How/Where did you get your ticket?

Flukey

I am another Parnell Pass holder. It is better than the season ticket, because it guarantees free entry to all our league games at home or in Croke Park, though not the away ones. It guarantees tickets for all championship matches, Hurling and Football, though you pay for those. It also guarantees free entry to all county championship games. We've seen it in this thread, but it is amazing how many Dublin fans that do go regularly to games have never heard of it. I suppose it is a bit like the fans who go to a lot of matches but don't know that tickets for finals don't go on general sale or on Tickets.ie or Ticketmaster.

Last Sunday was my 19th time in Croke Park so far this year. I'm like part of the furniture. I have not got a ticket for it yet, but hopefully Saturday will be my 20th time and then the International Rules match to make it 21. Last Sunday was my 37th consecutive All-Ireland Football final. I've been at 34 Hurling finals, giving a total of 71, hopefully making it to 72 on Saturday. How do I get tickets? With great difficulty and a lot of luck. I am hoping a club contact will come through for Saturday and if not I'll head into town to look for one. As things stand, in a strange coincidence I have been at one more football final than Kerry have won and one more Hurling final than Kilkenny have won. If my luck holds out, I hope to go to my 100th final in 2027, though a few more replays could make that sooner. Oh, and if anyone does have a ticket for Saturday, PM me.

Lemlin

Slattsy wrote: »

I'd like to know if anyone is honest enough to admit that they didnt go to any other games during the year but went to the final.

Clearly i didnt get a ticket, but went to all the other Championship games.

On final day, I was shocked to see four or five Cavan/Meath people I know check in separately at Croke Park.

These are people who are from Cavan or Meath and would struggle to know where Breffni Park or Pairc Tailteann are.

Perhaps they were there with partners from the counties involved but it just seemed an awful waste of tickets to me.

wirelessdude01

Kinda off-topic but 3 Tyrone people sat down behind me approx 5mins from the end of the minor game. Now what teams were in the minor game? Also the Dublin lad that was beside me told me a story about how he was in having a few jars and a Tyrone guy came in and sold his ticket for a few hundred euro. Hate that kinda muck happening.

prospect

I'm curious.

Do people think that a lack of attendance at games is the same as not supporting your team?

wirelessdude01

prospect wrote: »

I'm curious.

Do people think that a lack of attendance at games is the same as not supporting your team?

It is a lack of physical and noise support. Emotional support from afar isn't o much use to any team.

prospect

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

It is a lack of physical and noise support. Emotional support from afar isn't o much use to any team.

But do you consider that maybe there are reasons people don't/can't attend?

Some may work weekends, Hospitality or retail employees.

Some may have personal and family reasons they cannot attend.

Some simply may not be able to afford to attend.

Some may have commitments at their local club training youth teams.



Do you consider someone who stands at the pitchside a few times a year enjoying a game more committed than those who cannot attend county games because they are involved in training, support, maintaining and administrating the game on a local level?

wirelessdude01

prospect wrote: »

those who cannot attend county games because they are involved in training, support, maintaining and administrating the game on a local level?

I do all of these as well as playing while living/working 3hours from home and still manage to go to games. Where there is a will there is a way.

These people who have alternative things pressing on their time always somehow manage to get the weekend/day off to go to the AI. The county are involved in approx 6 championship games a year if they get to the final. Maybe 8 league games if they get to the final. Now away league games are a different story as a league game in Cork at 7:30 on a Saturday evening would mean someone possibly not getting back home until 2am depending on where they live. Sat Mayo have 3/4 games at home during the league. Combine that with ALL the championship games would mean about 10 games a year to attend.

kollegeknight

COst is a massive factor. My wife and I attend most games, My brother cannot afford to. Another gets grief for going away at weekends. Both of them equally support the teams as I, they have the exact same interest.

Both of them have tickets for the replay ahead of me and I wouldnt begrudge them it.

Flukey

It's the kind of "fan" that didn't know their team was in the semi-final until after they heard the result and then goes to the final that people have the problem with. Every county has sunshine fans and you are not going to get a huge crowd at a league game on a cold February day, but there still should be more people at those games. There are the reasons of time, cost, travel etc., but the ones that could easily go and just don't bother and then expect final tickets are the ones that people have problems with. The "Ah, sure it's only a league game" and "Sure if they get to the final I will go." people!

Fr Tod Umptious

Godge wrote: »

but if you are not interested in a season ticket for the league, don't you then meet the definition of a fair-weather fan?

No it's not as simple as that

I am a Mayo man living in Kerry
I do not have a season ticket as I only really get the chance to get to two league games a year.
Also I am not in a position to get someone else to use the ticket in games that I cannot get to.
If Mayo get to a league SF or final I can use a Kerry persons season ticket.
Therefore the season ticket is not value of money for me.
I go to most Championship game, I may miss a Connaught QF or SF the odd year.
I am not a die hard nor am I a fair weather fan.
And every time Mayo have been to an All Ireland I have had no problems getting a ticket

prospect

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

I do all of these as well as playing while living/working 3hours from home and still manage to go to games. Where there is a will there is a way.

These people who have alternative things pressing on their time always somehow manage to get the weekend/day off to go to the AI. The county are involved in approx 6 championship games a year if they get to the final. Maybe 8 league games if they get to the final. Now away league games are a different story as a league game in Cork at 7:30 on a Saturday evening would mean someone possibly not getting back home until 2am depending on where they live. Sat Mayo have 3/4 games at home during the league. Combine that with ALL the championship games would mean about 10 games a year to attend.

But do you not see that, just because you can do it, that means nothing to the next man/woman.

Add in Kids training in GAA & Other sports, helping with a dependent relative, cooking a Sunday dinner for elderly parents, not having the free use of a car, working long hours during the week and wanting to spend time with your family.


I'll happily admit that the only GAA game I attended this year was the Football Final. I watch as many on TV as I can, but due to the nature of my work, my wifes work, our family commitments etc, I find it hard to make it to games.
My wife plays GAA for our local club, she used to play county. Before we had kids and other commitments I used to attend most of her club/county games but now cannot.

It's not that I choose to park my arse for the year until the glory game. I was offered two tickets to the Game last Sunday on the previous Thursday, I took them. I don't apologise for it.

Flukey

prospect wrote: »

But do you not see that, just because you can do it, that means nothing to the next man/woman.

Add in Kids training in GAA & Other sports, helping with a dependent relative, cooking a Sunday dinner for elderly parents, not having the free use of a car, working long hours during the week and wanting to spend time with your family.


I'll happily admit that the only GAA game I attended this year was the Football Final. I watch as many on TV as I can, but due to the nature of my work, my wifes work, our family commitments etc, I find it hard to make it to games.
My wife plays GAA for our local club, she used to play county. Before we had kids and other commitments I used to attend most of her club/county games but now cannot.

It's not that I choose to park my arse for the year until the glory game. I was offered two tickets to the Game last Sunday on the previous Thursday, I took them. I don't apologise for it.

Fair enough, but how was it that on All-Ireland Final day you managed to get out of all of those other commitments, but not on any other day? As people would see it, if you could get out of them on All-Ireland Final day, then surely you could get out of them on at least some other match days in the year. People would see it as you just not bothering to make the arrangements, except on All-Ireland Final day. There will have been some match days that they were completely unavoidable, but surely there would have been some days in the year when you could have done it if the effort was made and if you wanted to make that effort. That is how people will look at your scenario.

mobby

On a side note, I looked at the eircom fanpic website http://fanpic.huggity.com/197-2013-eircom_gaa_final/app/index.php on
on Monday and again last night and I notice a lot of the corporate box's in particular the Banks have a blurred out the faces of who was sitting there. Interesting. I am of course, having never been to a corporate box, presuming that the sponsors name is under each box.

prospect

Flukey wrote: »

Fair enough, but how was it that on All-Ireland Final day you managed to get out of all of those other commitments, but not on any other day? As people would see it, if you could get out of them on All-Ireland Final day, then surely you could get out of them on at least some other match days in the year. People would see it as you just not bothering to make the arrangements, except on All-Ireland Final day. There will have been some match days that they were completely unavoidable, but surely there would have been some days in the year when you could have done it if the effort was made and if you wanted to make that effort. That is how people will look at your scenario.

Well, the All Ireland is a special day, you make a special effort.
Would you take a day off work for your Cousins birthday, probably not. But would you take it off for their wedding?

It is all moot, nobody has to explain their reasons, I am just illustrating that it is a pretty blunt instrument you (the tone of the thread in general) are using here by saying, "I've been to more games, I'm a better fan, I deserve a ticket more than that guy".

The thing is, I don't really care how people see my scenario, they don't know my circumstances no more than I know theirs. I got two free tickets, I went, I enjoyed it.

Flukey

prospect wrote: »

Well, the All Ireland is a special day, you make a special effort.
Would you take a day off work for your Cousins birthday, probably not. But would you take it off for their wedding?

It is all moot, nobody has to explain their reasons, I am just illustrating that it is a pretty blunt instrument you (the tone of the thread in general) are using here by saying, "I've been to more games, I'm a better fan, I deserve a ticket more than that guy".

The thing is, I don't really care how people see my scenario, they don't know my circumstances no more than I know theirs. I got two free tickets, I went, I enjoyed it.

Yes All-Ireland final day is special, but so are the other days. You need to make progress in them to get to the final, so in that sense they are all equally important. If they are your team then their participation in the first round is as important as the final. The qualifiers have given an extra chance, but if your team is in the qualifiers then every game they play is critical to winning the final. Finals are special, but though they may not be as special, semi-finals are special too, quarter finals a little less special but still special and on we go.

Talking to some other Dublin fans after the match we agreed that the semi-final victory was more special than the final victory. Dublin v Kerry is special no matter which round it is in, so there are other factors that make a match special. The same can be said for other pairings. There is always a "Tie of the round." It has something extra special about it and is a game that real fans want to see, and even go to if at all possible. If someone only sees the final as special and not any other game, that is a blinkered approach.

Fans will go to as many games as they can and make the arrangements to do so if they really want to. They use a different and more genuine system of grading importance of matches. If you think that a final is the only game that is special then you don't have a true appreciation of the matches. Personally, I want to go to every final for the rest of my life, but I also want to go to semis and quarters and other games, because they are all special too.

Slattsy

Although i didnt get a ticket for the final, I'd have been feeling worse if i missed the Kerry match, what a game to be there for.

Its annoying how people pick and choose what matches they go to, and then justify it by saying 'work/family commitments ensured i couldnt go to ANY other game but it was ok for the final' :rolleyes: but sure what can ye do.

moycullen14

Well, I want a ticket but I don't feel I 'deserve' one. To be honest, the problem isn't with the event junkies - the 'undeserving' (whatever that is) - that get a ticket but with the distribution system that overlooks those that have either been to a lot of matches or done work for the club.

Because the tickets don't go on general sale, every ticket can be traced back to the GAA. If they end up in the 'wrong' hands, then the fault is with the organisation, not the person who ends up with the ticket.

prospect

Slattsy wrote: »

and then justify it by saying 'work/family commitments ensured i couldnt go to ANY other game but it was ok for the final' :rolleyes: but sure what can ye do.

But nobody has an obligation to justify anything, I'm certainly not anyway.

Out of courtesy I am explaining the multitude of reasons somebody might not go, and trying to illustrate how ignorant it is to assume that because someone does not go to a game they are not as deserving of a ticket as another person.


I suppose the counter-argument is:
If a 'non-fan' is expected to move mountains and attend X games a year, then it is reasonable that a 'real fan' should move mountains and source a ticket, rather than whinge about not getting one.

wirelessdude01

prospect wrote: »

But nobody has an obligation to justify anything, I'm certainly not anyway.

Out of courtesy I am explaining the multitude of reasons somebody might not go, and trying to illustrate how ignorant it is to assume that because someone does not go to a game they are not as deserving of a ticket as another person.


I suppose the counter-argument is:
If a 'non-fan' is expected to move mountains and attend X games a year, then it is reasonable that a 'real fan' should move mountains and source a ticket, rather than whinge about not getting one.

I will give you an example. I am a member, player and trainer in/of an exclusive hurling club in Mayo. Our club got x amount of tickets and have y members. The total number of members is approx 4 times the number of tickets that we got. Nearly of of these would also be involved in football to some degree. Just not enough tickets actually given to clubs in the competing and then we have plebs like those I outlined earlier(Tyrone minor 'supporters') and also those who get tickets who can't even name players on the county team/the colours of their local club et

prospect

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

I will give you an example. I am a member, player and trainer in/of an exclusive hurling club in Mayo. Our club got x amount of tickets and have y members. The total number of members is approx 4 times the number of tickets that we got. Nearly of of these would also be involved in football to some degree. Just not enough tickets actually given to clubs in the competing and then we have plebs like those I outlined earlier(Tyrone minor 'supporters') and also those who get tickets who can't even name players on the county team/the colours of their local club et

I certainly empathise.

But there is a distinct difference (in my mind) between someone who cannot attend as many games as they would like, and someone who does not know the teams/rules etc.

wirelessdude01

There is no difference when it comes to only going to an AI final. That person in my mind and in quite a few others from what has been seen on here is what I would term an 'event junkie'. If someone can make time to get to an AI final then surely they can find time to frequent a few other matches during the year. Now don't give me a song and dance about cost. Doesn't cost much to get to Castlebar from anywhere in Mayo. Can share the journey/fuel costs with someone else from the parish.

Flukey

prospect wrote: »

I suppose the counter-argument is:
If a 'non-fan' is expected to move mountains and attend X games a year, then it is reasonable that a 'real fan' should move mountains and source a ticket, rather than whinge about not getting one.

Those of us that do go to matches don't find it easy to get tickets for finals. We do have to move mountains to get them. Then we see someone who hasn't shown any interest up to then getting a ticket very simply. That is the problem. If we are whingeing it is because we go all year and have to move mountains to get a final ticket while many people whose first and last match is in September get them easily.

It is not a case that anyone that goes regularly has definite sources of final tickets. Some that buy them throughout the year have a major difficulty getting them come the final. Up to a semi-final anyone can get a ticket, but those sources are all closed off come the final. We go to all those other matches because we are interested in doing so not because tickets are easy to get. The people who could easily get tickets too all year, don't bother going because they have no interest. Come the final they may have some contact they get a ticket from, a contact they never use all year, while the person who goes to lots of matches but has no contacts gets left without. That is where the problem lies and what seems unfair.

prospect

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

There is no difference when it comes to only going to an AI final. That person in my mind and in quite a few others from what has been seen on here is what I would term an 'event junkie'.

Flukey wrote: »

Then we see someone who hasn't shown any interest up to then getting a ticket very simply. That is the problem.

This is my point.
You are deciding on someone elses 'entitlement' to attend a game of sport based on one very simplified metric, match attendance.
This is a blunt way of looking at it.

So how many matched does someone have to attend to make them a 'real fan'?

Slattsy

prospect wrote: »

This is my point.
You are deciding on someone elses 'entitlement' to attend a game of sport based on one very simplified metric, match attendance.
This is a blunt way of looking at it.

So how many matched does someone have to attend to make them a 'real fan'?

A few more than just swanning up for the final thats for sure.

But obviously luckily both work and family commitments you people had throughout the year that stopped you them going to any other game conveniently vanished on the 22nd September.

prospect

Slattsy wrote: »

A few more than just swanning up for the final thats for sure.

But obviously luckily both work and family commitments you people had throughout the year that stopped you them going to any other game conveniently vanished on the 22nd September.

Apart from trying to be smart, you haven't achieved much with that post and certainly have not answered the question.

How many games do you think someone needs to attend to 'permit' them to attend the final?


And I never said I had any of those commitments. I just pointed out that there are many reasons people might not attend, other than not being bothered.

Slattsy

prospect wrote: »

But do you not see that, just because you can do it, that means nothing to the next man/woman.

Add in Kids training in GAA & Other sports, helping with a dependent relative, cooking a Sunday dinner for elderly parents, not having the free use of a car, working long hours during the week and wanting to spend time with your family.


I'll happily admit that the only GAA game I attended this year was the Football Final. I watch as many on TV as I can, but due to the nature of my work, my wifes work, our family commitments etc, I find it hard to make it to games.
My wife plays GAA for our local club, she used to play county. Before we had kids and other commitments I used to attend most of her club/county games but now cannot.

It's not that I choose to park my arse for the year until the glory game. I was offered two tickets to the Game last Sunday on the previous Thursday, I took them. I don't apologise for it.

prospect wrote: »

Apart from trying to be smart, you haven't achieved much with that post and certainly have not answered the question.

How many games do you think someone needs to attend to 'permit' them to attend the final?


And I never said I had any of those commitments. I just pointed out that there are many reasons people might not attend, other than not being bothered.

^ You did.

prospect

Slattsy wrote: »

^ You did.

Oh yeah

Still haven't answered my question on how many games someone has to attend to be a 'real fan'.

prospect

I want to state for the record here that I am just humouring the original request for someone brave enough to admit only attending the final.

I'm under no obligation to explain myself to anyone. The way I look at it, I got a ticket, many 'real fans' (still to be defined) didn't, maybe they should work harder at getting tickets.

wirelessdude01

Personally I think you like having some fun in this thread.

wirelessdude01

prospect wrote: »

I want to state for the record here that I am just humouring the original request for someone brave enough to admit only attending the final.

I'm under no obligation to explain myself to anyone. The way I look at it, I got a ticket, many 'real fans' (still to be defined) didn't, maybe they should work harder at getting tickets.

The thing is you didn't work at getting tickets. You got handed them and then your schedule just became clear for you to attend.