Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:52 pm  

Day out at rugby union popular in south. Well I never!

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:59 pm  

Gronk! wrote:

Nothing to do with the fact that it was 2 London based teams playing at a Stadium in London, right? Hard to compare to the hair brained RFL schemes where they try and take games hours & hours away from where the fans are located.

For £5 there will have been people who don't even care about Union in the stadium.

So with MM being in Manchester this year, we can expect a full stadium both days eh?

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:03 pm  

And the atmosphere was horrible, it was probably more lively at the Stoop.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:09 pm  

Marfa Manu wrote:

Tickets were £5, enough said!

Not an issue IMO.

I doubt many would turn up at the stoop if £5 was handed out to those attending.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:40 pm  

Young Warrior wrote:

And the atmosphere was horrible, it was probably more lively at the Stoop.

Many who attend RU games go to it for the event / occasion. A bit like horse racing to a certain degree. You know, the local racecourses get your avid followers and pro gamblers, the show piece events like The National and Ascot get the people who just want to go to be there, as well as the real sports enthusiasts.

Personally I don't have any problem with this, yet there are some who seem to think this is to be derided.

Why is it that that too many RL fans are too worried about the atmosphere or "how bad it will look on TV"? I have read on this forum in the past of how some fans would not be attending certain games as there would not be much of a crowd there It's a good job not all think that way isn't it

Let's face it, the stereotypical RL fan is passionate about their sport. Unfortunately the stereotypical RL fan tends to have a chip on their shoulder about lack of national coverage and then a few will try and compare RL to other sports.

If you like RL, great, enjoy it. If you don't like RU, fair enough. But do yourself a favour and dont compare them. It's not a like for like comparison.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:46 pm  

I wonder how many of those 84,000 will go to the next game? Or will their next RU match be the same fixture next year?

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:50 pm  

Its a cultural thing re London and Union.

The sport is very much seen as a posh lads day out, and offering dirt cheap tickets to see Wembley provides the perfect excuse for them to get drunk.

Rugby League on the other hand is steeped in inter club and town rivalry. Its a parochial passionate family sport, so putting on a similar even just does not work amongst Leagues fanbase.
Something similar to league can also be seen with soccer matches. When Arsenal played European games at Wembley their best attendance was 73,707, which is significantly smaller than what Union got today. However i doubt any sport fan would go around saying Saracens are the biggest club side of any sport in the South East.

The figures look good for someone not familiar with the sport. However the reality is that in a week or two when they move back to Watford they will be back to their usual 6000.

The time to get really worried about club RU would be if they were pulling in huge crowds on a week by week basis. The reality is they are not, they are broadly similar to those in RL. This is despite the far higher media profile they have.
That in itself should be a real worry for RU.

The simple fact is that the biggest threat to RL is from the very insecurity and inferiority complex of many of its fans.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:00 pm  

So 84000 people turned out, 80000 of whom actually paid a fiver to be bored shiteless. I can sit at home doing nothing and get the same result, without paying a fiver.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:20 pm  

Snake Plisskin wrote:

So 84000 people turned out, 80000 of whom actually paid a fiver to be bored shiteless. I can sit at home doing nothing and get the same result, without paying a fiver.

Thank you for proving you know naff all, it was a fantastic game.

Re: Wembley Stadium today.. : Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:24 pm  

put the GB v Exiles game on at Elland Road ,on a Saturday Afternoon 3pm kick off , charge £5 max a ticket , plus freebies as the RU have done and ok we wont get 84,000 but I bet the take up would be on a sold out basis...

What the RFU have done can be matched by the RFL , but it has to be on on an equal footing in terms of timing , ease of travel etc to be comparable ......