Off The Ball Official Thread <Mod Note - Post #1, #533, #6651>

Tombo2001

Dots1982 wrote: »

I have no disagreement with you on the soccer stuff.

You said Irish men aren't really interested in sport generally because they didn't show the requisite appreciation (you haven't defined what was the adequate appreciation to be considered true sports fans) for a badminton player who was briefly in the Top 25 in the world and got to the QFs in the Olympics and that for me is nonsense.

I didnt say anything about appreciation - I said if they had access to a world class athlete on their doorstep, they wouldn't go to see it unless it was sport of a particular type requiring two teams of lads kicking a ball around a field in some particular form or guise.

If Scott Evans doesn't meet your fairly high criteria for what constitutes a world class athlete; then how about Kenenisa Bekele - greatest long distance runner of all time. Holder of the world records for 5000m and 10000m for over decade. 3 time Olympic gold, 5 time Worlds gold, 12 time world cross country champion.

Ran the Great Ireland Run a few times in the late 2000s......In the phoenix park, free for anyone to go along......did anyone go along to see him? No...... not interested. Probably clashed with a Sky Super Sunday, Spurs vs Reading.

And not to harp on too much about Evans - badminton is the number one sport in China and Indonesia, and the second most popular in India - these are three of the four largest countries in the world by population. Its also the number one sport in Denmark, where there's a professional circuit. Evans was ranked 25th in the world, but the 6th European in 2015. He was ranked 10th in the world at the olympics, but the 3rd European. This is an individual sport; and unlike say boxing or rowing where there are 20 different weight classes you can compete in; or soccer or rugby where you can be one of a squad of 26 in a competition. So its much much harder to win a medal in this sport than others, or indeed to climb the world rankings. His achievements, for a country that has very little funding or history in badminton, are quite incredible; and its disappointing to see you belittle it. Don't get me wrong, I don't play badminton myself, but I just think its really good example of a top class Irish sportsperson that the wider sporting public here shows little or no interest in; or alternatively, an example of how the wider sporting public actually isn't interested in sport per se, but brands and teams.

pc7

Well I'm female and love most sports, listen to otb/second captains etc and enjoy it. Don't follow soccer but like most sports and will watch them if on. But I was brought up watching sport and going to rugby matches (no sons)! I've a bigger interest in sport than my husband. But certain women's sports I don't enjoy (rugby, boxing etc.), is that me falling for stereotypes I don't know but don't enjoy them, all the coverage in the world won't change that. Some sports like skiing and tennis I prefer watching the women's games (but would still watch men's). Listening over the years to otb etc has opened my interest to other sports so coverage does help too.

elefant

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I didnt say anything about appreciation - I said if they had access to a world class athlete on their doorstep, they wouldn't go to see it unless it was sport of a particular type requiring two teams of lads kicking a ball around a field in some particular form or guise.

If Scott Evans doesn't meet your fairly high criteria for what constitutes a world class athlete; then how about Kenenisa Bekele - greatest long distance runner of all time. Holder of the world records for 5000m and 10000m for over decade. 3 time Olympic gold, 5 time Worlds gold, 12 time world cross country champion.

Ran the Great Ireland Run a few times in the late 2000s......In the phoenix park, free for anyone to go along......did anyone go along to see him? No...... not interested. Probably clashed with a Sky Super Sunday, Spurs vs Reading.

And not to harp on too much about Evans - badminton is the number one sport in China and Indonesia, and the second most popular in India - these are three of the four largest countries in the world by population. Its also the number one sport in Denmark, where there's a professional circuit. Evans was ranked 25th in the world, but the 6th European in 2015. He was ranked 10th in the world at the olympics, but the 3rd European. This is an individual sport; and unlike say boxing or rowing where there are 20 different weight classes you can compete in; or soccer or rugby where you can be one of a squad of 26 in a competition. So its much much harder to win a medal in this sport than others, or indeed to climb the world rankings. His achievements, for a country that has very little funding or history in badminton, are quite incredible; and its disappointing to see you belittle it. Don't get me wrong, I don't play badminton myself, but I just think its really good example of a top class Irish sportsperson that the wider sporting public here shows little or no interest in; or alternatively, an example of how the wider sporting public actually isn't interested in sport per se, but brands and teams.

I think it's a really good example about how the majority of the Irish public don't care about badminton.

Why are you trying to conflate this issue into a bizarre hypothesis relating to the general (pseudo?) sports-fan's love for 'brands'?
It's as simple a matter as different countries having, in general, different levels of interest in different sports. I wouldn't go to my local community centre to see Scott Evans play, because I have no interest whatsoever in badminton. It's strange to me that somebody would equate that to me being genuinely uninterested in sport!

I wonder is there someone on the Chinese version of boards decrying the lack of national airtime being given to Chinese rugby.
'Li Xuerui is always on the radio here! The Chinese don't even like badminton, they just like the Li Xuerui brand'.

Tombo2001

elefant wrote: »

I think it's a really good example about how the majority of the Irish public don't care about badminton.

Why are you trying to conflate this issue into a bizarre hypothesis relating to the general (pseudo?) sports-fan's love for 'brands'?
It's as simple a matter as different countries having, in general, different levels of interest in different sports. I wouldn't go to my local community centre to see Scott Evans play, because I have no interest whatsoever in badminton. It's strange to me that somebody would equate that to me being genuinely uninterested in sport!

I wonder is there someone on the Chinese version of boards decrying the lack of national airtime being given to Chinese rugby.
'Li Xuerui is always on the radio here! The Chinese don't even like badminton, they just like the Li Xuerui brand'.

I used an example to make a point; I wasn't making a point about badminton per se.

Kenenisa Bekele isn't a badminton player, he's a long distance runner. I'd guess if Usain Bolt was in Dublin there would be a huge turn out because he's a brand. Bekele has achieved every bit as much and is just as talented, yet no interest.

There are heaps of other examples across a wide range of sports. League of Ireland another great one - nobody goes to see it, despite it being soccer played at a pretty high level.

I'm quite happy to stand over my point, that in many many cases - if a top class sportsperson is performing in competition in Ireland, most of the 'sporting public' have no interest, no matter what the sport. Obviously its touched a nerve here.....

elefant

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I used an example to make a point; I wasn't making a point about badminton per se.

Kenenisa Bekele isn't a badminton player, he's a long distance runner. I'd guess if Usain Bolt was in Dublin there would be a huge turn out because he's a brand. Bekele has achieved every bit as much and is just as talented, yet no interest.

There are heaps of other examples across a wide range of sports. League of Ireland another great one - nobody goes to see it, despite it being soccer played at a pretty high level.

I'm quite happy to stand over my point, that in many many cases - if a top class sportsperson is performing in competition in Ireland, most of the 'sporting public' have no interest, no matter what the sport. Obviously its touched a nerve here.....

Obviously you weren't making a point about badminton per ce. Neither was I.

You could say the same about long-distance running. The general population just don't care. They don't care if Bekele is running in a XC race, or if Mo Farah is running in a XC race. They wouldn't watch it on television, why would they turn out to a park to watch them? For most people in Ireland watching long-distance running, watching badminton, watching cricket, watching curling etc. is boring, and people won't turn out to watch or tune-in to listen.

People are interested in 100m sprinting; it demonstrates the fastest person on the planet, and whether it's Bolt running against Gay, or Greene running against Bolton, people want to see that. Bolt is the fastest man to have ever lived, of course people would like to see him but that doesn't mean they're not 'real' sports-fans.

If a top-class sportsperson is competing in Ireland in a sport that someone cares about then that someone will go to see it. You haven't touched a nerve, you've just touched upon a silly point.

Dots1982

elefant wrote: »

Obviously you weren't making a point about badminton per ce. Neither was I.

You could say the same about long-distance running. The general population just don't care. They don't care if Bekele is running in a XC race, or if Mo Farah is running in a XC race. They wouldn't watch it on television, why would they turn out to a park to watch them? For most people in Ireland watching long-distance running, watching badminton, watching cricket, watching curling etc. is boring, and people won't turn out to watch or tune-in to listen.

People are interested in 100m sprinting; it demonstrates the fastest person on the planet, and whether it's Bolt running against Gay, or Greene running against Bolton, people want to see that. Bolt is the fastest man to have ever lived, of course people would like to see him but that doesn't mean they're not 'real' sports-fans.

If a top-class sportsperson is competing in Ireland in a sport that someone cares about then that someone will go to see it. You haven't touched a nerve, you've just touched upon a silly point.

I think you've missed the point to be fair to the guy. If a World/Olympic champion is competing in Ireland you would expect people to show up.

What my questions would be would be do you know the average attendance for the Great Irish Run compared to the years Bekele ran and were they actually unchanged? Secondly what kind of numbers showed up to watch in other cities Bekele competed in that are comparable in population to Dublin. Without that info you're not really able to make an argument that Ireland is any different to anywhere else when it comes to interest in Sport.

elefant

Dots1982 wrote: »

I think you've missed the point to be fair to the guy. If a World/Olympic champion is competing in Ireland you would expect people to show up.

What my questions would be would be do you know the average attendance for the Great Irish Run compared to the years Bekele ran and were they actually unchanged? Secondly what kind of numbers showed up to watch in other cities Bekele competed in that are comparable in population to Dublin. Without that info you're not really able to make an argument that Ireland is any different to anywhere else when it comes to interest in Sport.

I don't think I've missed the point at all.

'if a top class sportsperson is performing in competition in Ireland, most of the 'sporting public' have no interest, no matter what the sport.'

This is the point, and I don't see any evidence at all for this being true. The 'sporting public' are very interested in watching top class sportspeople compete, if they are competing in a sport they are interested in. The majority Irish sporting public just aren't interested in every single sport (no different to any other country) and this doesn't make them lesser sports fans.

That the average Irish person with an interest in sport doesn't want to get out an watch a top-class Irish badminton player or listen to radio report about a cross-country race doesn't cast aspersions on their legitimacy as a fan of sports.

rufuseric82

I do think it is a little odd that Newstalk have no female sports presenters or reporters when some of the most impressive reporters on the likes of RTE and the BBC are female. I don't think they should have quotas but it would mix things up a bit.

redbuck

rufuseric82 wrote: »

I do think it is a little odd that Newstalk have no female sports presenters or reporters when some of the most impressive reporters on the likes of RTE and the BBC are female. I don't think they should have quotas but it would mix things up a bit.

The only good female sports presenter on RTE is Joanne Cantwell and shes their best presenter full stop.

Quintis

redbuck wrote: »

The only good female sports presenter on RTE is Joanne Cantwell and shes their best presenter full stop.

Máire Treasa is quite good

ThisRegard

She's TG4 though isn't she.

KReid

rufuseric82 wrote: »

I do think it is a little odd that Newstalk have no female sports presenters or reporters when some of the most impressive reporters on the likes of RTE and the BBC are female. I don't think they should have quotas but it would mix things up a bit.

Can i ask why you think it's odd? Genuienly interested, as we know how this incarnation of OTB came about, i've never questioned why there are no female sport reporters before.





Seems theres a debate going here and before the arguments about how important sport is here's a graph of the most watched TV in 2016, sport is very much important to a the majority of the population.

elefant

What happened on February 27th that so many people were watching the news?

dr.kenneth noisewater

elefant wrote: »

What happened on February 27th that so many people were watching the news?

General Election

elefant

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

General Election

Aha!

When I googled all I was getting was the Ireland-England rugby game that day.

Dirty Dingus McGee

KReid wrote: »

Can i ask why you think it's odd? Genuienly interested, as we know how this incarnation of OTB came about, i've never questioned why there are no female sport reporters before.





Seems theres a debate going here and before the arguments about how important sport is here's a graph of the most watched TV in 2016, sport is very much important to a the majority of the population.

But not as important as the Late Late Toy show.

Sport is the last thing terrestrial TV has so you'd really expect it to dominate on Irish TV pretty much from now.No decent television apart from sport is on RTE and TV3.

I wouldn't say it is very much important to the majority of the population (important to many yes but not hugely important to the majority), most people whether they are really interested in sport or not would watch those events in the top 20 programmes. My mother has no interest in soccer and yet she'll watch Ireland's matches.

KReid

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

But not as important as the Late Late Toy show.

Sport is the last thing terrestrial TV has so you'd really expect it to dominate on Irish TV pretty much from now.No decent television apart from sport is on RTE and TV3.

I wouldn't say it is very much important to the majority of the population (important to many yes but not hugely important to the majority), most people whether they are really interested in sport or not would watch those events in the top 20 programmes. My mother has no interest in soccer and yet she'll watch Ireland's matches.

Well if you say important to "many" you'd probably have to concede that means the majority. I mean everyone has to have some form of balance and not be intensely interested in all sports all the time, but the sheer number of sports events in their and the share of the market they had shows interest to the majority.

I think the fact that your mother has no interest in soccer but would watch Ireland games shows the appeal of sports to an extent as it catches peoples imaginations. I'm guessing it was hard for them to extract viewing figures for the Olympics as the coverage was so scattered and lots of stuff on at night.

foxtrot101

rufuseric82 wrote: »

I do think it is a little odd that Newstalk have no female sports presenters or reporters when some of the most impressive reporters on the likes of RTE and the BBC are female. I don't think they should have quotas but it would mix things up a bit.

Sinead Kissane worked on OTB in the early days, then she left to join TV3. Since then, I think, Newstalk's sports department has been entirely male - presenters, reporters and researchers. Is that odd? Yeah, I suppose it is.

siblers

Have Today FM had any female sports news readers in recent years?. I think they may have one female sports reader who occasionally slotted in to cover holidays or during non prime time hours, could be mistaken.

PeterTheNinth

Why does Kenny Cunningham always talk to Joe like he something that he wiped from the bottom of his shoe. I'm sure you will all say it's just banter, but I find his behaviour more like bullying.

Tell me how

PeterTheNinth wrote: »

Why does Kenny Cunningham always talk to Joe like he something that he wiped from the bottom of his shoe. I'm sure you will all say it's just banter, but I find his behaviour more like bullying.

Kenny speaks the same way to everyone. He is blunt and forthright and not apologetic about his view. He is not rude or demeaning.

I wouldn't say it's banter, it's his style. Think it's a long way from bullying.

neris

Why does Kenny always say "the football club"

Tell me how

neris wrote: »

Why does Kenny always say "the football club"

Yeah. He does a lot.

You wouldn't be long getting drunk if you used it in a drinking game. Every time he says it, take a shot.

siblers

Took me a while to warm to Kenny but I find him pretty funny in the way he is so blunt about everything, don't think I could handle him being on 4 or 5 days a week though

dastardly00

What was the Sunday paper review like yesterday?

dr.kenneth noisewater

dastardly00 wrote: »

What was the Sunday paper review like yesterday?

I really enjoyed it, covered a lot of topics and found the talk of tennis very interesting. Also enjoyed the ROG and Kimmage impressions :D

Californeeway

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

I really enjoyed it, covered a lot of topics and found the talk of tennis very interesting. Also enjoyed the ROG and Kimmage impressions :D

It was a good laugh yesterday actually, I feared the worst when it started off with Rosenstock and his impressions that it was going to be an hour long gift-grub sketch.

The conversation about the decline of premier league viewing numbers was interesting, I can definitely relate to not being able to sit through a full football match any more.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Californeeway wrote: »

It was a good laugh yesterday actually, I feared the worst when it started off with Rosenstock and his impressions that it was going to be an hour long gift-grub sketch.

The conversation about the decline of premier league viewing numbers was interesting, I can definitely relate to not being able to sit through a full football match any more.

So many games on now and so many different sports available I think there is a degree of viewer fatigue and if a game isn't any good you can just switch it off and watch something else.Why suffer through a ****e game when in the past a ****e game was even enjoyable because matches were rare these days no point suffering through one as there'll be another game on soon.

robo

dastardly00 wrote: »

What was the Sunday paper review like yesterday?

Definitely one to listen back to, as I did this afternoon in work when doing some boring work :rolleyes:
Was a bit dubious initially on why Mario was on it but it was good, with a good mix of sports chat

Mantis Toboggan

Normally can't stand Rosenstock but it wasn't too bad in fairness.