The GAA 'myth'

trapp

Don't get me wrong, I'm an admirer of the GAA, played hurling and football, regularly go to club games, county games etc but there is a huge amount of bull**** around the organisation at the moment

We're constantly told that GAA players 'go to work on a Monday morning' after a match, in reality every decent county team does recovery sessions on a Monday morning, a huge amount of GAA players are students or teachers with the rest employed in gyms etc or living from sponsership deals etc. Yet we never hear LOI first division players praised for combining work with a 40 game season?

GAA volunteers are great no doubt about that but do people not volunteer in boxing clubs, soccer clubs, etc all over the country too, listening to the GAA they're the only ones with volunteers!

We've heard all week about how great the GAA are for the community but what have they done for the community in the inner city, in the disadvantaged areas in Limerick and Tallaght and west Dublin? Fantastic work being done in these areas by soccer and boxing clubs that doesn't get a mention.

They get huge support in terms of promotion, funding etc but still have some elements promoting this 'foreign game' nonsense about other sports.

Liam Brady, John Giles, Roy Keane and of course Liam Miller are as Irish as anybody else and don't need to be 'GAA men' to prove their Irishness.

Really annoys me, as a follower of many sports, to see this superior attitude towards other games rearing its head.

nice_guy80

A lot of disadvantaged areas don't really want to play GAA.
They'll always be soccer areas.
Soccer was a street sport.

Some nice chips on your shoulders there btw.

TheValeyard

One thread not enough for you OP?

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057896392/1/#post107645390

TCDStudent1

trapp wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, I'm an admirer of the GAA, played hurling and football, regularly go to club games, county games etc but there is a huge amount of bull**** around the organisation at the moment

We're constantly told that GAA players 'go to work on a Monday morning' after a match, in reality every decent county team does recovery sessions on a Monday morning, a huge amount of GAA players are students or teachers with the rest employed in gyms etc or living from sponsership deals etc. Yet we never hear LOI first division players praised for combining work with a 40 game season?

GAA volunteers are great no doubt about that but do people not volunteer in boxing clubs, soccer clubs, etc all over the country too, listening to the GAA they're the only ones with volunteers!

We've heard all week about how great the GAA are for the community but what have they done for the community in the inner city, in the disadvantaged areas in Limerick and Tallaght and west Dublin? Fantastic work being done in these areas by soccer and boxing clubs that doesn't get a mention.

They get huge support in terms of promotion, funding etc but still have some elements promoting this 'foreign game' nonsense about other sports.

Liam Brady, John Giles, Roy Keane and of course Liam Miller are as Irish as anybody else and don't need to be 'GAA men' to prove their Irishness.

Really annoys me, as a follower of many sports, to see this superior attitude towards other games rearing its head.

I work with an inter county footballer who has played in a good few matches this year including 2 super 8 games. Have seen him at work the Friday before a match and the Monday after.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Allinall

Ah shure lookit...

Edgware

There are good solid GAA clubs in the working class districts of Dublin. O Tooles Erins Isle St Marks St Kevins etc. As regards the inner city you cant play GAA on tarmacadam.
Its not a great distance from the North and South Inner City to clubs such as O Connells, St James Good Counsel etc so the poster obvioysly has a big chip on his shoulder about something.
However I dont see why GAA players should constantly try and compare themselves with professional footballers. Most county player will have less than ten intercounty games in the year. A professional footballer in the English championship, Aston Villa, for example will start the league in August and will possibly play 46 league games. They could also play a number of cup games. All this between August and early May through the British winter.
The county players are whinging because they had to play three weeks in a row recently

Poor_old_gill

I'm not sure what the myth is? That lads dont go to work after playing for their county? They do!

Is your real issue that other games havent been able to market themselves aswell as the GAA and also that they havent spent their money as wisely?
Yeah maybe you are right but when you think of some of the characters involved in the aforementioned sports then you will understand why.

threeball

Edgware wrote: »

However I dont see why GAA players should constantly try and compare themselves with professional footballers. Most county player will have less than ten intercounty games in the year. A professional footballer in the English championship, Aston Villa, for example will start the league in August and will possibly play 46 league games. They could also play a number of cup games. All this between August and early May through the British winter.
The county players are whinging because they had to play three weeks in a row recently

Different sports. Gaa games are far harder on the body than a soccer game. Much higher pace with far harder hits. Plus no professional system to aid recovery.

Bridge93

threeball wrote: »

Different sports. Gaa games are far harder on the body than a soccer game. Much higher pace with far harder hits. Plus no professional system to aid recovery.

Wouldn't necessarily say they're played at a much higher pace than top level football. The hits are certainly much harder. They do play 20 minutes less per game too. They just aren't comparable. Gaelic football is increasingly looking closer to rugby than football. Some seriously big athletes about these days

threeball

Bridge93 wrote: »

Wouldn't necessarily say they're played at a much higher pace than top level football. The hits are certainly much harder. They do play 20 minutes less per game too. They just aren't comparable. Gaelic football is increasingly looking closer to rugby than football. Some seriously big athletes about these days

Gaa players are putting in as many or in many cases more km's in 70 minutes as top end soccer players do in 90 plus the ground they cover is at a higher pace. More sprinting and direction changes required.

Bridge93

threeball wrote: »

Gaa players are putting in as many or in many cases more km's in 70 minutes as top end soccer players do in 90 plus the ground they cover is at a higher pace. More sprinting and direction changes required.

They don't, there was an article a while back on a study into this. AFL players run the most in the sports looked at.

Gaelic footballers ran on average 131m per minute over the 70 minutes.
Hurlers ran 110m
About 20% of the metres covered are done at what is considered 'high speed'

Football players ran 119m per minute over the 90 minutes

threeball

Bridge93 wrote: »

They don't, there was an article a while back on a study into this. AFL players run the most in the sports looked at.

Gaelic footballers ran on average 131m per minute over the 70 minutes.
Hurlers ran 110m
Football players ran 119m per minute over the 90 minutes

Those stats have changed. Gaelic games are coming closer to Aussie rules particularly football. A lot of midfielders covering up to 16km a game. Soccer tends to be 10 to 12km in a longer time period.

Bridge93

threeball wrote: »

Those stats have changed. Gaelic games are coming closer to Aussie rules particularly football. A lot of midfielders covering up to 16km a game. Soccer tends to be 10 to 12km in a longer time period.

Those stats are from last year. AFL and Gaelic Footballers are very similar. AFL players average don't 3m more a minute.

A separate study done in 2014 by the former performance analyst to Dublin had Gaelic footballers averaging 11.7km a game. Soccer players in the same study did 14.6km