Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 10:44 am  

The venue is outstanding both around and inside the ground. Great atmosphere, cheap tickets. Next year the new tram system will be up and running properly meaning we can get the tram from the centre over to the stadium easily. Maybe transport will be arranged properly as there was thousands of Wigan fans getting onto a 2 carrage train that did not go directly to wigan. It was full to the brim and very uncomfy standing up all the way home in the heat.

I believe Wigan and Wire matches over the past few years have been some of the best. Maybe the RFL should mix it up and make it closer. Wire vs Widnes is a complete joke, two different leagues IMO. Putting both sets of fans off as the outcome is predictable.

Games:
Wigan Vs Saints
Wire Vs Catalans
Widnes Vs London
Leeds Vs Bradford
Hull FC Vs Hull KR
Salford Vs Huddersfield
Castleford Vs Wakefield

Abit more competitive, a few fixtures there that could be mixed up!

All in all a great weekend

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 12:59 pm  

Big Graeme wrote:

Over 100 years and we still can't get Manchester interested is what it is mate, no wonder other sports laugh at us if we think Manchester is a development area.

Would you choose to hold it elsewhere or scrap the concept altogether?

I think Manchester was a good choice. Saying that after 100 years they're still not interested, whilst true to an extent, is a very pessimistic viewpoint. It's only recently (last 15 years or so) that RL have really started to invest at grassroots level in development areas, and Manchester hasn't had such a strong grassroots infrastructure in the modern era.

The Magic Weekend got the city talking and asking questions about RL.

I think the past four Magic Weekends have generally been attended by the same people who went to the first one in Cardiff 2007. The weekend just gone was attended by a lot of people attending their first Magic Weekend, and hopefully they enjoyed it, will tell their mates how good it was and come back in 2013.

The concept needs an element of stability and time to grow. Keep it at Manchester for the next few years & grow attendances gradually.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 1:39 pm  

Manchester has been historically a strong RL area. in addition to Salford, Swinton who used to be a big time team in a big time stadium. There was a strong team in Broughton until the 1950s. Oldham, on the fringes of eastern Manchester were also a big time team until the last couple of decades.

The decline of these teams and the growing dominance to football has psuhed the prominence of RL in Manchester into the background.

The new Salford stadium and the steady improvement of Reds might be the start of a resurgence of the game in the area. If Swinton get their new stadium at Agecroft and stabilise in the Championship and if Oldham can get it together these factors will help also. The Magic weekend in Manchester, The grand final in Manchester and the World Cup final in Manchester can all help us to regain lost ground in the metropolis, with the media attention they bring to the game. This can only be a good thing . Manchester was on the verge of becoming a RL wasteland and the game needs a succesful presence there.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 1:52 pm  

Barnabus wrote:

Would you choose to hold it elsewhere or scrap the concept altogether?

My preference would be elsewhere but that is by the by, the poster stated that we should hold it in Manchester to help development was laughable.

Lets be honest, if we couldn't get a good crowd in our own back yard then we should give up and go and watch soccer.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 3:00 pm  

Big Graeme wrote:

My preference would be elsewhere but that is by the by, the poster stated that we should hold it in Manchester to help development was laughable.

I don't think they were saying that as such, more that some benefits of holding it in Manchester would be to build upon the recent success of the grassroots setup in the city & to take advantage of the BBC's relocation etc.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 3:17 pm  

Big Graeme wrote:

My preference would be elsewhere but that is by the by, the poster stated that we should hold it in Manchester to help development was laughable.

Lets be honest, if we couldn't get a good crowd in our own back yard then we should give up and go and watch soccer.

I'd hardly call Manchester our own back yard, more like a couple of doors down's back yard. For mine, I think it's a great idea to hold it in Manchester as it will tempt the non attendees of the further afield Magics out of their holes and get them interested in the concept.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 3:36 pm  

Much preferred Manchester than Cardiff, not because it was a weekend away (I live 22 miles from Cardiff) but it felt much more concentrated than in Cardiff. Great competative games for the neutral also (barring Widnes and Broncos).

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 4:15 pm  

I don't think the magic weekend will ever work as a means of attracting new fans. Its overkill, new specCies are unlikely to be attracted by the prospect of watching several hours of a sport that they've not watched before. Even diehard fans struggle to watch more than a couple of games.

It should be accepted for what it is, a novelty weekend with a greater emphasis on the social side.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 6:50 pm  

Cibaman wrote:

I don't think the magic weekend will ever work as a means of attracting new fans. Its overkill, new specCies are unlikely to be attracted by the prospect of watching several hours of a sport that they've not watched before. Even diehard fans struggle to watch more than a couple of games.

It should be accepted for what it is, a novelty weekend with a greater emphasis on the social side.

Not always the case. I was sat next to a group of about 40 school students, most of whom weren't already fans but who sat through three games on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Talked to a few 12-13 year-olds amongst them who said they would definitely like to see more.

Re: The Magic Weekend : Mon May 28, 2012 6:55 pm  

One thing puzzles me about this Magic weekend. Why is it being regarded as such a success compared to previous ones? It was slapbang in the middle of the heartlands, we had absolutely fantastic whether and some great games but it was only marginally better attended than previous ones. Why is this one was then a success, despite having so many more advantages, than the ones that had gone before it?