Really looking forward to going to Belle Vue later on this afternoon to see us taking on the Catalan Dragons , we've missed the last two home games due to holidaying in southern Spain for the last month and we missed the 16 - 10 victory over Wigan although we watched the game on Sky Sports in a bar in Benelmadena , cracking banter with a few pie eaters who were in the bar with us , really great night and I suffered the next morning , 32 degrees and a hangover aren't a great combination !!!!! .
Betfred Super League Round 17
Wakefield Trinity 44 - 6 Catalan Dragons
Scintillating performance from the Trin in front of just short of 9k fans inside Belle Vue , the first half was as good as it gets , we were so good , we really were .
Special times , best Trinity team I've seen in my 43 years by a considerable distance , the best of it is , this team is very young and only going to get better .
First Trin game I've seen since the Magic weekend and I have to say that they are a brilliant team to watch. Such fluency and flair. Enjoyed that immensely. Don't know if I've just dropped on two great Trin performances, but when you see such assertiveness and dominance, it makes you wonder how good the top teams are in SLQuote:
Originally Posted by animallittle3
This season is probably one of the best Super League seasons we've seen for many many years , the Leigh v Wigan game on Friday night was extraordinary , breathtaking entertainment in front of Leigh's biggest ever crowd since they moved to their new stadium 12 years ago .Quote:
Originally Posted by pass_and_move
There's not a right lot between the top 7 , Hull KR and Wigan are ever so slightly in front of us but it's not a Liverpool , City advantage they have over the top half of the Premier League in football .
Attendances at Super League games are on the rise , over a million fans have already gone through those turnstiles and we've 10 rounds plus the play offs still to go .
The product is superb on the field but it's much more than that too , the games are events , we set off yesterday afternoon at 3pm for a 5.30pm kick off and it takes us 15 minutes to get to Belle Vue , the fanzone was already packed when we arrived , all kinds of beer outlets and street food to enjoy , live music , kids activities and a real family afternoon out .
The predominantly summer season helps massively with the whole event feel admittedly but even when you enter the ground pre match there is pyrotechnics , fireworks , dance entertainment going on and you really feel like you are having a day / afternoon out plus you can get a beer anytime and without nobheads drinking too much to spoil things .
Pyssing everyone off going to the bar during the game doesn't happen because we still have terracing at rugby league and where we sit you just get yourself a two pinter that lasts you to half time .
8pm when we got home from a 3pm start for an 80 minute game 15 minutes down the road , we spend our money but at no time do you feel ripped off because you are getting so much back .
There is no greed in this game , the players are on good money at Super League level but it isn't life changing and the salary cap keeps clubs in line with their finances and anyone that does get out of line such as Salford are severely punished.
Because there are less games than football you don't get the saturation and overkill which makes it easier to create an event feel to games .
The only real downside is the TMO which takes way too long in my opinion because there aren't enough cameras inside stadiums but that could be easily fixed with a bit more investment from Sky and the RFL .
Call me out of touch/old fashioned, which I most probably am, but the pyrotechnics, dancers kind of thing is just not me although I can see that it appeals to most. However, sky did this in 1992 with the formation of the Premier league. I know Rugby is a totally different sport and the crowds are most certainly differently behaved. It works in Rugby but the rough and tumble is what my Father took me to see as a child at Oakwell. No long winded build up, no gimmicks, just two teams running out of the tunnel, captain with the matchball under his arm and meaning business. The crowds anticipation at feverpitch and then the roar as contest got swiftly underway with no fuss or artificial build up. It was not needed. The event itself was enough.
Do you not think that football has suffered because these days the are so many obligatories to fulfill? The teams in the tunnel for 5 mins waiting to make their entrance, then the line up and the limp half hearted handshakes/fist bumps, the taking of the knee, the various announcements on the PA system, the minutes silence/applause, politics etc. It's a 10 minute passion killer imo and that anticipation that I alluded to earlier is just totally diluted by then.
It's like Mike Tyson in his pomp. No stupid chorus of various walk on themes, no, just a very business like guy making a swift and short entrance, beads of sweat emanating, the guy solely focused on his task. It gets the juices flowing because we've come to see the fight.
Today it's all about side shows. In every sport it has reared it's head. Artificial gimmicks, repetitively annoying but as I say, I'm out of touch thank fuq. People obviously want this kind of thing these days in most sporting events. Some it fits, others, I definitely think not. Too Americanified imo
Quote:
Originally Posted by pass_and_move
I think most sports are always looking to attract the younger generation for obvious reasons and younger generations come with expectations we didn't have Pass .
When I was younger we had 3 television channels , the only takeaways were fish n chips with the odd Chinese in the village , down the pub it was bitter or lager , our music was provided by radio one and the weekly Top Of The Pops and anything you wanted to listen to outside of that you had to buy vinyl records .
There's also the considerable price we pay to attend sporting fixtures compared to when we were younger , people demand more for the price of a match ticket especially when you can watch most things at home .
Admittedly it doesn't always work for some sports or it works better for some sports than it does for others as you have alluded to .
We are inside Belle Vue at least 50 minutes before kick off , I wouldn't dream of entering Oakwell till at least 15 minutes before the start , one of the main reasons is the entertainment but I also like to see the Trinity players doing their pre match routine stuff , it's an education in itself watching these huge athletes preparing for what is about to hit their bodies for 80 minutes .
Fair points there mate. Obviously times change but not always for the better imo. I must admit that I find it difficult to adapt.Quote:
Originally Posted by animallittle3
Betfred Super League Round 18
Hull FC 16 - 10 Wakefield Trinity
Myself and the wife decided to make a short break of this fixture and include a couple of nights in Bridlington and we enjoyed really hot east coast weather and a very pleasant B&B , anytime there's black pudding on a full English you know you are staying at the right place .
Unfortunately the game itself was awful , both sides committing basic errors throughout and probably the worst refereeing performance I've seen this season .
Saying that Trinity didn't deserve anything out of the game , we were awful even with a 10-0 advantage at the break but got worse the more the game wore on .
One to forget and a reminder that despite a good solid Super League campaign thus far we have much to improve upon if we are to not only clinch a play off spot this season but cement ourselves as a consistent force to be reckoned with going forward .
The winning of tight try for try games is our nemesis and one we must start to achieve before too long , Matt Ellis isn't investing his personal wealth in to Trinity to be the " Great Entertainers " .
Ask Kevin Keegan and the Toon fans how that went in the 90's
What a night! Tremendous game to watch with two very evenly matched teams. Edge of your seat stuff and great sport. Fantastic atmosphere with a full house and the place looks to be absolutely buzzing.
Credit to Leeds defensively, very tough to breakdown but their handling errors put them on the back foot in the second half and Trin couldn't quite take advantage. Leeds defended their try line very well, soaked up the pressure and got what looked like the winning try, but Trin found a way to level up with a good try and deservedly so.
What can you say about the ending? 2 mins left on the clock, Leeds unsuccessful drop goal attempt that took the paintwork off the post, then Trin advance to hit a drop goal in the last 10 seconds, the place absolutely erupts. Fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyable evening!
What a wonderful post that is to read Pass for fans like myself , really pleased you enjoyed it .Quote:
Originally Posted by pass_and_move
What a night indeed , what an occasion and what a game , the atmosphere was spine tingling with two very good sides going at it for 80 minutes , it twisted this way and that before those last two minutes when it twisted back and forth again by which time my head was spinning .
One of those moments in time when Lino dropped the goal to give us the win , a real I was there moment .
The fact it was against Leeds , a very good Leeds team mind made it all the sweeter , we always want to beat Cas but our fanbases work together in the same factories and offices , we drink in the same pubs and our kids go to the same schools and many families are split .
The Leeds game is different , there's an edge to it , the 1968 watersplash final , the fact they've always nicked our best players off us and look down their noses at us in the classic Leeds United kind of way , Rhino's are no different .
You should have seen that lot head for the exits on Thursday night when the drop goal sailed over , bless .
I believe we came of age on Thursday night both on and off the field , it was momentous and spine tingling stuff .