What Are The Things You Miss Most In The GAA?

cms88

Seen this somewhere else. As the title says what do you miss abut the GAA that doesn't happen anymore?

jr86

Was watching Kerry v Dublin from 01 recently and the direct football was a joy to watch. There was precious little hand-passing backwards. When anyone received the ball out the field, the default position was to head towards the opposition goal and find a forward with a kickpass. Nowadays - for many teams - it's turn around and find someone with a handpass and slowly build an attack

The game is just so much more advanced now though. Club teams train more nowadays than inter-county players did a decade or two ago. It's funny re-watching matches from over 10 years ago or so. The warm ups are the most unstructured exercises going! Pretty much just taking pot shots into the goal and trying to avoid being hit by balls flying everywhere!

I played junior club football two years ago and the warm up was more advanced than top level inter county stuff back then

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Flags! They used to bring great colour to games, but nobody seems to bother with them anymore.

PARlance

I miss full backs like Seamus Moynihan. The game has changed and the FB role isn't what it was, seeing the likes of Moynihan fielding a ball and bursting out of defence was a thing of beauty.

Bonniedog

Not having to wear a helmet.

Could never get used to them. Was like being the Man in the Iron Mask or Hannibal Lecter.

Myself and the Rock both retired over this. thereby, all similarities end ................

cms88

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Flags! They used to bring great colour to games, but nobody seems to bother with them anymore.

Was thinking that myself. When did they actually stop? Long sleeved jersey's during the league are another thing that has gone

Bonniedog

cms88 wrote: »

Was thinking that myself. When did they actually stop? Long sleeved jersey's during the league are another thing that has gone

Croke Park said that flags would be prevented from being brought inside a few years ago. Not sure it is strictly enforced as you still see some, but it has probably put people off bringing them in case they are taken.

ProudDUB

Bonniedog wrote: »

Croke Park said that flags would be prevented from being brought inside a few years ago. Not sure it is strictly enforced as you still see some, but it has probably put people off bringing them in case they are taken.

Was just thinking the same thing.

Fann Linn

Was nice being able to walk into Croker without being searched.
Sad state of affairs.

gobo99

Pitch invasions. I understand the reasons behind it, but still....

rpurfield

Meath winning All Irelands

Realt Dearg Sec

The Offaly team of the nineties, or just generally the stories of players who were fond of the fags and sauce, and got by on their pure talent. There was a bit of bouldness to that offaly team, you want see their likes again these days.

CrabRevolution

Flags are mostly gone but partly replaced by jersies. I saw a photo of an all Ireland hurling final in early 90s and there were more flags but it really stood out how nobody wore jersies in the crowd.

davegilly

gobo99 wrote: »

Pitch invasions. I understand the reasons behind it, but still....

Wait till Mayo win the all Ireland..........

wazzer1

Heard that one before somewhere

jr86

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The Offaly team of the nineties, or just generally the stories of players who were fond of the fags and sauce, and got by on their pure talent. There was a bit of bouldness to that offaly team, you want see their likes again these days.

I was at an intermediate county final only about 15/16 years ago and there was players smoking out on the pitch during the trophy presentation!!

You'd never see it in a million years anymore. The equivalent team nowadays would have zero full time smokers or hard drinkers

Probably a sign of the times overall. A lot of those players that smoked/went to the pub regularly back then don't do so at all now, even though they're 10/15 years retired!

J Cheever Loophole

Only a small issue, but as a former keeper, I used to enjoy the fact that kick-outs following a wide were from the corner of the small square, and following a score were from the '21'.

munchkin_utd

CrabRevolution wrote: »

Flags are mostly gone but partly replaced by jersies. I saw a photo of an all Ireland hurling final in early 90s and there were more flags but it really stood out how nobody wore jersies in the crowd.

sure you couldnt get them back in the days for anything but the very most successful counties, and Cork/ Dublin.

I remember asking the sports shop back in 92 or 93 when Cavan were actually not bad, should have beaten Donegal in Breffni when they went on to win the all ireland and ran every other top Ulster team very close - but no, Cavan replica jerseys as a rule just weren't available.

Whether that was because O neills wouldn't make them, or whether the country was that poor those days that there was no demand for relatively expensive jerseys, I don't know.

RoscommonTom

the fellas selling the tubs of ice cream,

The_Kew_Tour

Straight Knockout.

I don't give 2 fiddlers what anyone says, the buzz and hype was 10 times greater leading up to games and on the day of games.

jeff bingham

The ground pull in hurling. Was a skill in itself which has largely disappeared. I can see why it died out but was still a great sight to see

Realt Dearg Sec

jeff bingham wrote: »

The ground pull in hurling. Was a skill in itself which has largely disappeared. I can see why it died out but was still a great sight to see

Come to Texas and watch the hurling here some time. It's alive and well among people who can't rise the ball!

It was the first victim of the gradual transition of hurling from a game about territory (get the ball as far forward as you can, whether on a puckout, a clearance, or pull (especially if you don't rise it first time), and let the forwards worry about it, battle with the man you're marking), to a game about possession (pick a man with a (often short) puckout, handpass out of trouble, dig into a ruck to get the ball into your hand rather than pulling and creating a 50/50 situation, keep ball low to help forwards etc, run off the shoulder to give options, and the sweeper). There's a good reason behind all of the changes and you can't go backwards in any sport, but it makes it a little less raw, more focused on strategy than on pure mental strength and cuteness. There's a lot to like about the way the game is being played by some teams these days, but the Tipp KK matches of the early 2010s may be the last of a dying breed of inter-county battle.

To be fair, that transition began when the Rackards decided to start catching the ball, and Ring said that that wasn't hurling at all, so it's not a new thing by any means.

TheRiverman

Gaelic football.

ProudDUB

Pitch invasions on All Ireland final day. The excitement of the crowd, the colour, the flags all waving as everyone gathers in front of the Hogan Stand for the cup presentation....it's a fabulous thing to see.


I know the players don't like them and that is fair enough, but I still miss them. They are uniquely Irish and uniquely GAA.

billyhead

John 3:17. Is the chap whom held that sign dead?

theoneeyedman

TheRiverman wrote: »

Gaelic football.

Contests for the ball in football. Has improved very slightly in the last year with the mark from the kickouts but game is too technical/sanitized now.

Other things.... junior/casual football: killed off by H&S bullsh1t.. Managers writing teams out on the back of a cigarette box.. Smoking at halftime... Drinking before a game... Sessions after training/games... Flags..... 'ices, tubs of ices'.... Crepe paper hats - peel off the little Roscommon sticker, and invariably there were Clare and Tipperary stickers underneath.... Corner backs with bellies hanging out over their shorts... Lads home from America with tans and white boots playing a championship game and disappearing again...

Not missed but thankfully not as common or tolerated these days: hatchet men.

Sprinter Sacre

Mikasa gloves. Lads spitting on their hands instead of using gloves. Every young fella in Cork spat on his hands after seeing Colin Corkery do it.

Goalies not wearing helmets. Lads like Cummins, Davy, Fitzhenry, Donal Og would be far less iconic if they wore helmets their whole career. I obviously see the benefits of wearing a helmet, but it's just not same.

The old 21 yard frees.

billyhead

Not that they were fashionable or anything but those farmer hats in county colours (remember the paper hats aswell) and headbands:D

Davys Fits

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Come to Texas and watch the hurling here some time. It's alive and well among people who can't rise the ball!

It was the first victim of the gradual transition of hurling from a game about territory (get the ball as far forward as you can, whether on a puckout, a clearance, or pull (especially if you don't rise it first time), and let the forwards worry about it, battle with the man you're marking), to a game about possession (pick a man with a (often short) puckout, handpass out of trouble, dig into a ruck to get the ball into your hand rather than pulling and creating a 50/50 situation, keep ball low to help forwards etc, run off the shoulder to give options, and the sweeper). There's a good reason behind all of the changes and you can't go backwards in any sport, but it makes it a little less raw, more focused on strategy than on pure mental strength and cuteness. There's a lot to like about the way the game is being played by some teams these days, but the Tipp KK matches of the early 2010s may be the last of a dying breed of inter-county battle.

To be fair, that transition began when the Rackards decided to start catching the ball, and Ring said that that wasn't hurling at all, so it's not a new thing by any means.

Good point but there is still a place and time for ground hurling especially in the goal mouth. I cringe when I see young lads tyring to pick the ball up aroung the goal when a ground strike would shock them all.

Realt Dearg Sec

Davys Fits wrote: »

Good point but there is still a place and time for ground hurling especially in the goal mouth. I cringe when I see young lads tyring to pick the ball up aroung the goal when a ground strike would shock them all.

Absolutely agree with that. I'm still a fan and practitioner of pulling on the ball out the field if you don't lift or catch the ball first time, think at lower levels of the game it's a bad idea to over-emphasise possession because 1) you're too likely to make handling mistakes and give up ball and 2) your opponents are almost certainly the same, so playing for territory is still the smart option. But yeah in front of goal it's pure lunacy especially for people still learning the skills.

Another trick I always liked (wish I had the skill to really execute these things properly mind you), and playing against younger players they fall for it every time: as a forward, running out to the first low ball coming into you in a match, go like you'll rise it then at the last second stand over it and pull on the ground and let fly. Players don't expect it and will either over-run you or flinch back when you pull. Either way you'll get the ball up towards the square for your full forward hopefully, and more importantly the lad you're marking will be expecting you to pull again next time, possibly stand off you, and leave you a nice clean bit of space to rise it unimpeded.

Learned that from an Offaly man, great trick.

You can do the same thing with a high ball, go up like you're catching it, then turn and pull on it in the air (another great skill largely gone from the game, look at the old GAA gold videos and it was the norm under a high ball for forwards to try to send it onward. These days it's either catching or batting it down). You might find a player is less gung-ho about putting his hand up next time if he thinks you're the type to pull in the air like that.

Bonniedog

The only flaw with pulling on the ball on the ground or in the air is that you will inevitably be penalised if you make contact with an opponent.

There were a few examples of that in Cuala/Mellowes semi final where Callaghan and at least one Mellowes player picked up yellows for pulling legitimately on the ball.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Realt Dearg Sec

Bonniedog wrote: »

The only flaw with pulling on the ball on the ground or in the air is that you will inevitably be penalised if you make contact with an opponent.

There were a few examples of that in Cuala/Mellowes semi final where Callaghan and at least one Mellowes player picked up yellows for pulling legitimately on the ball.

For all the criticism refs get I think they are getting better as time goes by, but there is a sense in which they have started to do this, yeah. Any pull looks like a wild pull when nobody does it anymore. Dublin refs were the worst for that (also the cute players always knew how to play for a free in Dublin, if you put your hurl in around a lad on the run if he ran onto the hurl at all he knew he could get a free). And shouldering a lad? Forget it, some refs seem to want the camogie rules.

Bonniedog

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

For all the criticism refs get I think they are getting better as time goes by, but there is a sense in which they have started to do this, yeah. Any pull looks like a wild pull when nobody does it anymore. Dublin refs were the worst for that (also the cute players always knew how to play for a free in Dublin, if you put your hurl in around a lad on the run if he ran onto the hurl at all he knew he could get a free). And shouldering a lad? Forget it, some refs seem to want the camogie rules.

Indeed. Reffing is improving and so is Dublin SHC which was atrociously reffed for years. That was partly to end what was a rather "robust" affair in years gone by when there was little or no interest in county teams, but it went to other extreme.

zetecescort

Miss RTE giving proper coverage of the Jubilee teams on All Ireland day.

Really pissed off when they barely mentioned the Cork teams that did the double.

blowitupref

U-21 football championship

Say Your Number

I'll miss the All-Ireland finals taking place in September, it'll be a strange month for the next few years anyway.

Bonniedog

Say Your Number wrote: »

I'll miss the All-Ireland finals taking place in September, it'll be a strange month for the next few years anyway.

A bad idea surely? Surrendering a whole month to other sports that are competing for audience share and public profile.

Poor_old_gill

High fielding, players with a bit of character and the buzz that surrounded provincial football

davegilly

Bonniedog wrote: »

A bad idea surely? Surrendering a whole month to other sports that are competing for audience share and public profile.

Surely.
Cramming more matches with the super 8s into less time makes no sense. What was 4 quarter finals is now 12??? How does reducing the season by almost a month make sense to anyone at all in the GAA?
It’s purely just papering over the cracks. The provincial system needs to be gotten rid of once and for all and run a proper all ireland championship.

zetecescort

gobo99 wrote: »

Pitch invasions. I understand the reasons behind it, but still....

Invasions after each Cork game last year in the Munster championship, doubt tgere will be any this year with the round robin

Mulbert

More of a later day miss but an fear Rua was a great website. Open discussions, some excellent contributed writings and it wasn't as segregated as Boards.ie.

Apart from the Kilkenny link, this place is like Angola (Special mention to the Waterford Gaa thread).

Motivator

Air horns.

Any time I watch any of the old Munster Championship games on Laochra Gael or Eir Sport I love remembering the noise and colour. Packed terraces with more flags and air horns visible than people. The noise and colour from the 2004 Munster Final will live with me forever. Great times.

nice_guy80

I still cannot understand why the GAA moved all Ireland finals from September

There was a natural flow to the season - kids back at school, all Ireland fijnals

Bonniedog

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I still cannot understand why the GAA moved all Ireland finals from September

There was a natural flow to the season - kids back at school, all Ireland fijnals

Finals are the biggest events in Irish sporting year. No comparison, always easily out trumps soccer or rugby. Now in their wisdom they have given up entire month in which there will be no senior inter county TV. You wonder sometimes who does their marketing!

Always_Running

Goalkeepers that had personalities and were in goal mostly because they were good shot stoppers,full backs and centre half backs that were as tough as nails that didn't need numbers back to defend their area. The midfield duels of the sky and the big lump of full forward who could field any type of ****e ball you kicked up to him.

seligehgit

Bonniedog wrote: »

Finals are the biggest events in Irish sporting year. No comparison, always easily out trumps soccer or rugby. Now in their wisdom they have given up entire month in which there will be no senior inter county TV. You wonder sometimes who does their marketing!

Tis all about the club Bonniedog,on the same page as you.:)

Bonniedog

seligehgit wrote: »

Tis all about the club Bonniedog,on the same page as you.:)

There is no reason why clubs cannot manage fixtures within current structures.

There is a peculiar arrogance indeed that suggests that Junior B (and I speak as former Junior games are on same level as inter county championship.

There are counties like Waterford whose SFC not so long ago finished almost 6 months after the county team exited qualifiers! In Dublin we once had a Division II hurling league final played two days before New Years Eve, because one of teams had a sub on the county panel. Dublin were knocked out in July

nice_guy80

Bonniedog wrote: »

Finals are the biggest events in Irish sporting year. No comparison, always easily out trumps soccer or rugby. Now in their wisdom they have given up entire month in which there will be no senior inter county TV. You wonder sometimes who does their marketing!

someone who doesn't understand that you don't change traditions that go back 100 years!

keane2097

nice_guy80 wrote: »

someone who doesn't understand that you don't change traditions that go back 100 years!

The 1918 All Ireland football final was played in February 1919.

Bonniedog

keane2097 wrote: »

The 1918 All Ireland football final was played in February 1919.

That was because we were in middle of a revolution!