Just four days to go to the big final, and the game is still not a sell out. Nothing much in the media in terms of build up either.



Wigan fans mentioned this last year and I was loathe to agree but I'm afraid they have a point. No one is interested in this game bar the thousands of Wigan fans that will be making their first ever trip to wembley. The older fans will be fond of the old wembley but i think they will agree this meaningless mid season game has now lost its magic and should go the same way as the county cups. We should replace it with an International game or something.



I even know a couple of Saints fans that won't be watching the game "not interested" they said!!!!



Its a Shame.....

What a great idea an England friendly against say, Lebanon, Serbia, Russia or some other emerging nation would be of more interest it would seem.

0/10



Still bitter it seems.

It's a popular competition as below link refers to. www.engagesuperleague.co.uk/arti ... ture/23319 If the attendance is significantly lower on Saturday than it has been in recent years, the blame will largely lie with the loyalty factor at the Leeds Rhinos, which has no bounds it would seem ..... With the CC trophy at the National Stadium on offer - arguably the only silverware they can potentially manage this season - you'd think they would be flocking down to Wembley for this one?! I just hope the Pies are taking the numbers of fans being quoted on their forums then our sport won't look a joke on television. Again.

It's a popular competition as below link refers to. www.engagesuperleague.co.uk/arti ... ture/23319 If the attendance is significantly lower on Saturday than it has been in recent years, the blame will largely lie with the loyalty factor at the Leeds Rhinos, which has no bounds it would seem ..... With the CC trophy at the National Stadium on offer - arguably the only silverware they can potentially manage this season - you'd think they would be flocking down to Wembley for this one?! I just hope the Pies are taking the numbers of fans being quoted on their forums then our sport won't look a joke on television. Again.

Arf. Nice fishing trip.



To some degree though I don't think anyone can dispute that it has lost a little bit of magic. Saints fans have been saying it for the last few years and they've won plenty of them in that time including three in a row so they can hardly be called bitter. Wembley is a brilliant day out, but Super League is the big one.



I won't be watching on Saturday anyway as I doubt any boozers by Anfield will have it on so I won't be able to.

I'm a Wigan fan, and i agree it has lost it's magic. I'm excited about going and all that, but i'd rather us win the GF than the CC anyday.

Like it or not, the Challenge Cup IS Rugby League in this country.



It's the one game per year, neutrals/those who have no particular interest in our sport, watch.

The Aussies are quite jealous of it, as they don't have it.



Let's face it, the majority of families in this country do not have Sky, so they won't have much direct interest in regular round matches/play-off games, for the Grand Final. On the other hand, they all have direct access to the BBC, and that's where the CC is shown, so interest levels will be greater. Put simply, Mr & Mrs Average of Hemel Hempstead have more chance of knowing who are the reigning CC holders, rather than current SL winners.



Being honest, the GF is just a glorified version of the old Premiership, to compensate for a slightly irregular version of the regular league season. Eddie, Steve, Clarke et al, just try to brow beat us with their pro SL bias (can't blame 'em tho, as they have a product to market).



The CC is the greatest comp in our sport. We should rejoice in it.



It's just a pity that (if Idontbelieveit's paragraph runs true) Saturday wont be a "sell-out", with 2 of the more famous names in our sport taking part in a showpiece event.

anyway Biccy, have you been having lessons off Sally?

I don't believe it!!!

I've just looked in my dictionary for the definition of the word gullible, and there was nothing listed!!!!!

It's true. Since Super League the Challenge Cup has diminished in importance. It used to be an actual Challenge for teams to win it. Reaching Wembley was a long and hard road. You went to a lower division side away and you were thankful of a win.



Reaching the final now is often a case of winning one or two tough games. Any non-SL opposition are just byes these days. I'm not suggesting it's not worth winning as there are only two trophies to win, but it's not a big achievement anymore.

It's a bit like the FA cup in football.



When you're in the CC - it's magical, this time last year you were so excited, plans were in place, pick up times, routes, hotels, tickets - just pure excitement.



When you're not in it, it's a bit like you're annoyed there's no SL this week, nothing to watch on a Friday night for that bloody, daft cup.

JWP hits the nail on the head.

The Challenge Cup needs a final next year between two of the big three North West clubs, in order to reignite the old magic.



When you get the likes of Leeds and Huddersfield in the final who hardly take any fans it detracts from the atmosphere and will look poor on National TV. I can't understand the apathy towards RL in the White Rose county, as it's not like they've got any decent football teams to support. I know they're generally a tight bunch, but you should at least make an effort to go and watch your team in the final.

Since when were Leeds not taking a big support? I haven't been reading their forum or checking ticket sales, but they had huge numbers last year.



Have the part time fans (ie the Wembley bandwagon jumpers, not the people who go to Headingley regularly) convinced themselves they're going to get hammered again and decided to avoid back to back Wembley misery?



Personally I think they're going to win.

For me it lost its magic when Wigan got to the final

According to The Rugby League Express Leeds have sold less than 10,000 tickets. Their not a happy bunch at the moment and not looking forward to a 2nd drubbing at the new Wembley stadium. Saying that 10,000 is about right for the regular match goers. It will only be the pot hunters staying away

Quote Conman="Conman"0/10 Still bitter it seems.'" FAIL. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=493774

Quote Conman="Conman"0/10 Still bitter it seems.'" FAIL. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=493774

I fully agree dont get me wrong i love the cc but it's lost something and it's just not the same



I am looking forward to seeing 50k wiganers all in cherry and white maybe it will spark something back into it for me and many Wigan fans maybe it wont but i'll find out sat

I agree that it might of lost some of it's magic during the earlier rounds , but not with With what you say about it not being a challenge or It's not a big achievment anymore.. Wigan Have Beaten Bradford Away Wire away Saints now they face Leeds in the final .... Come play off time they could face Say Saints x 2 ,Leeds, Wire Lose one of those games and still be Champions... How is that any bigger of a challenge than the challenge cup run they've had .. The Biggest Challenges for me are The league Leaders Shield followed by the challenge cup then the play offs.

50k?

No it's not lost it's magic ! We lost our quarter final that's where the magic went !

Can't bring myself to watch it as I hate the pies with every part of my body but equally hate everything Yorkshire so I will either go to the gym or mow the grass or both !

Lol i'm sure wigan said last week, thursday or friday maybe that they had sold 20k.. Thats some acheivement then to sell another 30k in the week leading upto the match.. I'v got one or two slight doubts about Your numbers !

I'm disappointed if that's true about Leeds' ticket sales. I'm never really a defender of bandwagon jumpers, and I would imagine 90%+ of those who go to Headingley regularly will be in attendance. I do acknowledge that to a degree the finals need those people though, or we might as well just play them in Huddersfield, Hull or Wigan and have done with it. Leeds had about 30-40,000 there last year easily and it made for a far better atmosphere than the year before with Huddersfield's much smaller support.



I think it's fair to say they will have more than 10,000 there for certain as plenty won't have bought from the club - I bought from the RFL in both 2009 and 2010 so wouldn't be counted among Warrington's ticket sales - but even if you double it to 20,000 that's still a huge drop off in a year, considering I imagine a lot of Leeds players and fans probably crave the Cup more than most "big" clubs at the moment after a twelve year drought and four Super League titles.



They really must be certain they're going to lose.

Call me old fashioned here but i still see the challenge cup as the pinnacle of any players career, its been every boy's dream thats ever picked up a rugby ball whether that be in the back garden or on a rugby pitch to walk out and play at wembley.



The SL grand final as i see it is something created by sky with all the the sky production and razamataz behind it, its the glorified premiership that we used to have in the 80's where the top 8 played off. The true champions of the league IMO should be the team that finishes top over the season, knock out rugby can be a lottery where a lot of factors at the end of the season come into play. The play-offs are quite often played in wet conditions due to the time of year that they are played, thats a leveller in itself and it doesn't suit sides that like to throw the ball around. The challenge cup final is now too close to the play-offs IMO, its going to be very hard for any side that makes it to wembley to go on and do well in the play-offs.



You then have the lottery of how fit a squad you have at the end of a long season, saints struggled last year with a depleted squad but its credit to them that they made the grand final.



A lot of factors go into the makeup of potential grand final winners along with getting to old trafford, a knock out competition at the end of the season is what it says on the tin, "a knock out competition" with a twist, you can still lose a game but remain in the knock out competition lol .... So potential grand final winners could still lose a game and become champions, sorry but the word LOSE and champions doesn't quite work together in the same sentence when talking about potential champions of a sport..

Am I right in thinking the Challenge Cup is being played early next year so that the final takes place before the Olympics?