Time to help out my fellow RLFANS

1. it's cold in winter
solution: wear warm clothes

2. but it snows sometime very heavily, sometimes we have to close the roads, we've done it, oh, about.... 4 times in the last 20 years
solution: close the roof, go by public transport, put chains on your tyres.

3. but no really, it is cold
solution: cancel it then have the opener at your own stadium were it is miraculously 'warm'

4. but it's not fair we can't camp out
solution: turn the heater on in your caravan
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Seriously book your hotel now in advance and get it cheap.

and look guys a lot of people think this is a good idea, to the ones that don't, well we've had it your way for a while now and the RFL need to know if this will work out better.

It may not, then and only then come on here and profess your mighty knowledge and say look i told you so but if it works out to be a complete and utter success then what ?

Stop being so bloody belligerent and just give it a go instead of moaning.

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Just an after thought, attendances in winter at Old Trafford
capacity 75,957
average attendance for season 73,249

December
12 December 2009, 75,130
15 December 2009, 73,709
30 December 2009, 74,560

January
16 January 2010, 75,120
23 January 2010, 73,933

February
6 February 2010, 74,684
23 February 2010, 73,797

Every single one of these attendances is higher than the seasons average.

Forget that football is more popular because that's not the point, the point is masses of people (many of whom are not from the area) able to travel in winter.

I'm well surprised by how positively this seems to have been recieved on here. Do I only follow cynical (realistic) people on twitter or something?

7 games on a cold and dark February weekend, erm, no thanks. Maybe good on the telly though!

Roughly 6 wks after Xmas,Teams new shirts out,season pass money before xmas to pay out.......I went in 2008 and had a cracking w-end but had time to save up for that...for me they have got it wrong....plan it into the fixtures may june time and drop the Easter Monday fixtures.

Start saving now 26 weeks roughly £10 a week, £260 isn't that not enough ??

really pleased with this...

at least we'll kick the season off with a bang instead of the usual whimper...

Am I going mad? It's a bit of cold weather, the soccer and yawnion fans don't skrike about it. I bet it's the same people who moaned when we went to summer and moaned when we played at an empty Murrayfield...........

.........................Oh and hasn't the stadium they have moved to got a roof?

But wont the Superleague champions play the week before like usually??? So we could still have the same start to the year.

Is that not a good start to the season though. The WCC then a massive SLE opener?

No because it wont be the WCC, it will be a round 4/5 game brought forward to make room for the WCC. Hence why Crusaders played Leeds a week before the season started. So we could pretty much end up with the same next season.

This is bad news, that's the week my wife's due and now I'm gonna have to miss the birth of my first born..and there's no way I'm bringing her with me and risking my lad being born a Welshman

I'm one of these that when my team are in SL





I will be there.

Otherwise I will be watching from the comfort of my home in HD with surround sound, being fed and watered at a fraction of the price that the rip off merchants will charge.

I shall enjoy the games and think that my subscription is worth it.

The only down side is I KNOW that a lot of my subscription goes to fund Mo & Ron Ball's game but there is not a lot I can do about that. If only you could get the SL coverage without that game on the same channel I, for one, would be delighted.

Chill your beans it was a bloody joke grouchy!!

Just because i can't make it doesn't mean i don't think its a good idea!

Stop fishing for a row...

Right, so we need to think about this............

February - too cold, snow etc.
Valentines weekend - our lass'll kill me, hotels expensive.
Week after the WCC - one team'll be knackered, it's not fair, wah!
Not long after Xmas - i can't afford it
Cardiff - it's not the heartlands, uff, uff, uff

So, taking all that into account, what can all the detractors come up with that would be any better?

The floor is yours, people.

Yes. I know. I spent every weekend in Saturday stopping at hotels this year, as all four of our first four games were either Friday or Saturday night, necessitating an overnight stay. It's part of being a fan.

Well I know it might seem a bit novel but, here goes:

How about Magic weekend at Cardiff May Day Bank Holiday weekend, 7 games over two days, great carnival atmosphere in all the pubs, lots of fans staying at local Trecco Bay displaying their flags and shirts in their caravan windows, nice stop over Friday to Monday at a cost of about £150 for up to 8 people, lots of time to travel back for work on the Tuesday, no risk of snow, or even frozen tracks on the trains....I know, it would never work!!

It was broken back in 2008, why did they try and fix it?

I understand your passion about travelling and fair weather supporters are frustrating, no more than at Saints with 5,000 for a semi that would have been 25,000 at a final. But its not so much the teacher aspect (though they CAN'T have holidays in term time) you are missing the point about schools in general. Kids have to be in school at 8am Monday so many families won't want a 4 or 5 hour drive back at around 9pm on a Sunday night with young kids that have to be up at 7am to go to school, not even considering the weather might be apalling for travel...

Seeing as we promote RL as such a family sport the RFL are making it that bit harder for families to attend across the whole weekend - your 5% holiday thing may suit yourself and many others but it won't cut it with many parents - kids have 65 days off and parents are not going to want to use any holidays outside the school holidays as they will only get 25-30 of the 65 days to start with.

I am actually for this as the league opener if we are going to do a showcase it has to be to launch the competition, for me weather isn't a problem and nor is location, but to maximise the event I do think the RFL will need to change Sunday to finish at 6pm given its not a holiday on Monday it makes it much more realistic that people would stick around.

Surely if the kickoffs are

12:30 2:30 4:30 6:30 on the saturday and 12:00 2:00 4:00 on the sunday

And they are sensible with the fixtures i.e put the crusaders on early & not the hull derby, it would still give people enough time to get there & get home on the sunday even if you're the last game.

I think I can live without the mascots running round the pitch.

Has to be said that the prices for accomodation in the main are already high now.

Compared to edinburgh where i got a flat for 5 in leith for 100 a night.

Post of the century. Why not allow him to become a welshman. Will get a headstart in life at least

Your comments about the cold are irrelevant. People accept that it's cold in winter. People still watch games in winter despite the cold. But the Magic Weekend isn't one game, is it? It's seven. Will people sit through the freezing cold for 7 games? I know I'd struggle, but I'd give it a go. Many however probably won't even consider it.

Not everyone can book a holiday off work. Some people get set holidays.

As for the comments about the camping... it's hard to go camping if the camp sites are shut for the winter.

There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism. These are genuine problems that will stop people attending. Not everyone can afford hotels. And not everyone wants to stay in a hotel. I've always camped at The Magic Weekend. It was part of the craic for me. Next year will be difficult for me money-wise now.

I had found a nice B&B not far from the stadium, which was cheap for 2 nights and put in a booking. I then got an e-mail this morning informing me that they aren't accepting bookings in February so they cancelled the booking.

I have watched every game at every Magic Weekend, but I might just go for a day trip this time if I can't find anything near the centre for a sensible price. I like Cardiff but it doesn't have enough hotels for events like this.

As for the weather look at it now we're supposed to be in Summer but it's cold and raining all the time.

Plank!!

small cluette F. E. B. R. U. A. etc etc

Lister, Cardiff has enough hotels for the (sold out every match, every year for the entirety of its existence) 6 nations. I'm sure it can cope with a few thousand Notherners half-filling our stadium over 2 days. And there are loads of far cheaper hotels and other accommodations for the Yorkshiremen amongst you.

But some tit has put the event in the middle of the 6 nations

Plus on top of all of the problems, weather, holidays etc., it will be Valentine's Day on the Monday - so the weekend prices are up already.

I agree with the Magic Weekend and have gone to the previous ones, but cannot see us getting to this one.

Am i missing something here. Why don't some of you look to stay in bridgend, newport, abergavenny, caerphilly???? newport is 10 mins away, bridgend 20 minutes and the millenium stadium is right outside the train station.