Quote: Cruncher "I think you're right. But I have another, not-unrelated theory about the CC, which I admit may seem a little bit fanciful, but just give it a try.
The BBC loved the CC because it was - in their words - the People's Final. It suited their socialist-tinted university view of the world that the working class should be given a day out, and that everyone should celebrate it with them. If you think about it, while Grandstand would preview the FA Cup Final with non-stop, carefully edited action sequences (which contributed to making the whole occasion seem a lot more exciting than it ever turned out to be), it would preview the Challenge Cup by wheeling Colin Welland out to talk about mills, terraced houses and men of iron made from muck and brass.
I can't help wondering if the image of cloth caps and brass bands hasn't actually held the development of the game back in this country. Now that all that's gone, it genuinely seems as if the BBC have completely fallen out of love with Rugby League and don't know what to do with it any more. The CC - as the BBC's main tournament - could be the biggest casualty of that.'"
Agree with most of what you say here, I'd just change the "socialist tinted" bit to "condescending tw*ts"
I'd definitely give the CC to Sky but then make BBC show it in it's entirety, including the build up, the day after.
