Has anyone noticed.....

GAAman

That the atmosphere at Dub games has been goin drastically downhill as of late? Now i mean in the last few years not just months. Like at the meath match there was barely any singin outside of the hill. Is this cos of the so called "fair weather" fans? Now normally i wouldnt mind but at the meath game there were a couple behind me and they were shoutin generic stuff like "go on ye good thing" etc and the only time they use players names was after i had shouted them

To prove this to myself at one point when mossy quinn had the ball i roared out "GO ON CHARLIE REDMOND YE LEGEND!!" and lo and behold i listened to about a minute of them shoutin for charlie redmond to lash it over the bar

Also when singin come on ye boys in blue loads of people were ballsin it up, its a song with SIX words in it how can ye mess that **** up??!!

So my question is this is it as a result in the increase of "new" fans or are the same supporters not as vocal as they once were?

TomMc

Too many of the admass now follow (used in the broadest sense of the word) the Dubs. They always did but even more so now. In days gone by they at least knew the players and had some interest in Gaelic football, if somewhat fickle as supporters. But it is now just a day out (must go to event), a form of entertainment like a pop concert etc, not down to a love of sport. What I did not like was the mass booing of any Meath player taking a free or seeing quite a few gangs at the train station with their six packs of cider. I guess with increasing affluence in society, the plebes can now go places where they could not in the past.

Atomic Pineapple

yeh its the "new" type of supporter, the idiots that have no interest in the game outside the championship, its probably in most counties too to be honest, like for the meath dublin game on sunday i know people goin up that would never have been to a gaa match before in there lives, they'll go to a pub get drunk before the game, go in watch it and not have a clue whats goin on and come out and go back to the pub again, its very annoying that people like this soak up the ticket allocation and real fans cant get a ticket

Nalced_irl

draffodx wrote:

its very annoying that people like this soak up the ticket allocation and real fans cant get a ticket

leinster@gaa.ie <----Theres the address to tell it to. I did. I think its a joke that so many tickets go to the public (i.e. The touts) and my club gets 140 tickets for 262 people. Also, something tells me its not just my club that had this problem, id say all clubs in 4 counties experienced the same.

blackbelt

I don't go through the clubs to get my tickets,I've never trusted that method and since abandoning that idea,I've never had a problem getting tickets whether it be from the county board,PP pass,ticketmaster or knowing somebody in the GAA.

I think PP pass and club demand should be assessed and put first and get rid of ticketmaster for big games ie Dublin derby's,Leinster finals and semi finals onward.I hate to say that Ticketmaster should get their allocation stopped but I feel the scumbag element would decrease if this was the case.PP holders should be given two tickets per pass and club allocations doubled.Then your average Joe Tout can't make a fortune and these money hungry bastards can keep collecting their welfare cheques.

The Rooster

GAAman wrote:

That the atmosphere at Dub games has been goin drastically downhill as of late? Now i mean in the last few years not just months. Like at the meath match there was barely any singin outside of the hill. Is this cos of the so called "fair weather" fans? Now normally i wouldnt mind but at the meath game there were a couple behind me and they were shoutin generic stuff like "go on ye good thing" etc and the only time they use players names was after i had shouted them

In double headers when there is a restriction on the number of tickets Dublin gets, its almost impossible to get concerted singing outside the Hill.

There was a superb atmosphere all around the ground for the Mayo match last year (for the first 60 minutes anyway!) and the two Tyrone games a couple of years ago were superb. The noise the Dublin fans were making in the replay when the Dubs were closing the big lead Tyrone had built up was the loudest I've ever heard.

GAAman

The Rooster wrote:

The noise the Dublin fans were making in the replay when the Dubs were closing the big lead Tyrone had built up was the loudest I've ever heard.

One of the very matches i was thinkin bout when i wrote this thread, there was a dinstinct lack of vocal chords after that match

dgrif88

atmosphere wasnt great in 1st game.dont think u could blame weather. even behind the goal where iv been standing for 17yrs wasnt great.

the reason i go behind the goal is for the singing etc.
although u have to put up with the odd clown, i feel its worth it.
i always go to the back as well cos less chance of getting hit by a missile from some irate fan!

im hoping for much better atmosphere this sunday and i really think there will be.

on the ticket allocation subject-
1-ticket b@stard should not be allowed sell tickets for a game of this magnitude-end of story
2-game should be stand alone fixture-end of story(blame that anti-dub nicky brennan)
3-clubs should get much bigger allocation than they currently get.
its a joke at moment. im member of one of biggest clubs in ireland and there was murder on thurs night such was the allocation we received.

Nalced_irl

Grif, would you be speaking of the same club i am? Boden?

dgrif88

nalced,
im northsider horse- Naomh Brid

Nalced_irl

Ah right, just very similar story to Boden. Same craziness on Thursday.

Atomic Pineapple

dgrif88 wrote:

2-game should be stand alone fixture-end of story(blame that anti-dub nicky brennan)

this really doesnt make any sense at all surely moving the louth wexford game to a smaller stadium and letting dublin and meath sell out would be more much in the gaa's interests??

as for ticketmaster, i think its a joke they get to sell tickets for any game, for a start there added fees are a rip off and surely the gaa could come up with a better alternative to distributing tickets?

dgrif88

dafyd-i never said move the wexford game to smaller stadium ya numpty.
what i am proposing is moving the dublin game forward or back-dont care which.
i suppose meath would have objected (naturally) if it was brought forward cos of farrells suspension.
surely they could have found alternative date.
im sick of f*ckin clowns saying these smaller teams deserve their big day out.
there will be no-one in croke park to watch them bar their own small band of supporters so it means f*ck all to them

Atomic Pineapple

dgrif88 wrote:

dafyd-i never said move the wexford game to smaller stadium ya numpty.
what i am proposing is moving the dublin game forward or back-dont care which.

so your saying open croke park to a particularly small game where the gaa would have the same overheads opening croke park as a big game but would make significantly less money from ticket sales as oppossed to utilising a smaller stadium with less overheads and more money for the gaa and then selling out croke park making maximum profit with the meath dublin game?

either way there's not all that much difference between having the game in a smaller stadium on the same day as dublin meath or the dublin meath game being on a different date.

dgrif88 wrote:

]2-game should be stand alone fixture-end of story(blame that anti-dub nicky brennan)

you weren't exactly clear in that you wanted it on a different date either, so calling me a numpty, whatever that is, is pretty childish

dgrif88

what part of stand alone fixture do u not understand.
basically it means that dublin and meath play on their own.

surely louth can be accomadated at a later date because we all know croker will not be full till all ireland final day unless dublin play and dafyd that is the reality of the situation.

that w*nker brennan had the cheek to put 3 games on last august when dublin were playing mayo.

in my opinion the gaa use us when they feel like it eg. the floodlit game in croker v tyrone which i didnt attend due to the fact that our home games are in pp and i wasnt going to be used.

the gaa really dont have a clue when they treat their biggest crowd puller like sh*t.

blackbelt

My uncle just rang and confirmed we just scored two corporate box tickets.Whilst I'll have a brilliant view and comfort,I will definitely miss the buzz on the Hill tomorrow.My problem is that he won't go if I turned down the corporate box tickets after I had pushed for him to go and we can't hand them over to anybody else as there is the name on the ticket.I'll be handing over my Hill ticket begrudgingly.

Comfort and view versus atmosphere....take your pick.

A lot of people won't see Dgrif88's view but I can kind of see where he is coming from.I don't think its blind rage on his part so don't give out to him.

I can understand where his anger is channelled from and why.The GAA in a sense do use the Dublin supporters to their advantage if you think about it in terms of population and financial feasibility.Tyrone have a great following to come down here so who else would sell out Croke Park on a cold Saturday night in February only Dublin and Tyrone.Then there was outcry at the ticket allocations for Dublin-Mayo last year on a warm Sunday afternoon in August.I thanked my lucky stars I got two tickets for that match.I'm assuming Dgrif88 point of view is that in a period where the GAA is at its lag period of business,they will use a gimmick and two big teams to create hype and reap financial rewards but come Summer when its mayhem,those same supporters find themselves or consider themselves shafted in a sense when it suits the GAA.

It does look like the GAA can suit themselves whenever they want.Its ironic in a sense that the GAA will cut allocations accordingly when they know they can sell out Croker between five/six counties but then when it comes to cold weather and frost bitten hands,they'd prefer to have two big teams sell it out when the other smaller teams are not doing anything "special".

Being objective as I am,I love double-headers.They add value to the price of the ticket and often can make it hard for the second match to match the excitement in the first.You can't make everybody happy all of the time.However,I do believe those two counties,Wexford and Louth have every right to be there.My opinion or belief is that if you really love your county,you will take any necessary precautions and do everything in your power to get tickets.Thats why I have never been stuck without a ticket in donkies years.Its when the Championship comes to the semi final stages that ticket demands soar even higher and fair weather supporters start complaining.

There is an argument that the GAA could and should morally treat the Dub fans better when it comes to big games ie fixtures and venues.I could honestly say that Cork-Kerry would only have a crowd of 25,000-40,000 on a cold Saturday night in winter in Croker.On the other hand,Dublin did have the privelige to have the honours in playing the first match under lights in CP,so I won't complain.I thoroughly enjoyed the match even if the result left a lot to be desired.

TomMc

May be I'm wrong but I suspect the main reason Dublin v Tyrone was played when it was, was not so much to extract maximum loot but so as a Rugby or Soccer match would not be the first one played under lights. The GAA also know that you need to be imaginative to get Dublin fans out in mass. If the match was played on the Sunday afternoon, it would not have been a sellout but still a big turnout. Basically they killed two birds with the one stone.

Kerry people only travel to All-Ireland Finals in mass, so again they would never fill out Croke Park under any other circumstances. Dublin are only one of 32 counties, so why should they get preferencial treatment from the GAA. They may have the population but the % of GAA people in the capital is probably quite a bit smaller per capita, than in provincial counties. Having said that the GAA need Dublin to be doing well, to generate some added hype and broader media interest from time to time. Bit like Ferrari in F1.

Anyway, Blackbelt - Enjoy your prawn sandwiches, strawberries & cream; hopefully it will offer some comfort in case of life's little disappointments !!!

dgrif88

some interesting points blackbelt.

i was just wondering would u be looking forward to the wexford v louth match if u were on the hill and not indulging in free bar in the corporate section.
pull the other one, btw fair play to ya.

i myself have never been stuck for a ticket since i started going but i always look after 3 mates who come to all league games with me.
they are on waiting list for the parnell park ticket scheme but are not affiliated with any club unlike myself.

i really think dublin supporters should boycott at least one game in the leinster campaign this yr or even next yr just to let the leinster council know how we feel on the ticket issue, ie- giving tickets to ticketmaster,selling them thru their own offices and the double header suituation.

i got a phone call from bloke i know who was looking for swap. he purchased 6 hogan from portlaoise and wanted couple of hill for swap. i was sick when i heard this cos this fella doesnt have clue about dublin gaa.

i really think we have to stand up and start voicing our concerns and i believe the only way to truly be heard is by staging a one match boycott.

trust me its the last thing i want is to miss a dublin champo match but in long term it will be worth it.

doesnt have to big match eg meath or laois.

ps-have few pound on keaney for 1st goal at 9/1 with paddy powers.

pps-if vaughan starts hes 14/1 with bet365 so will have to back him as well.

enjoy game and may best team win

blackbelt

Yes TomMc I will enjoy my meal and drinks and the view in my comfort zone.Are you in the Hogan?I might lob some ice cream down to you to put a big smile on your face when you're losing

In all seriousness though,I'll be missing the buzz on the Hill big time.I usually frequent the Hill or Lower Hogan but now that I've had the Hill ticket in my hand and have to hand it over is no easy thing to do as I had been looking forward to standing on the Hill up until Fri/Sat.

What would the rest of you feel if you were in my situation?This question is mainly to my fellow Dubs who would appreciate the Hill more.View and luxury vs atmosphere and buzz.I'll no doubt look over at the Hill at some stage and sigh and say I should be there singing and shouting at the players to mark up or pass the ball or help out their man.It will be more sedate in the Hogan Corpo.If their was no name on the tickets,I'd imagine we'd have sold and swapped.

Dgrif88,I've never been in this situation as the first and only time I've been in the Corpo area was for the All-Ireland club championship finals this year.I've also never paid a cent toward the corpo tickets.The truth is that I THINK I'd enjoy the Louth-Wexford match as much in the Corpo area as in the Hill.I'll let you know later.

I also love being in the Lower Hogan as you can hear the ball as its been kicked,the acoustics everywhere else don't really accomodate this feat.

I see where you are coming from grif but the boycott is not a feasible idea.In fact,it would only do harm as more sunshine or scumbags would get tickets.Also the GAA could also easily punish us as they wish by cutting ticket allocations.I wouldn't let the GAA or Leinster Council put me off going to a match.I love my team and my county and I'd put them ahead of the moral values of whats right and whats wrong as the GAA and L.Council are concerned.

We are what the GAA call us,the "Old Reliables".Personally,I'd push for more Dublin alllocated tickets but scrap Ticketmaster and the Leinster Council.This way all the sunshiners can get all the sunshine they want in the beer garden and all the scumbags can go causing trouble somewhere else.

Dgrif,Keaney is more of a point scorer.I'm not a betting man but if I was,I'd put money on Alan Brogan if we are to score a goal.I think you might lose out on the Vaughn bet as I've heard nothing about a change in line-up which is absolutely ridiculous.Connolly should be taken out of there and replaced by Bernard Brogan or Vaughn.A double Brogan forward line would bury Meath in my opinion.That setup has never really come to fruition this year yet as Alan was struggling with a back injury.

TomMc

I was in the last exec box (Cusack stand) right beside the Hill on 2 or 3 occasions. Remember the day we destroyed Tyrone in an AI SF but also one time the Biffo's got the better of us. It would have been much more fun throwing banana skins down on the Dubs.:D

I think the worst part of the exec boxes are not so much the seating (which is on a nice enough level, if slightly panoramic), but the company one usually ends up with. The suits and their ilk tend to make you feel somewhat removed from the action, less involved. Like you are watching something in 3D at the movies rather than at the actual event itself.

blackbelt

MMMMM...I'm strongly considering wearing every piece of Dublin gear and getting my face painted to stick it to corporate layabouts.They won't be able to silence me....they'll have to pay me.:D

cournioni

It was the first game of the championship, if they get further in the competition then I think you'll see the atmosphere getting better and better. It is always the way...

blackbelt

No prawn sandwiches for me today.I'm actually in the premium level in the Hogan and not the corporate.Theres a mix up for ya.So I won't have to fear the atmosphere being dead.