I guess I will start by acknowledging I am bound to be more positive than some. I'm constantly accused of it and accept that.

A couple of the reasons have been addressed already. I've been watching since mid 70s, probably 1979 by the time I could say I was old enough to know what was really going on.
In that time I have watched some woeful Wakefield times (not teams). We have had seasons where the entertainment in terms of winning games has been low, but for me the entertainment is lower level than that.
I can't think that the thrashing against Leeds had many high points, but I've seen those before. But I have also seen games when we have been beaten but shown great endeavor, been beaten and showed a lot of skill and also won with great entertainment.
Each season whether good results or bad, there has always been something to entertain me. It can be one tackle in a game, like Southern at Widnes. It can be one piece of magic like Topliss, Smith Fletcher in the semi against Saints in 79.
It could be Henry Paul at Wigna against the odds, or Solomona against Wigan in the playoffs when we lost.
Each one has it's merits and deep down that is what makes me go.

There have been seasons when I have been to only a few games; main one being when my son was born, but I have also been through seasons when I went home and away to every game.
I was in Whitehaven at the mentioned win with the players coming in to the crowd. Happy days.
I have a season ticket now, but that's only been so since the Elston cheap ticket prices. I paid on the door before then and still went all the time.

At the end of the day, I feel that I am in enough credit with Wakefield that it would take quite a few seasons of no entertainmment to diminish my enjoyment.

Those that are disenchanted with the game possibly know more about it than I do and that is why we are different. I love it for the core value of the sport, and the core values and passion of those that take the field. The rest is just noise to me. I'm interested but not affected quite as much as others are.

While writing I'm thinking I must have averaged a concervative 12 games a seaon for 35 seasons. 560 hours of Wakefield Trinity, with a lot more video and tv on top of that.
That probably cost me about £5,000 not including petrol. I'm happy with my return on investment and will continue to invest in future.

I don't get to many games at the moment with living away and not having a job at the moment, but I'm wakey through and though. Even when I lived in the US and didn't get home much, when I did make it, BV was always a visit. I have followed the red, white and blue in the lower leagues and will do so again if that turns out where we land. I live and breathe Wakefield trinity and will so as long as I have a breath in my body.

Love the game, love the club. Over the last forty years I've witnessed some highs and too many lows but whilst I threaten to walk away I know I never will.
The wife said if we had a quid for every time I say I'm not going again, I could have bought the club by now.

I first went as an 8 year old (58 now) but for various reasons haven't always been able to go to all matches but went when able and even had some season tickets along the way. During this time I have seen many ups and downs but my
Enthusiasm for supporting the club has never been lost but would say my frustration at the way the club and team has been managed has caused much frustration.

Ultimately I support the club and can't do much about what goes with it but will be there on Friday as the beating of Cas to stay up when Belle Vue was full has enough memories and thrills to last a lifetime and for this reason alone I will continue to go.

The Hangover Effect...
I'm never drinking again, ever!! The weekend comes around and you find yourself clasping a cold alcoholic beverage..

I'm never watching that rubbish again... Then Sunday afternoon you find yourself walking down Doncaster Road, wtw shirt on... Albeit hearing the team sheet being announced and moaning to your mate why he's picked that donkey again!! I wouldn't pay him in washers, bring back win/lose pay and we've got that crap ref again!!

I go because I love Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. I go in anticipation of the win. I go because you never know what is going to happen.

I do get angry, upset & disappointed with the team and sulk but it's my team and teams need fans throughout the bad times. It's ok singing when were winning. Good fans sing when the team are losing! Not many of those around!!! I just don't sing as I can't....

Wakefield is my team, I love my team and any team needs you through the bad!!

This

We have our differences pop tart but your a true supporter and a good man my days supporting goes back as a kid to the late50s and was lucky enough to see the team in the glory days of the sixties, perhaps that's a reason I criticizes the drivel served up at times by today's teams so often but it doesn't mean I don't respect the views of yourself and a few others on here

Went with my Dad for the first time in mid-sixties, cried all the way home from the 68 final. Always stood in front of the old Wooden Stand on the west terrace and then left the ground by scrambling down the banking from the south stand..to try and beat some of the crowd !!!! Brilliant memories and some not so brilliant ..losing to Huyton away in the Challenge Cup for one. Got my now husband into Rugby League and then my son. Can't see me stopping now !!

Can't wait for my fix of rugby at the weekend,lost many pounds in overtime following Trin,must be a drug.Got my wife into watching Trin due to Jordans intrest from the age of six and now she's as keen as any supporter home and away.It's cost me a fortune on away games as it's a family day out with daughters and father inlaw in tow..........but wouldn't change it for owt.God knows what we will do if Jordan ever goes out on loan or god forbid changes clubs.

I envy you that tryscorer. It must be heartbreaking to compare the modern Wakefield to those days.
I reckon we'd have a great conversation over a beer or two some day.

We certainly share a passion for Wakefield Trinity.
I don't always agree but I do always want to know your view.

I look forward to the day when we are so good you have nothing negative to say

Try scorer, I thought you were younger than me and I'm 53, if your first game was late 50's, say 59, and you were 2, wouldn't that make you 57, is that about right

I said as a kid jinger not a babi wish I was old lad

So you're how old?

His only 46 i went to school with is older brother who is 55

Jeez.....didnt realise you were all a load of old timers!



Me Dad always brought me up to respect me elders (something that's lost in today's society).....from now on a little more respect for the old brigade from me!

Love threads like this by the way.....good discussion, bringing fans together and what it means to us all!!

Watch Wakefield Trinity because they're my club and they represent my City and my family have watched us for generations. It's always a rollercoaster watching the mighty Trin watched since 1985 so missed the glory years but will always watch us in hope we will reach our potential.
TRINITY FOREVER

I feel the same. I have kept my club 1873 going to support the club but I can't go and watch this dross at the moment, I just can't. I live 60 miles away. I did not want Richard Agar as coach. I knew this is how we would end up. This is what happened at Hull. My heart sank just after it rose when Glover came in and appointed Agar..it plumbed new depths when we gave him a 3 yr extension. I cant go to watch spilled pass after spilled pass. Missed tackle after missed tackle. A team that seems to have no idea and half of which are putting half the effort in. I may turn up fo the odd game but unless things change it wont be many. I need to see a new coach for a start and that aint gonna happen any time soon it seems

I live in Stockport so go to most of the away games this side of the Pennines as there easier to get to than the home games.

I have been following Wakey since the beginning of the 80's when my dad started taking me as a 7 year old.

Had a 10 year break from 1998 as I moved to Stockport and had 2 young kids and money was tight. Got back into it by going to a few games and then decided to start buying an ST again.

I will support the team when you see them putting effort in but I spend a lot of money and a lot of my spare time following Wakey and will criticise things as and when I feel it appropriate to do so. I don't think that makes me or any of the other dissenting voices on here any less of a supporter than anyone else. I know I am going off topic but it was the willingness of fans to believe the BS from.glover and Elston for so long without question that brought us back to the brink last August.There should be no blind loyalty and we imo should always be challenging everyone connected with the club to improve and not accept mediocrity

Watching the '63 cup final on the telly and then going in to the back garden with my rugby ball and pretending to be Neil Fox.
Standing at Westgate Station to welcome the team back home.
Being at Swinton for the 1967 Championship Final replay against Saints.
Like Cocker, crying my eyes out for hours on the way home from Wembley in '68.
Those and hundreds of other memories plus the fact that "tomorrow is another day" and it might provide yet another great occasion. For the the moment, beating Cas on Friday will do just fine. How could I not be there - just in case?

Very well put, Kev.
How could you not be there !
One of the best reasons for following one of the "smaller" teams, is the satisfaction at taking the scalp of one of the big boys.
Not that Cas are in this category, they have just ad a good start to the season, but beating Leeds, Wigan, Saints etc, which we have done in recent seasons, is enough to make you come back for more, even when and sensible person would know better !

Come on Trin !

I truely did used to be 'Wakey til i die'. I followed them home and away, most of what i wore was wakey branded, drank my coffee out of a wakey mug etc, etc. My first match was as a young kid with my dad taking me to watch Wally Lewis play at BV and i've been more or less a regular ever since and a season ticket holder for more years than I can remember. But in the last few seasons the interest has started to wain drastically and the actual reason for which is hard to pinpoint. Maybe its over 30 years of never even seeing us get to a major final let alone winning one, maybe it's all the false dawns and the subsiquent financial meltdowns, maybe its the many 'will we won't we?' sagas over a new stadium or the constant tinkering (and ruining in some cases) of the games rules and the structures. Or maybe it's just a combination of eveything. But maybe i've just grown up and want more out of life than pouring my money down the drain watching something that gives me 10% happiness and 90% disappointment. And the chances of that changing anytime soon are slim to none. But now it just doesn't 'float my boat' like it used to do. Wakefield will always be my club, you won't see me running off supporting anyone else, it's Trinity or nothing. But more and more these days my other interests in life seem so much more appealing and in a tough financial world give me much more satisfaction for my money. Due to the god-awful new structure voted in by the clubs (including ours) i'd already decided that this was to be my last as a season ticket holder and nothing i've experienced this year up to press has changed my mind, in fact it has served to cement my decision. I've tried to work up the enthusiasm believe me, even coming back to these boards after a long absence to try and rekindle some passion amongst like minded people. But ultimately it hasn't worked and from next season I'll pick and choose the games I attend if they suit, the religious following of the club will cease to be.

I really hope the club prospers but there seems to be an apathy in the city about the club that gives the impression that many have had enough and that is going to be tough to shake. And many of the kids growing up just are not as interested as i was. Rugby has a lot of competition for the peoples pound these days and my worry is in the city of Wakefield it is losing out badly as plenty I have spoken to are already lapsed supporters and others are as disillusioned as i am. As a true yorkshireman my season ticket has been paid for and i will get full value for it by attending every game i can this season. My one hope now is my last season doesn't result in our relegation otherwise i fear the club will be a second tier one for an awful long time to come.

Thats a very well thought out and put together post mate....a lot of which I find tough to disagree with....

This is a very inspiring and wonderful thread. It is great to read so many memories and stories, some of which I fear are before my time.

My first game was in the early 1980s, lower league. We beat Huddersfield (how often do we say that now?). It was maybe a year or two after Wally Lewis; oh how I'd of loved to have seen him play in the Wakefield shirt. (If anyone has a video of him playing I'd love to see it.)

I never had the glory days of Wembley. In fact to date I've never been to Wembley for an RL match. Always foolishly holding out until the day we make it.

I've seen us promoted 3 times, relegated and demoted. I was there at the McAlpine (as was called) to see us beat Featherstone and feel the elation of promotion. I've been to the 2 Yorkshire Cup Finals (since I started following the team) and am proud to say we are the current holders of the Yorkshire Cup



In the 90's I left the Wakefield area to go to University in East Yorkshire and have remained here. As a result of cost, time, commitments, living abroad and now extensive travel with work I saw few games in a period between the 90's and the last decade.

I still live a fair distance away and it is 100 mile round trip for a home game. No longer do I only see the team when they play in Hull or I'm visiting the folks. I go as much as I realistically can.

I've held a season ticket for 3 years now. Although I don't get my money back in games attended (due to work travel taking me away) I feel a part of this club.

I often get frustrated with the management behind the scenes and the players. Yet whenever the whistle goes to start a match I feel as though I'm there on the pitch feeling every tackle, every emotion, every moment.

Sopt on.

I'm about a year ahead of you and trust me there's a lot out there in the big wide world.

That said I think this forum attracts the 40-60 age group and possibly isn't typical. I think we are a bit like an ageing squad, we haven't quite got the stamina required to support Trinity but can't call it a day because there aren't enough fans to take our place. It seems many of us probably more by coincidence than owt else have reached this point at roughly the same time - for many of us it's now a bridge to far.

Still a few wins and some warm weather, sometimes it doesn't take much.

Agree completely.

I also dont think the game has helped itself. I find the players very much the same irrelivant of the positions they play. None of them can bend there backs properly as they all spend there time in the gym trying to improve there upper body strength. All about impact.

I watch old footage from time to time expecting it to look slow and laboured, but some of the handling and lines of running are fantastic. Small guys picking out the big props to run at and vica versa.
Nowadays, theres too much emphasis on slowing the play the ball down, with wrestling techniques, "winning arm wrestles" and whatever else the latest phrase is to come from the coaching courses/Stevo. The game is becoming almost robotic. The downside of all this is that alot of the skill has been taken out of the game and for me it is losing its appeal as a spectacle, be it Wakey or the other games on sky.

Having said all the above, Friday cant come soon enough!! Just hope im not ready for off by half time....................again!