Magic - The Verdict

[AndyNick]

So Magic has come and gone, what were your thoughts on it?

I am a fan of the concept, I also think that they have the set of fixtures correct (FINALLY!!)I never went to Cardiff but went to both Edinburgh weekends. The Etihad is a good venue for it but is certainly far from perfect in many respects. Not least the ridiculous prices they charge for food and drink. Not sure how true this is but I was told by several people that everything went up by at least £1 on what they charge at a football match. I like it being accessible for the majority of clubs and I think that the attendance figures back that point up. I can hear the argument of looking to expand the game, but Scotland and South Wales are never going to buy into that. If you are looking for somewhere new, how about Villa Park? I've heard Dublin mentioned but if you think the Etihad was expensive, you'll need a Mortgage over there! The one down side of having it in Manchester is that it has seen an increase in people coming for their own teams game and then leaving again rather than staying to watch the other games. Wire and Stains are particularly bad for this although credit to the Widnes contingent who were still there in sizeable numbers for our game on Saturday night.

For me, I like the opportunity to see all of the teams and also fixtures that I wouldn't normally get the chance to see live. Such as the Hull Derby, Cas v Wakey, Wire v Stains. Then you have the fact that fans of all clubs are there, but hardly a copper in sight. Would have been a waste of their time which is one of the great things about our game. Plenty of banter flying around but never any problems.

As for the rugby, I thought London gave a very good account of themselves and were unlucky not to beat Catalans. Hull, Bradford and Wakefield all looked very poor. Particularly Bradford. Wakefield just seemed to give up after about 20 minutes, I felt sorry for their fans. Ours was definitely the game of the weekend. Was great to see Salford lose as well. What I hadn't realised was that Salford have changed their mascot to a Cartoon devil version of the Good Dr. Now thats taking things a bit far IMO.

No Mascot games this year (Thankfully!!!) Anyone got any ideas why DJ Spoony was there? As for the House band, I think they only know 4 songs, as they played the same songs on both days.

All in all was a very enjoyable weekend, First day was definitely the better of the two. Will be interesting to see how it goes next year. I believe the plan is to have 2 Magics, one for the Super League and one for the Championship. I'd imagine the Super League one will be at the Etihad again, any ideas where the Championship one will be? Can't see it attracting anywhere near as many. DW perhaps?

[markill]

Blackpool is a front runner for Championship Magic