6.5 vs 8.0 query output. Please shine some light.

Hi guys,
Quick question (I hope).
Why is there a difference in the output of this query in 6.5 campatibility vs 8.0 campatibility?

DECLARE @.FooterLine varchar(30)

select @.FooterLine = rtrim(@.FooterLine) + 'Run by Region'

select @.footerline

6.5 returns Run by Region
8.0 returns NULLbecause something + NULL = NULL in 8.0

if you initialize @.FooterLine to '' or something else you won't have this problem.|||HAHA, thats right. Thanks.