"Id rather spend my money on the latest smartphone etc." You discount a view as "a load of rubbish" then include that statement. How do you know what disposable income if any other fans have to spare on a game of RL?

I think the fact is, if you're going down to London for the game maybe even staying overnight, a fiver more or less on the ticket prices is small beer compared to the total cost. By any reasonable comparison rugby league ticket prices in this country are very reasonable, even third tier football teams often charge more. And their fans pay up, and many of them from areas no wealthier than Wigan (which, lets face it, is far from being the poorest place in the country).

The smartphone analagy is a strange one but I get his point.
I began watching wigan in 2005. Until 2013 or 2014 I would spend my last penny on tickets and travel. These days it’s barely my last thought to buy a ticket 9 weeks out of 10, certainly so in the last 3 or 4 years under Wane.
I am no less passionate, in my own mind, about Wigan. Not spending on tickets still leaves me screaming at the tv or radio every week. However I’ve miles more to spend my money on than Wigan and plenty I wouldn’t have dreamed of putting before Wigan RL 10 years ago.

I appreciate that poster and I are only two examples but I certainly have disposable income to spend on a Wigan RL. I chose not to as feel it is not worthwhile doing so.

I could’ve gone to warrington today, no issues. I didn’t however. Being about 90% certain what Wigan performance we COULD see I decided I would sit on the couch and spend that £50 or so (for the wife and I) on a meal out later in the evening.

I forgot to add my main point to all the above; I can count at least 5 other households/families we know who chose to do the same and not spend on Wigan RL (and therefore RL & the Cup).

It was an example and if you cant see what i was getting at then you need to take some fish oils to raise your level of thinking.

Let me put this clearly for you. These days people have a far greater choice of things to do in their spare time and much more options to spend their spare cash on.

The idea that most of the population are skint is rubbish. I know this just by looking around at all the luxuries the people of this country have. Of course there are some people in poverty in the country but that has always been the case anywhere you look and will always be the case in the future.

Simply put, the idea that people are not going to rugby games because they cant afford it is utter tosh. People are not going because they dont want to. Its up to the RFL to make people want to go. Look at football, much more expensive to get into a game but they still draw big crowds.

Thank you, at least you understood what i was getting at. The smartphone example was just that, an example. If i wanted to i too could go to any game i like but to be honest, i have no real desire anymore to go to a match and would rather save my money to buy other things.

Maybe you need to look at what you post. You dismiss someones post as rubbish. Who are you to say that fans not being able to afford to rugby games is untrue Lets look at your exmaple football -

"The BBC Price of Football study 2017 has found the majority of ticket prices have been frozen or have fallen for a third year - yet a poll of young adult football fans suggests the cost is still putting them off. This year BBC Sport asked more than 200 clubs across the United Kingdom for information on ticket prices and found almost two thirds of price categories have been reduced or remained the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In a separate poll, we asked 1,000 18- to 24-year-old fans living in Britain how they engage with football, and four in five (82%) said the cost of tickets was an obstacle to them going to more matches.

Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, says top clubs need to do more to attract young adults. "These fans are the next generation of season ticket holders but they have been brought up in a sanitised and expensive environment," he told BBC Sport. "With this in mind, they are reluctant to pay so much to watch their teams play and these findings should act as a warning to the Premier League elite - they ignore this group of fans at their peril."

If you need a hand opening the fish oil let me know it may have a childproof top.

Really? What white powders have you been snorting lately?

What kids, if asked if ticket prices were not a factor in them not going to games, would say no?

The wife and i were season ticket holders until the end of the 09 season (when our daughter was born) and saw some pretty torrid performances

We could have gone yesterday but decided to take the little un to Southporr for the morning, have our dinner out and then get back in time to watch the game. Turns out we rushed back for nothing but doesnt make us and less supportive of the club/team

Wheres above is only pie when you need him. Hed love this discussion about category 3928166 fans

I stand by what i said. The blanket statement made by the other poster that people are not going to games because 'most of the country are skint' is simply untrue. In the case of Rugby League cup games, if fans of clubs really wanted to go to the game, the vast majority would be able to afford it. The truth is, they simply do not want to go and would rather spend/save the money for a different kind of luxury (maybe the latest smartphone!). There are even examples of people coming forward in this thread to say they didnt go, not because they couldnt afford it but because they chose to do other things.

The game has become stagnant and the entertainment/excitement value is just not there anymore and there are various reason for that which i wont go into right here and now. The whole sport needs a complete revamp.

Regarding the football study you quote. Younger fans are reluctant to pay so much to watch their teams play because of the very reason i outlined with the smartphone example-they have
other things to spend money on these days.

Btw, my fish oils do not have a child proof cap. Not sure what you're taking but no wonder you fail to understand the simple point im trying to put forward.

Not the kind that a certain bearded wonder would like the whole country to snort.

The crowds have dropped because people are not getting value for money.

A family of 3 could go for a day out, have a meal and get a few beers to drink at home for the price of tickets to watch a boring pathetic performance by a bunch of overpaid average joes.

People are spending their money more wisely.

For the last few years, Wigan performances in general over the whole season have been really poor.

The biggest challenge once we get shut of Wane and his cronies is getting those fans back.

The new coach needs to be from the Maguire mould.

Funny thing is, once Wane announced he was going, the first thing the Missus said to me was, we may be able to start going again next year.

For me the whole “Cup Magic” has been lost since it was stupidly moved to August. The whole excitement of having the final in May was that fans never lost the cup feeling, games were quick and fast. The CC must be moved back to May the Magic Weekend pushed back;

End of May BH; Challenge Cup Final
Early July; Magic Weekend
August; International Weekend(s) or the return of Lancashire v Yorkshire
September - October; GF run in
November; Internationals

IMHO that’s a better programme for fans and ensures that the excitement is never really lost.

...it wouldn't have if Wigan was still in it.
I've been holding out for a Warrington vs Wigan CC for years.
We can't seem to read the same script when we get the chance.
Anyways it's about time someone gave Saints a stuffing at Wembley.
They'll be little gloss lost in a Wire vs Saints final for me.

But yes I think we need to bring the final forward a couple of weeks before the football season starts.