was reading.

There were some though, who thought Voss was playing the man, not the catalogue.

But alas in this tale of man gone wild, not caring about sports and beer, it has now been revealed exactly what the gentleman was most likely reading.

Was it a book of poetry like what Voss suggests? Was it the “Total Tools” catalogue like what a Twitter user suggests…?

Well no, actually it seems as though it was the Game Day Guide.

I’m not sure how many sonnets the guide had listed in last night’s game but there’s definitely something poetic about this reveal.

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