Yes, most certainly. We date back over 120 years and have always been the biggest sporting club in the city and with a local pedigree.
I think if we were kicked out with nowhere to go, people would indeed be bothered.
The club isn't sisu.
Wasps shouldn't be here. People from Coventry accepting them as they have has been in droves will be far more to blame than the clubs owners.
Italia and his type will be far more culpable than Joy Seppella for the shameful way they have accepted franchising as a principal in sport.
First hand
But the issue is that though their actions SISU have become a bigger focal point than CCFC for those who follow local news, but don't bother with the sports section/back pages.
Both the Telegraph and Observer have covered the SISU/ACL/Ricoh situation in great depth and whilst some would say from difference perspectives the CCFC side of things in these articles has been little than a footnote.
I'm not suggesting people shouldn't/don't care about CCFC but for the casual observer the owners have been the ones in the spotlight over the last few years.
I can assure you the majority of Coventry have never heard of sisu, waggott or fisher or indeed Richardson or Eastwood.
If Wasps were to boot the club out or raise the rent so that it wasn't financially viable for the club to stay do you think the general population of Coventry would be particularly bothered?
Think the simple answer is, if you have a new found love for rugby, go and watch Cov play at the Butts. It is a good level, they are a local team and they have a much richer history that is relevant to this city.
'We have sought assurances that Coventry City football club will be able to continue with their current arrangements at the Ricoh, and that Coventry Rugby Club will be fully involved in future rugby discussions with Wasps if a deal goes ahead.'We have received assurances on both of these matters.'
Think the simple answer is, if you have a new found love for rugby, go and watch Cov play at the Butts. It is a good level, they are a local team and they have a much richer history that is relevant to this city.
Why should people have to watch Cov play?
Whilst this has been mentioned before, and dismissed by some, the sense of the big occasion and family atmosphere (*reply incoming where a mate's mate's neighbour's work colleague was roughed up during a Wasps game!*) is what people are enjoying with Wasps at the Ricoh which you wouldn't get at The Butts.
People are fickle, hence people's dismay/disgust at the sudden love-in many are having with Wasps, and so surely it would follow they'd want what's available at the Ricoh and not watching Cov?
The history of clubs means little to a lot of people.......and why Wasps have seemingly been accepted by some (not all!) people in and around Coventry.
Hmm, there's a little bit of right, and a bit of wrong in this in my view. No doubt you're right that a lot is the spectacle and the occasion.
Disagree about the history of clubs however. It doesn't for the one-off, but the club will have uber-fickle fans without the legacy of a sense of place that comes with time. The trick for any newly arrived club is to keep themselves afloat as they try to embed themselves, so that becomes less important.
As it stands, a large high profile start is not surprising for Wasps really. As you say, some will be attracted by the occasion, by curiosity, by whatever. Those people however are also more likely to be attracted by other leisure events on offer elsewhere, so they're more likely to bog off. One thing CCFC does have in its favour is a hardcore of embedded fans who are there because of tradition, the past and the like - Wasps doesn't have them.
The genuinely interesting objective POV is more why someone wouldn't have bought Cov Rugby and spunked a load of money at them to build them up to the Wasps level. In terms of the long term that would have had a better chance of succeeding in my view. In terms of the short term probably not, because there wouldn't have been that curiosity value and the sense of exposure (I'm guessing Wasps also want to piggy-back on the World Cup - so maybe we need to cheer on Wales, Australia... and Uruguay?)
How it plays out over the next 5-10 years will, objectively, be quite interesting.
But yeah, there's already a senior rugby team with a tradition in the city, not to mention Rugby Lions close by so hell, go and watch them if you love your rugby.
Hmm, there's a little bit of right, and a bit of wrong in this in my view. No doubt you're right that a lot is the spectacle and the occasion.
Disagree about the history of clubs however. It doesn't for the one-off, but the club will have uber-fickle fans without the legacy of a sense of place that comes with time. The trick for any newly arrived club is to keep themselves afloat as they try to embed themselves, so that becomes less important.
As it stands, a large high profile start is not surprising for Wasps really. As you say, some will be attracted by the occasion, by curiosity, by whatever. Those people however are also more likely to be attracted by other leisure events on offer elsewhere, so they're more likely to bog off. One thing CCFC does have in its favour is a hardcore of embedded fans who are there because of tradition, the past and the like - Wasps doesn't have them.
The genuinely interesting objective POV is more why someone wouldn't have bought Cov Rugby and spunked a load of money at them to build them up to the Wasps level. In terms of the long term that would have had a better chance of succeeding in my view. In terms of the short term probably not, because there wouldn't have been that curiosity value and the sense of exposure (I'm guessing Wasps also want to piggy-back on the World Cup - so maybe we need to cheer on Wales, Australia... and Uruguay?)
How it plays out over the next 5-10 years will, objectively, be quite interesting.
But yeah, there's already a senior rugby team with a tradition in the city, not to mention Rugby Lions close by so hell, go and watch them if you love your rugby.
The club isn't sisu.
Wasps shouldn't be here. People from Coventry accepting them as they have has been in droves will be far more to blame than the clubs owners.
Italia and his type will be far more culpable than Joy Seppella for the shameful way they have accepted franchising as a principal in sport.
I'm now saying it's too late, they are all but established financially and another couple of years they will become one of the richest rugby clubs in the world.
I'm afraid the worn out line that Wasps aren't from London is utter bullshit trotted out to pretend that this isn't somehow a franchise. I can live with people supporting Wasps, if that's what they want to do and they can live with themselves doing it. What I can't tolerate is this sort of rubbish being used to justify that behaviour.
Even their owner accepted when he bought them that they were a West London club, and to date the RFU have insisted they keep their academy there. The only reason they're at the Ricoh is because it makes more money for the owners.
Anything else is an abject pretence, and as boring as getting into this row again is, it should be challenged every time it's trotted out. 'Nomads' my arse, basically.
Is it not any different then all those people that support a premier league team rather then there home team.
Most people want top class entertainment watching the best sportsmen in the best leagues.
The frustration is that people who have shown zero interest in either their local team or rugby in general are now flocking to the Ricoh in their thousands supporting a team dropped in from 85 miles away.
Wasps are really at the peak of interest and fan base (remember when ccfc started at the ricoh with 20k + crowds)
I get what you are saying, but you misread me – I don’t pretend it’s not a franchise. I think it’s a franchise that has brought big sport to Coventry, and I’m not prepared to get on a high horse and tell people they are wrong to enjoy it, or say that the city should have turned down the benefits.
Wasps shouldn’t have left London, but they did and over more than a decade they changed their fan base 80% to the Wycombe area. People could hardly kick up a riot when another (more viable) move happened - that’s why there was barely a whimper. The crux of it is - why take a moral stance on behalf of people who either don’t much care, or are actually delighted because their club has moved onto another level?
There must be ways for the interests of the two clubs to be aligned under one roof. Under current ownership arrangements that’s hard (one club as landlord, the other as tenant), but things change. I still think someone can find a way for CCFC to thrive alongside Wasps, rather than just permanently playing the victim.
Wasps are really at the peak of interest and fan base (remember when ccfc started at the ricoh with 20k + crowds)
CCFC have much more potential (if we could ever get going)
This is what could change the dynamics going forward
It's possible the Rugby World Cup could increase their attendance.
It's possible the Rugby World Cup could increase their attendance.
This season, Sams talking about the gradual decline over 5-6 years.
He said - "Wasps are really at the peak of interest and fan base" - I said the World Cup could increase the numbers. If this did happen they haven't peaked as things stand today.
He said - "Wasps are really at the peak of interest and fan base" - I said the World Cup could increase the numbers. If this did happen they haven't peaked as things stand today.
I'm not so sure, if you aren't a rugby fan you'd have little idea its even on at the moment.
In 5-10 years I can't see them being as successful as they like to think, hopefully they'll be in massive financial trouble and finally leave the city.
I have a ticket for Wasps along with my CCFC Season ticket for what will be my 48th season of supporting.
Is it relevant ?
I think the response to the Japan game proves that non-rugby fans are watching and fully aware of the WC.
Why would them being in financial trouble mean they have to leave the city? Lots of sporting teams are in the red, but don't up sticks and move away.
absolutely - forget any world cup boosts - and leicester will always be a big gate (due to leicester supporters) - but interest will wain over the years
Look at the rugby world cup - yes people go to games - I talk at work to Rugby fans (1 is even a wasps STH) and they dont really watch that many games - The pubs arent full etc etc
Rugby is not football and never will be - and therefore this initial excitement of premier league rugby will die away
It's possible the Rugby World Cup could increase their attendance.
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