Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:55 am  

Dropkick Murphy wrote:

How does it accommodate the Euros? I know plenty of games - including both semis and the final - are being played at Wembley, but the tournament will be in June and July. Moving the Challenge Cup final to July actually brings it closer to the Euros, which will be long over by the time August Bank Holiday arrives.

That's a direct quote from Ralph Rimmer interviewed on the radio - I think it was 5Live RL Podcast but can't be sure.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:38 am  

A lot of rugby league fans are anti-football but many also follow football. Some are football first and rugby league second.

Having the CC final during the football season at the country’s biggest stadium (therefore harder to fill) hundreds of miles from the heartland sees a lot of neutral fans not bother going down to Wembley for the CC final.

With football costing so much these days, the cost and timing in going down to London for the CC final sees fans of football not bother with the CC final. So they’ll either stay at home and watch the CC final and their footy teams on tele, or choose to go to their football team’s local game, especially if they have a seasoncard.

It’s a bit different for the GF at Old Trafford because it is more local and the cost to get there from the heartland is cheaper. Plus it’s a smaller stadium.

The CC final does get larger attendances but that’s mainly due to it being the big day out for the two sets of fans it involves.

I bet a July CC final will see Wembley full. Rather than 68-77000 attendances (or worse if a foreign team gets there).

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:40 am  

Bank holiday weekend is a bad time to hold it. The number of floating / neutral fans I get along to the final has dipped dramatically as it is a weekend for family.

Have it on a normal weekend and have regular season games over the August bank holiday.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:08 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

Bank holiday weekend is a bad time to hold it. The number of floating / neutral fans I get along to the final has dipped dramatically as it is a weekend for family.

Have it on a normal weekend and have regular season games over the August bank holiday.

Apart from the rail chaos this weekend, which has made it painful for many fans travelling down.
It's time to stop making excuses and promote the event way, way better than we do.

The BBC with it's "lego" style graphic does nothing to promote the Final or the game in general.
We have a sport, played by some of the greatest athletes on the planet, full of power ,pace and skill.
We have rivalries between clubs going back over 100 years and one of the oldest cup competitions in any sport but, there is just nothing out there to entice new people to want to attend.
Of course, since the GF was introduced and we moved to summer rugby, the final act of the season is no longer the challenge cup final and this is probably the main reason for falling interest but, at a time when millions of people can be "persuaded" to watch random people on a cookery show, being put in the jungle or taking part in ballroom dancing, it shouldn't be beyond the realm to sell out a cup final - no matter which two sides are playing and if the crowd numbers are poor this time around, with 2 of the top 5 clubs in the country, plus the 1895 final etc then, it would be terrible for the sport.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:41 am  

There just isn't the amount of neutrals anymore to boost the crowd to 80,000+. It used to be our sports big day out, it doesn't feel like that anymore. I know of 5 pubs in warrington that used to run a coach to Wembley no matter who was in the final. None of them do it anymore.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:42 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Apart from the rail chaos this weekend, which has made it painful for many fans travelling down.
It's time to stop making excuses and promote the event way, way better than we do.

The BBC with it's "lego" style graphic does nothing to promote the Final or the game in general.
We have a sport, played by some of the greatest athletes on the planet, full of power ,pace and skill.
We have rivalries between clubs going back over 100 years and one of the oldest cup competitions in any sport but, there is just nothing out there to entice new people to want to attend.
Of course, since the GF was introduced and we moved to summer rugby, the final act of the season is no longer the challenge cup final and this is probably the main reason for falling interest but, at a time when millions of people can be "persuaded" to watch random people on a cookery show, being put in the jungle or taking part in ballroom dancing, it shouldn't be beyond the realm to sell out a cup final - no matter which two sides are playing and if the crowd numbers are poor this time around, with 2 of the top 5 clubs in the country, plus the 1895 final etc then, it would be terrible for the sport.

But why should it be down to the BBC to promote it ? IMO the challenge cup final sells itself, apart from last years obvious fail with Catalan getting to the final can anyone think of a drastically poor attendance or viewing figures for the final?

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 1:31 pm  

I reckon tomorrow will be the lowest following from Warrington for any of our recent finals (2009 onwards). I'm going but I don't want to and I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 1:40 pm  

Dropkick Murphy wrote:

I reckon tomorrow will be the lowest following from Warrington for any of our recent finals (2009 onwards). I'm going but I don't want to and I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest.

Have a word with yourself - your team in is the cup final at Wembley on a summer's day with a chance of a big trophy, but you're not looking forward to it?

Lighten up mate! Plenty would swap places this weekend.

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 1:48 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Have a word with yourself - your team in is the cup final at Wembley on a summer's day with a chance of a big trophy, but you're not looking forward to it?

Lighten up mate! Plenty would swap places this weekend.

Yes I would for one the miserable git

Re: Challenge Cup Final : Fri Aug 23, 2019 2:55 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Have a word with yourself - your team in is the cup final at Wembley on a summer's day with a chance of a big trophy

It definitely felt as good as that in 2009. Now though with six major final defeats in a row behind us and a seventh on the way tomorrow it's kinda lost it's magic.