The magic of the cup

[Fenton Knight]

Where has it gone?

just looking at the attendances over the weekend, and the one for Widnes v York (2,229) was only surpassed by one team, - not surprisingly it was Leeds Rhinos. 

Several games involving SL sides drew far fewer:

• Halifax v London Broncos - 722
• Hull KR v Leigh - 2,188
• Salford v Rochdale - 1,101

I’d have expected more at Odsal than the 1,691 that turned up to watch the Bulls prevail against Fev.

 

[JonT]

The magic of the cup has been destroyed by the RFL with their seeding system which is all about protecting their precious superleague teams. 

[Nearenough]

Spot on, seedings killing the cup n an obsession with whats best for the three or four clubs at the top o super league at the xpense of everyone else is doin nobody any good. ( Inc those precious few)

Get rid o the seeding b4 we hav no cup left, and lets see wigan away to millom in the 1st round next year. If we dont we might as well pack up with what was once our most valuable asset.

[DEANO]

11 hours ago, Fenton Knight said:

Where has it gone?

just looking at the attendances over the weekend, and the one for Widnes v York (2,229) was only surpassed by one team, - not surprisingly it was Leeds Rhinos. 

Several games involving SL sides drew far fewer:

• Halifax v London Broncos - 722
• Hull KR v Leigh - 2,188
• Salford v Rochdale - 1,101

I’d have expected more at Odsal than the 1,691 that turned up to watch the Bulls prevail against Fev.

 

How much were the bulls charging. If it was £25 then no wonder

[HaxbyKnight]

52 minutes ago, DEANO said:

How much were the bulls charging. If it was £25 then no wonder

Wonder what they'll charge in the next round. They got Rhinos at home.

[AB Knight]

Think you've all hit the nail on the head. The magic of the cup was you could be drawn against anyone. That for me is what made it so special. I vividly remember the celebrations from the amateur players and fans as Castleford Lock Lane took an early lead at Castleford Tigers in the opening minutes, ok they lost 88-10 but they made memories. Same in the FA cup, Hereford beating Newcastle, Havant and Waterlooville leading at Anfield, the old Scarborough football team matching Chelsea.

You take that away and give us Wigan vs Warrington or Cas vs Hull when they could be playing each other 4 times this season anyway and then wonder why interest is dropping. 

Then there's no joined up thinking from all the clubs - why not in the rounds where attendances are low (which is pretty much every round before the semis) designate a school day round - give a whole stand over to local schools for free, who knows you might get someone hooked for life or unearth the next Paul Sculthorpe. 

The cup can be rescued, it just needs selfishness putting to one side and everyone pulling in the same direction.

[HaxbyKnight]

'The cup can be rescued, it just needs selfishness putting to one side and everyone pulling in the same direction.'

Not much chance of that unfortnately. As a kid, the cup was magical. 30 league clubs plus the 2amateur sides who had won their own county cup. York were always number 30 no matter how far they got, and you would arrive at a ground to see sellers with rosettes, scarves etc. No seedings, just 3 rounds, semi final and final. 

If my memory is correct, I remember seeing Imperial Athletic give Bramley one hell of a fright at Clarence Street in the 60's.