The distance is somewhat irrelevant. Does your car not have a heater? In this case the winter sun was warm as it happens.

It wasnt and it the car does but doesnt work outside

Magic weekend is one of them things that is as good as you make it imo. If your looking for something to moan about all the time its not for you but if you just want to enjoy rugby with friends/family and a weekend away with a few drinks/food etc thrown in you will enjoy it imo.

First one ive missed due to the time of year

At last someone with some common sense! Pieman wouldn't go if he had a free ticket and the weather was guaranteed to be 30 degrees. He would porbably complain it was too hot!

I dont think the main point is that the fans who go dont enjoy the event because most people do, its a good weekend away enjoying the sport we all love. The fact of the matter is as a concept playing a Magic weekend is a good idea, just not in a 70k+ stadium when for most of the day there's less than 20k in there.

May/June/July in a 40k stadium and it would be packed both days imo, especially if not as far away from the heartlands. These Magic weekends were never attracting massive amounts of new, local fans anyway so I dont see the point in playing it away from where most rugby league fans are based. COM or Elland Road would be perfect.

Using the same logic, the CC final would never have been moved to Wembley. The Magic weekend will never be played at COM or Elland Road. A special day out in East Manchester? You've got to be joking!

Got back late this afternoon after a bit of a nightmare train journey, ( broken down goods train in the middle of Shropshire ) let the train take the strain ? don't think so, I don't think this works in Feb, Cardiff centre was dead yesterday and wet, 60,000 over 2 days NEVER, looks a bad advert for the game to me with an empty stadium, if we have it, got to be in May , will not get any football grounds at this time of year, also it is expensive for the weekend, travel and accommodation not ticket prices.

The Challenge Cup attracts enough fans to near enough fill the stadium though so its completely different. The Magic weekend has been tried in 2 very large stadiums over 5 years and neither has ever been even half full.

Its not the "day out" thats important its the rugby league. If I was a non-rugby league fan flicking through the sports channels at the weekend I would think it laughable at how empty the stadium was and it wouldnt attract me to the sport in anyway. Watching a similar event but in a packed stadium would look so much better to the TV audience. As much as you're saying "yeh but the CC is played along way from the heartlands" it is a fact that a lot of people were put off this year by the distance, especially on a non-bank holiday weekend and playing it nearer to where the majority of RL fans live would increase attendances, I dont think thats even up for debate tbh.

You told me to bugger off to another sport because I said I wouldnt be going... I wasnt telling you to go to another sport, how hard is that for you to understand do you not remember things you post?

yep your right, i was home and in front of the TV by half 6 waiting for the wigan saints match to kick off! that's after dropping everyone off all over warrington first! no way would i stay to watch other teams in cardiff, fair enough on TV, what's my incentive to stay, £5 for a effing hot dog, my 10 year old would have emptied my wallet in 60 secounds flat!

Expense ? Cheaper than normal for me
MM
£60 on fuel
£27 on a ticket
£50 on food and drink
£5.70 on the severn bridge

£142.70

Normal game
£120 on fuel
£17 on a ticket
£30 on food and drink
£10 M6 toll

£177.00

It's wire so yeah for me it's worth it

The atmosphere is always the same with the Wire fans (awesome) sat with wire fans then had a walk round cardiff then with the cas fans then with the saints fans(how quiet are they).

Well then, thats proof there is no grounds for anyone claiming the event has no atmosphere in the stadium.

We were singing well before our games and throughout. Just depends where you sit. I couldn't hear the wire fans from the second tier during their game but I could go and sit with them to absorb the atmosphere. I'm pretty sure some people would complain it was too loud if more people were in the ground.