just_browny wrote:
I'm a massive supporter of the World Cup and international rugby league, but let's not start smoking the strong stuff as far as attendances are concerned - and especially at Cardiff.
History shows that a crowd of 40,000 for a rugby league game in Cardiff would be an incredible result - we didn't get anywhere near that for half a dozen club games at the Millennium Stadium, and the club game is our strength! The good news is that a crowd of 40-50k looks feasible.
As soon as people start assuming that 25k or 35k extra fans are suddenly going to buy tickets over the next three or so weeks, we will be setting ourselves up for massive disappointment. Let's take a historical view, forget about the overall capacity of the ground and encourage everyone we know to get down there and enjoy what will be a fabulous event.
The opener will set the tone for the competition. An England win, or a close game will really get people excited. But just ask important is the spectator experience, to the wider sporting community the games need to look like something not to be missed. The organisers seem to understand that and will no doubt build on London's experience last year.
Right until the Olympics the papers were filled with doom mongering which would even put posters on this forum to shame. Most of the events were far from a sell out, but the spectacular opening ceremony got everyone excited. Suddenly people were rushing to buy tickets for any event they could get their hands on.
If a nation can get itself excited over fat Russian women throwing sticks, we can pack out our stadia and have a World Cup to remember.
