Does the GAA matter to you?

purplepanda

A pillar of Irish society, to be placed alongside the 1916 Shrine

purplepanda wrote: »

I was a mad Arsenal fan for decades & travelled all over, even Europe but Arsene Wenger has destroyed my love for the club. IMO most Football games are far more enteraining than Gaelic...

Do you remember Arsenal throughout the 70s and 80s? Or, notwithstanding the success, the type of football played by George Graham?

Give me a junior b football match on a rainy day on a bog of a pitch. And I say that as someone who loves "soccer" and has gone to loads of League of Ireland games, a fair few internationals and indeed seen Arsenal.

I just can't believe you'd talk about entertainment and then say Arsenal were better to watch before Wenger.

munsterlegend

feargale wrote: »

Could you be more specific about that, please? You might be good enough to rate its level of corruption on a scale of one to ten, comparing it with other sports bodies e.g. FIFA, the IOC, and closer to home, the FAI and the OCI.

Would love to know this 'corrupt' behaviour myself.

TerrorFirmer

A pillar of Irish society, to be placed alongside the 1916 Shrine

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

That is a god awful poll.

Our options are it's a good sport and my/not my favourite, its a pillar of Irish society, I have mixed feelings and 'I hate all that it stands for'.

Why do people make these unnecessarily specific poll options? Surely having Love it, like it, don't mind it, indifferent to it, dislike it, hate it options would be far easier?

Em, I would have thought that hierarchy was kinda obvious from the options, I was merely trying to avoid the blandness of the language in the hate it to like it spectrum. I didn't really mean people have 1916 shrines and put something symbolic to represent the GAA in with it.

munsterlegend

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Do you remember Arsenal throughout the 70s and 80s? Or, notwithstanding the success, the type of football played by George Graham?

Give me a junior b football match on a rainy day on a bog of a pitch. And I say that as someone who loves "soccer" and has gone to loads of League of Ireland games, a fair few internationals and indeed seen Arsenal.

I just can't believe you'd talk about entertainment and then say Arsenal were better to watch before Wenger.

Alan Smith would be a good full forward. It's a grave pity that the so called soccer fans in Ireland can't properly support the LOI. Stephen kenny alluded to the joke that it is recently.

eet fuk

Ambivalent

A lot of people claiming that hurling is brilliant and football isn't all that great.

Someone else mentioned it already but I'd wager few of ye have watched anything other than hurling at the highest level (which is brilliant). Go and watch games played by people other than 100-200 players from the best counties and you might think differently. It is one of those sports that is just unwatchable and noncompetitive unless the players have put in years of hard work honing their skills.

Gaelic Football on the other hand, is quite easy to take up and is a fantastic pastime for keeping in shape and making friends.

The beauty of soccer, and the reason it is so popular is that it can be played anywhere by any amount of people while still being challenging. All you need is a ball and you practice keepy uppies to your heart's content.

Autosport

Yes it does Can't wait for All Ireland Sunday

munsterlegend

Autosport wrote: »

Yes it does Can't wait for All Ireland Sunday

Nothing like living abroad and all ireland day apart of course from actually being in croker shouting on your county. To have a full stadium with balanced support creates a brilliant atmosphere.

TiGeR KiNgS

A pillar of Irish society, to be placed alongside the 1916 Shrine

K-9 wrote: »

Yes. The national anthem being played and the tricolor flown in a 6 counties ground is very symbolic of what the GAA means to nationalists in the North.

What did the 6 counties do on match day when the Tricolour was illegal in the north ?

munsterlegend

TiGeR KiNgS wrote: »

What did the 6 counties do on match day when the Tricolour was illegal in the north ?

Would be a brave or stupid lad who would go in and take it down.

TiGeR KiNgS

A pillar of Irish society, to be placed alongside the 1916 Shrine

TiGeR KiNgS wrote: »

What did the 6 counties do on match day when the Tricolour was illegal in the north ?

Don't think it was illegal. Flags that could lead to a breach of public order were not allowed, and don't think that would involve a tricolour at Gaelic football or hurling.

K-9

TiGeR KiNgS wrote: »

What did the 6 counties do on match day when the Tricolour was illegal in the north ?

Not sure, they probably flew it anyway as during the Troubles GAA in the North was very much about defiance.

Crossmaglen is the famous example but they wanted a GAA pitch in Lurgan in the 80's. Council said yes, as long as you build a 30 foot wall around it!

iDave

Odd the complaints here about GAA corruption and no evidence of it but no problem with slave labour being used for FIFA competitions.

laugh

Good sport, but prefer other sports...

I come from a GAA family, in my opinion gaelic football is a terrible sport, only entertaining when played by about 4 county teams at the moment.

eet fuk

A pillar of Irish society, to be placed alongside the 1916 Shrine

eet fuk wrote: »

A lot of people claiming that hurling is brilliant and football isn't all that great.

Someone else mentioned it already but I'd wager few of ye have watched anything other than hurling at the highest level (which is brilliant). Go and watch games played by people other than 100-200 players from the best counties and you might think differently. It is one of those sports that is just unwatchable and noncompetitive unless the players have put in years of hard work honing their skills.

Gaelic Football on the other hand, is quite easy to take up and is a fantastic pastime for keeping in shape and making friends.

That's certainly true, there is a real trend at the moment for saying Gaelic football is awful and hurling is wonderful. Have to say, here in Kerry have seen some wonderful games of Gaelic football played between teams in the bottom tier of club football, and some awful games of hurling between some of the best club sides...and in Kerry there is actually a decent enough hurling tradition in the North of the county.

jose_doyle

eet fuk wrote: »

A lot of people claiming that hurling is brilliant and football isn't all that great.

Someone else mentioned it already but I'd wager few of ye have watched anything other than hurling at the highest level (which is brilliant). Go and watch games played by people other than 100-200 players from the best counties and you might think differently. It is one of those sports that is just unwatchable and noncompetitive unless the players have put in years of hard work honing their skills.

Gaelic Football on the other hand, is quite easy to take up and is a fantastic pastime for keeping in shape and making friends.

The beauty of soccer, and the reason it is so popular is that it can be played anywhere by any amount of people while still being challenging. All you need is a ball and you practice keepy uppies to your heart's content.

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

andekwarhola

jose_doyle wrote: »

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

Could you provide some pointers to the sports in which it's safe to show an interest?

I think I'm speaking for most here when I speak of the profound fear one feels about being possibly viewed as trendy by strangers on an internet forum.

jose_doyle

jose_doyle wrote: »

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

Alas, not as "trendy" as being a cultureless benighted troglodyte who persecutes their children with Harry, Ben, Emily and whatever other name is common in England and wouldn't be able to think beyond the local conservative anglophone school.

purplepanda

Ambivalent

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you remember Arsenal throughout the 70s and 80s? Or, notwithstanding the success, the type of football played by George Graham?

Give me a junior b football match on a rainy day on a bog of a pitch. And I say that as someone who loves "soccer" and has gone to loads of League of Ireland games, a fair few internationals and indeed seen Arsenal.

I just can't believe you'd talk about entertainment and then say Arsenal were better to watch before Wenger.

George Grahams two league championship teams were highly entertaining & top scorers in both seasons, later on got more defensive but still managed cup wins & even a European trophy with a depleted team against a Parma side that included many great good players.

As for Wenger & entertainment, that ended in 2008 when he decided to adopt his predictable sideways passing tippy tappy tactics. Since then he & his players have flattered to deceive most seasons but are happy with the self declared 4th place "trophy". And fleecing the supporters with the highest ticket prices in world football.

There's many valid reasons why the majority of Arsenal supporters want him to leave, but opposition fans & media still believe it's the Wenger team from the past playing on the pitch, those days have long gone & Wenger's time is up.

feargale

Ambivalent

jose_doyle wrote: »

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

quote="[Deleted User];100846603"]Alas, not as "trendy" as being a cultureless benighted troglodyte who persecutes their children with Harry, Ben, Emily and whatever other name is common in England and wouldn't be able to think beyond the local conservative anglophone school.[/quote]



Proof that the bad people are always from the other place.

How Soon Is Now

Never been a huge fan of Hurling played it when was younger could never get it together.

Football on the other hand I've loved since was a kid! The pure excitement of watching your county play out does anything from the English premier league and I've been a united fan more then twenty years!!

eet fuk

Ambivalent

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

Never been a huge fan of Hurling played it when was younger could never get it together.

Football on the other hand I've loved since was a kid! The pure excitement of watching your county play out does anything from the English premier league and I've been a united fan more then twenty years!!

I'm the same. I have only recently started following GAA with a keen interest and I must say it does give me a sense of excitement that soccer* doesn't as the players are representing their home county or local club.

I love soccer though. Like yourself I'm a Man U fan and I love playing the game. I have got a bit disillusioned with amounts of money spent on players' wages at this point though - I honestly think a wage cap (similar to NFL or other american sports) would help to make it more interesting. But that's a discussion for another thread . . .

*League of Ireland included - they play for their paychecks (meagre though they may be) just like the Premier League lads, and there is nothing wrong with that.

How Soon Is Now

eet fuk wrote: »

I'm the same. I have only recently started following GAA with a keen interest and I must say it does give me a sense of excitement that soccer* doesn't as the players are representing their home county or local club.

I love soccer though. Like yourself I'm a Man U fan and I love playing the game. I have got a bit disillusioned with amounts of money spent on players' wages at this point though - I honestly think a wage cap (similar to NFL or other american sports) would help to make it more interesting. But that's a discussion for another thread . . .

*League of Ireland included - they play for their paychecks (meagre though they may be) just like the Premier League lads, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I think Gaa hurling and football can be incredibly end to end and exciting and I'm always proud to show it off to people outside of Ireland.

osarusan

eet fuk wrote: »

*League of Ireland included - they play for their paychecks (meagre though they may be) just like the Premier League lads, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I think that 50 euro is the lowest amount you can pay anybody and still get them to sign a professional contract in LOI. And there would be a fair number of players on that minimum amount at clubs like Cabinteely, Athlone, Cobh, and still some players at other first division clubs.

Those lads couldn't really be described as playing for a paycheck - they just want to play football at the best level they can.

Zxclnic

Good sport, prefer it to others, but it's only a game

jose_doyle wrote: »

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

Deleted User wrote: »

Alas, not as "trendy" as being a cultureless benighted troglodyte who persecutes their children with Harry, Ben, Emily and whatever other name is common in England and wouldn't be able to think beyond the local conservative anglophone school.

Steady Fionn, steady.

Wigglepuppy

Good sport, but prefer other sports...

jose_doyle wrote: »

declaring ones love of hurling is like calling your son fionn or your daughter saorse and of course sending them to the local gaelscoil

its very trendy

Hurling trendy - lol. A sport beloved by rural folk is never gonna be trendy.

I think hurling is a great game, not sure of the appeal of Gaelic football.

To be honest I do not care about the GAA as an organisation - its politics seem toxic - but glad the sports exist and are enjoyed so much.

eet fuk

Ambivalent

osarusan wrote: »

I think that 50 euro is the lowest amount you can pay anybody and still get them to sign a professional contract in LOI. And there would be a fair number of players on that minimum amount at clubs like Cabinteely, Athlone, Cobh, and still some players at other first division clubs.

Those lads couldn't really be described as playing for a paycheck - they just want to play football at the best level they can.

True enough. I suppose I mean that they are closer to professional in the sense that a vast majority of players aren't representing their community and may well be playing for their bitter rivals in the future.

Fbjm

skywanderer wrote: »

I'm from Kerry and I've travelled all over the World and spent time in Dublin too, Dublin is far from the centre of the Universe as a matter of fact it is the black hole of calcutta for Ireland. Full of Junkies and Drugs, Criminal Gangs and everything is a rip-off, no effective public transport either. I'll stick to the Kerry or Donegal version of Civilisation because there sure as be damned isn't much civilised about Dublin.

Sure ye could say that about any major city on Earth, it just so happens that Ireland only has the one metropolis and it's us. I'm living 15km north of the city centre, I woke up on match day and went out for a full Irish with the family, got the DART into town, walked to Croker, saw us win (again), went for a few pints, decided to skip the bus in favour of a DART home again; you know, since we have all that "effective public transport". Nothing scummy about any of that, no matter how much you want to think of the entire county as being "full of drugs, criminal gangs and everything".

Better side won this weekend, and no one likes a sore loser.

briany

Fbjm wrote: »

no matter how much you want to think of the entire county as being "full of drugs, criminal gangs and everything".

The county of Dublin does not consist solely of the city of Dublin. When you hear people stereotyping the county based on their view of the city, it speaks to a level of ignorance on their part, just as it would if a Dublin person were to characterise the entirety of Kerry as being a sparsely-populated patchwork of dairy fields and mountains. Like many counties around Ireland there is a rural/urban divide. The man from Killarney town certainly has more access to amenities in his immediate locale than someone living out the back of The Naul, or away out in Garristown, so is the former going to accuse the latter of being some highfalutin Dub or a skanger junkie?

Red_Wake

Good sport, prefer it to others, but it's only a game

Deleted User wrote: »

Alas, not as "trendy" as being a cultureless benighted troglodyte who persecutes their children with Harry, Ben, Emily and whatever other name is common in England and wouldn't be able to think beyond the local conservative anglophone school.

The most recognisable nationalist in both countries of Ireland can't speak Irish - is it only West Brits you reserve your ire for?

rainbow kirby

Ambivalent

I never played when I was younger - I was always really uncoordinated so struggled with most ball sports. My sister played football for years for a relatively strong club (Ballyboden St Enda's), but soccer was always her first love so she quit at 16-17 ish when she could start playing senior women's soccer.

I do enjoy watching both hurling and football though, I generally find hurling more entertaining despite being from a football county. That said, my absolute favourite sport to watch is athletics and I watch more soccer and rugby as well.

The organisation is absolutely rotten to the core though and represents quite a lot of things that are wrong with the country, there's also way too many links with the RCC at a local level particularly in rural areas.