Has Gaelic Football lost it's appeal?

DaltonHurler

Well everyone,

just after the all Ireland Final I was wondering what do people think about football in this day and age. Like do people just get sick of Dublin winning it. Like we have to apprentice this 4-in-a-row team but for the neutral supporters what do they think?

While in hurling there have been five different winners in the last 6 years (Clare, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway and Limerick). Like I'm being honest I probably watched 40 mins of the final yesterday, so what do ye people think?

EICVD

Nope, it’s never been so good

Dots1982

Too many teams making up the numbers, each season is a re run of the season before, nothing for fans to pin their dreams on.

That’s the issue. Forget the quality of football.

DaltonHurler

Dots1982 wrote: »

Too many teams making up the numbers, each season is a re run of the season before, nothing for fans to pin their dreams on.

That’s the issue. Forget the quality of football.

Very true, like when i grew up I was always wondering who would win this years football all ireland, now its just a re run

Dots1982

DaltonHurler wrote: »

Dots1982 wrote: »

Too many teams making up the numbers, each season is a re run of the season before, nothing for fans to pin their dreams on.

That’s the issue. Forget the quality of football.

Very true, like when i grew up I was always wondering who would win this years football all ireland, now its just a re run

Next 10 years will be a Dublin Kerry carve up so nothing is going to change.

If it wasn’t for mayo these problems would have been a bigger deal before now.

Dublin are a great team and an enjoyable team to watch. It’s just we have only one Dublin and their level is incredible

judeboy101

There is no danger for teams now that you can lose 2 games and still make an all Ireland final. A straight knock out like it was in the olden days.

Mistrryman

Too much basketball type play, players told not to kickpass.This should have been dealt with when it became an issue.

Overly complicated cards system

Too much much diving ,and thuggery still abounds

Will I Am Not

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant? Did soccer lose its appeal when Man United/Barcelona were winning the league every year? Did tennis lose its appeal when Sampras or Federer was doing it? Tiger Woods in golf. Davis or Hendry in snooker. Phil Taylor in darts.

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

legendary.xix

What Gaelic Football needs is an inter-provincial championship;

Connaught
Dublin
Leinster
Munster
Ulster

Round robin format with top 2 into the final. It'll naturally become the highest level in the sport.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant? Did soccer lose its appeal when Man United/Barcelona were winning the league every year? Did tennis lose its appeal when Sampras or Federer was doing it? Tiger Woods in golf. Davis or Hendry in snooker. Phil Taylor in darts.

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much chance of any team challenging Dublin much for the next few years.

Also, your comparison is drivel. Plenty of people were keen to see United lose and are still happy to see them adrift. I'm sure people from many hurling counties were keen to see Kilkenny lose in 2010.

Fann Linn

Gaa is about community, about your birthplace. I don't give a damn about Tyrone, Mayo, Kerry or Kildare etc.

OldMrBrennan83

Nope. Still like going to matches at every level and enjoyed a lot of games in the SFC this year.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Football is a poor game. Not even comparing it to hurling which is a far superior game. Football is just terrible to watch.

The Talking Bread

Hunky Monster wrote: »

Football is a poor game. Not even comparing it to hurling which is a far superior game. Football is just terrible to watch.

You literally just compared it to hurling whilst stating you aren't comparing it to it!

Just to clarify, btw, you believe football is a terrible game to watch. Speak on your own behalf.

It's stupid to hate a sport because you don't like the team that is currently the best.

I support Liverpool and spent years watching United winning.
I love F1 but hated Michael Schumacher.
Love boxing but hated Mayweather.

I have many more examples. Makes it sweeter when they finally lose 😂

As a Dublin fan, I'm enjoying finally seeing us win. I only remember winning once before 2011.

Dannyriver

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant? Did soccer lose its appeal when Man United/Barcelona were winning the league every year? Did tennis lose its appeal when Sampras or Federer was doing it? Tiger Woods in golf. Davis or Hendry in snooker. Phil Taylor in darts.

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

Hurling as a game itself has improved in ways that Football simply hasn t , it s not only the lack of competition

C__MC

It’s gone flat to many athletes now and a lack of skillful ballers. When you hear the players calling for the ball in a final on TV - it’s worrying

Fann Linn

C__MC wrote: »

It’s gone flat to many athletes now and a lack of skillful ballers. When you hear the players calling for the ball in a final on TV - it’s worrying

Or maybe just good audio equipment.

Was on the Hill myself and couldn't hear a thing. Btw Croke Park, any chance of putting a few loudspeakers in there so we can lisren to Cluxton's speech next year?

Niles Crane

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant? Did soccer lose its appeal when Man United/Barcelona were winning the league every year? Did tennis lose its appeal when Sampras or Federer was doing it? Tiger Woods in golf. Davis or Hendry in snooker. Phil Taylor in darts.

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

Individual sports are better when there is greatness on show however it tends to be the opposite for team sports in my opinion.

I love watching Federer,Nadal,Djocovik ,Ronnie O'Sullivan,Bolt,Phelps etc but as individual sports exist more as exhibitions of talent than team sports do dominance from one great player is more tolerable.

Team sports are primarily about entertainment not expression of brilliance.

The 1990's was the greatest decade in the GAA's history due to how open it was and how a very high proportion of teams in both football and hurling could win, 6 different hurling champions and 8 different football champions in that decade.Each year you felt like anything could happen and it was great entertainment.However you couldn't really make the argument that any of the teams in the 90's in either code would go down as all time great teams, I would say that if the Mayo team of the 2010's played in the 1990's they have won at least a couple of all irelands.

Some people forget that the hurling championship was pretty poor for most of the 00's and people were just as sick of Kilkenny then as they appear to be sick of Dublin now so it isn't just an anti Dublin reason for people wanting some more variety in the championship.

Dublin however are providing an example to all other counties in how football should be played and how great a game it is when it is played properly I wish other counties would learn from this and just go out and play proper football, Dublin are not causing matches that don't feature them between evenly matched teams to be dull and yet that is what has happened to football in the last 10 years, the generally negative tactics being used by teams is the main thing killing the championship not Dublin.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Just to clarify, btw, you believe football is a terrible game to watch. Speak on your own behalf.

I did. That's why I sat here and typed it. Is that a hard concept for you to understand? Only an idiot would think that a single person typing something on the internet is speaking on behalf of the majority.

The Talking Bread

Deleted User wrote: »

It's stupid to hate a sport because you don't like the team that is currently the best.

As a Dublin fan, I'm enjoying finally seeing us win. I only remember winning once before 2011.

Oh, come on,

I don't see anyone with half a footballing brain or arguably a bit if sense in general saying they hate the sport because they don't like Dublin? You are pulling that theory out of the sky;

people falling out of love with the game is far more complex than because they "don't like the team that is currently the best"

In fact most football fans think Dublin are a fantastic team. But there are many factors that make them fantastic that other counties can't take advantage of.

The dominance that they have and will continue to have going forward is what is worrying and exasperating for most.

You are a Dublin fan. Of course you are going to enjoy winning.

The Talking Bread

Hunky Monster wrote: »

I did. That's why I sat here and typed it. Is that a hard concept for you to understand? Only an idiot would think that a single person typing something on the internet is speaking on behalf of the majority.

Good man, Ted. Exceptional rebuttal

super_furry

It's kind of like the Scottish Premier League at the moment. Dublin are in the same dominant position that Celtic are in and have a vastly larger support base and finances. Hard to see how either team will be caught in the next decade without major intervention.

eagle eye

The game is awful to look at is the main problem.



The fact that we all know who is going to win the All-Ireland in 2019 already is another huge problem. If Dublin keep up a decent level of professionalism they might continue winning for a long time to come. That day will come when another team get all their players on form on the same day and they beat the chances of it happening are pretty slim.

blanch152

Some really fantastic football having been played the last few years.

Mayo put it up to Dublin for some high quality exciting All-Ireland finals.

Yesterday, we saw a great performance by Dublin, especially in the second quarter, when they destroyed Tyrone. One for the ages.

Not losing its appeal at all.

keith_sixteen

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant? Did soccer lose its appeal when Man United/Barcelona were winning the league every year? Did tennis lose its appeal when Sampras or Federer was doing it? Tiger Woods in golf. Davis or Hendry in snooker. Phil Taylor in darts.

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

Yes, yes. Phil Taylor and Man U, adored by all and sundry :rolleyes:

Niles Crane

blanch152 wrote: »

Some really fantastic football having been played the last few years.

Mayo put it up to Dublin for some high quality exciting All-Ireland finals.

Yesterday, we saw a great performance by Dublin, especially in the second quarter, when they destroyed Tyrone. One for the ages.

Not losing its appeal at all.

The problem is that those games are few and far between.

Last years all ireland final was one of the greatest games of all time but there were not too many other quality games in the whole championship season.

The average game has declined in entertainment value the great games (which have always been rare in any sport) are great but the average game has declined massively in entertainment value, I stopped going to watch Offaly a few years ago as I honestly couldn't take anymore of the crap football being played and I suspect I'm not the only one in the country who became fed up with the type of football on show.

The rules of the sport badly need to be changed as this negative era has been allowed to go on for far too long and something needs to be done to stop it.When you here so many former and current players and so many fasn constantly complaining about the sport it's a sign that there is something seriously wrong which needs to be fixed.

blanch152

Niles Crane wrote: »

The problem is that those games are few and far between.

Last years all ireland final was one of the greatest games of all time but there were not too many other quality games in the whole championship season.

The average game has declined in entertainment value the great games (which have always been rare in any sport) are great but the average game has declined massively in entertainment value, I stopped going to watch Offaly a few years ago as I honestly couldn't take anymore of the crap football being played and I suspect I'm not the only one in the country who became fed up with the type of football on show.

The rules of the sport badly need to be changed as this negative era has been allowed to go on for far too long and something needs to be done to stop it.When you here so many former and current players and so many fasn constantly complaining about the sport it's a sign that there is something seriously wrong which needs to be fixed.

It was worse during the time of the Kerry 4-in-a-row. Attendances and tv figures were down all over the place.

When Kilkenny were winning hurling All-Irelands for fun, there was nobody watching.

The Talking Bread

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Oh, come on,

I don't see anyone with half a footballing brain or arguably a bit if sense in general saying they hate the sport because they don't like Dublin? You are pulling that theory out of the sky;

people falling out of love with the game is far more complex than because they "don't like the team that is currently the best"

In fact most football fans think Dublin are a fantastic team. But there are many factors that make them fantastic that other counties can't take advantage of.

The dominance that they have and will continue to have going forward is what is worrying and exasperating for most.

You are a Dublin fan. Of course you are going to enjoy winning.

The OP specifically mentioned getting sick of Dublin winning.

I understand people are getting frustrated at not having a chance to win.

It will change though. Dominance in sport never lasts forever.

It will be so much sweeter for the neutrals when we do lose as well.

hierro

Hurling is winning out because not only is it a better game, the best teams play each other regularly, every game is a rivalry.

Football takes too long to get to the business end of the year. The super eights was largely a waste of time.

Time for weaker counties and provincial boards to wake up and smell the coffee. They have no place pretending to compete. Would the likes of Longford Dublin games be broadcast if it was hurling...

A Kilkenny supporter, who has 100 football and hurling finals attended believes that Dublin are and will be more dominant then Kilkenny ever were.

Niles Crane

blanch152 wrote: »

It was worse during the time of the Kerry 4-in-a-row. Attendances and tv figures were down all over the place.

When Kilkenny were winning hurling All-Irelands for fun, there was nobody watching.

This years semi finals have had the lowest Semi Final attendance involving Dublin since 1994 and the lowest in general since 2008.

Interest has definitely declined in the sport.

No point comparing to the 1980's for attendance figures as even the hurling championship had terrible attendance figures back then and there wouldn't ahve been the same degree of wealth in the country as there is now so not as much money to be spending on recreation as there is now.

The Talking Bread

blanch152 wrote: »

Some really fantastic football having been played the last few years.

Mayo put it up to Dublin for some high quality exciting All-Ireland finals.

Yesterday, we saw a great performance by Dublin, especially in the second quarter, when they destroyed Tyrone. One for the ages.

Not losing its appeal at all.

You are a Dublin fan.

The fact that you are disregarding every other county fan looking in from outside Dublin that states that the game is losing it's appeal is an opinion emanating from a biased bar stool.

I don't think it is as bad as people claim but there is Dublin and then there are circa 8 or 9 counties that are relatively competitive amongst themselves (Galway, Tyrone, Kerry, Monaghan, Mayo, Kildare, Donegal, Cavan and Roscommon) whilst the next level down are also upping their game and there are only a handful of teams that are being left behind as inter provincial teams become more professional entities)

But this year's final was the least anticipated and most predictable outcome of finals in decades. That speaks volumes in the "losing it's appeal" regard.

shockframe

Niles Crane wrote: »

This years semi finals have had the lowest Semi Final attendance involving Dublin since 1994 and the lowest in general since 2008.

Interest has definitely declined in the sport.

No point comparing to the 1980's for attendance figures as even the hurling championship had terrible attendance figures back then and there wouldn't ahve been the same degree of wealth in the country as there is now so not as much money to be spending on recreation as there is now.

The attendance drop is largely explained by Galway who have always had fairly dreadful support or such a big county.

You put Kerry, Mayo and Tyrone in their place and there would be close to a full house.

nice_guy80

I wouldn't go to see a county game as a neutral fan

I used to regularly do this

blanch152

The Talking Bread wrote: »

You are a Dublin fan.

The fact that you are disregarding every other county fan looking in from outside Dublin that states that the game is losing it's appeal is an opinion emanating from a biased bar stool.

I don't think it is as bad as people claim but there is Dublin and then there are circa 8 or 9 counties that are relatively competitive amongst themselves (Galway, Tyrone, Kerry, Monaghan, Mayo, Kildare, Donegal, Cavan and Roscommon) whilst the next level down are also upping their game and there are only a handful of teams that are being left behind as inter provincial teams become more professional entities)

But this year's final was the least anticipated and most predictable outcome of finals in decades. That speaks volumes in the "losing it's appeal" regard.

Least anticipated and most predictable since 1980?

Successful teams cause a certain lack of appeal, but it was much worse back then. Dull low-scoring games, with the use of handpassing even worse.

To beat Kerry in 1982, it took a referee ignoring a blatant push for the winning goal. We nearly saw something similar yesterday, with Cavanagh escaping a deserved black card, and Harte escaping a red, not to mention the incident with Mannion being stretched out off the ball.

spurshero

Fann Linn wrote: »

C__MC wrote: »

It’s gone flat to many athletes now and a lack of skillful ballers. When you hear the players calling for the ball in a final on TV - it’s worrying

Or maybe just good audio equipment.

Was on the Hill myself and couldn't hear a thing. Btw Croke Park, any chance of putting a few loudspeakers in there so we can lisren to Cluxton's speech next year?

Don’t bother great keeper but one boring person

spurshero

It’s lost it’s appeal for all bar Dublin . That’s the reality . The only people on here saying it hasn’t seem to be dubs . Unless Kerry get there stuff together it’s beginning to look like 10 in a row . Having said all that it’s not Dublin’s fault there so good but you are not comparing like with like when your comparing Dublin with leitrem Carlow Longford etc . It’s not a level playing field and Probaly never will
Be again . Rural Ireland is dying and cities especially Dublin are gettting bigger and busier

doc_17

I think the number of games now is having a detrimental effect. If they were exciting then that would be great. But when they are generally boring and uncompetitive as well being very expensive and inconvienent to attend (Donegal v Dublin in CP at 7pm on a Saturday) then it makes it all the more difficult to make a case for football.

Noveight

An incredibly competitive and open era in hurling coinciding with Dublin's continuing stranglehold on Sam isn't helping the game's appeal. SHC 2018 had countless thrills and spills compared to the relatively mundane and predictable SFC.

Not entirely fair I suppose that the two games are compared the way they are as often as they are, but it can't really be helped.

road_high

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Did hurling lose its appeal when Kilkenny were so dominant?

It's up to the rest to get better. People in general love to watch and admire teams or individuals excel. Except Dublin... for reasons of the sour grape variety.

Kilkenny weren't as dominant though as Dublin are- they could have been beaten any year by Tipperary or Galway especially and most of the finals were extremely close and even several replays. Nothing like the boring dominance of Dublin.

blanch152

Niles Crane wrote: »

This years semi finals have had the lowest Semi Final attendance involving Dublin since 1994 and the lowest in general since 2008.

Interest has definitely declined in the sport.

No point comparing to the 1980's for attendance figures as even the hurling championship had terrible attendance figures back then and there wouldn't ahve been the same degree of wealth in the country as there is now so not as much money to be spending on recreation as there is now.

The 1980 All-Ireland final had the lowest attendance over the last 70 years.

Why was that?

OldMrBrennan83

road_high wrote: »

Kilkenny weren't as dominant though as Dublin are- they could have been beaten any year by Tipperary or Galway especially and most of the finals were extremely close and even several replays. Nothing like the boring dominance of Dublin.

What are you smoking? The margins in the 4 final matches played before Sunday were 3, 1, 0, and 1.

blanch152

road_high wrote: »

Kilkenny weren't as dominant though as Dublin are- they could have been beaten any year by Tipperary or Galway especially and most of the finals were extremely close and even several replays. Nothing like the boring dominance of Dublin.

Another deluded amusing post.

Kilkenny won 8 in 10, yet weren't as dominant as Dublin.

Dublin didn't win three All-Irelands by one point, one of them after a reply!!!


So so funny.

Danjamin1

Niles Crane wrote: »

The problem is that those games are few and far between.

Last years all ireland final was one of the greatest games of all time but there were not too many other quality games in the whole championship season.

The average game has declined in entertainment value the great games (which have always been rare in any sport) are great but the average game has declined massively in entertainment value, I stopped going to watch Offaly a few years ago as I honestly couldn't take anymore of the crap football being played and I suspect I'm not the only one in the country who became fed up with the type of football on show.

The rules of the sport badly need to be changed as this negative era has been allowed to go on for far too long and something needs to be done to stop it.When you here so many former and current players and so many fasn constantly complaining about the sport it's a sign that there is something seriously wrong which needs to be fixed.

We must have watched different championships. Last year Mayo went to extra time against two different teams and went to a replay of the semi final against Kerry before meeting Dublin. I thought it was a fantastic spectacle. This year watching Fermanagh & Kildare was entertaining as there were two underdog teams trying to go the distance. I’m undecided about the Super 8’s, not sure they really worked, although I did enjoy seeing Kerry go crashing out.

Niles Crane

blanch152 wrote: »

The 1980 All-Ireland final had the lowest attendance over the last 70 years.

Why was that?

No idea.

Although the 1980 final in either code did not have the lowest attendances over that period.

WesternZulu

road_high wrote: »

Kilkenny weren't as dominant though as Dublin are- they could have been beaten any year by Tipperary or Galway especially and most of the finals were extremely close and even several replays. Nothing like the boring dominance of Dublin.

You could say the same about Mayo running Dublin close in a few finals. KK were just as dominant as Dublin are now.

I really don't get this thing about football losing its appeal as a sport. The statistics show it's higher scoring than ever:
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.balls.ie/amp/gaa/stats-average-score-in-gaelic-football-392746

I think the Sunday Game has a lot to answer for. Sunday after Sunday the three auld lads tell the nation how bad gaelic football is compared to the golden days when they played. People listen to this and take it as gospel and nostalgia does the rest.

If any of you are in any doubt of the relative appeal of football between now and the past I'd suggest look up some of the regarded classics on YouTube.
The standard is appalling with very poor and undirected kick passing. The games were relatively low scoring as well to make things worse.

Lastly, can hurling fans watch a game of football at all without feeling compelled to tell the world how poor it is comparatively? It's tiresome and it would nearly turn you off the sport.

Niles Crane

Patww79 wrote: »

What are you smoking? The margins in the 4 final matches played before Sunday were 3, 1, 0, and 1.

Dublin never win games by as much as the really could have, they always tend to play a little conservatively and get the job done and not take any risks.

The won yesterdays final by 6 yet based on the run of the whole 70 minutes it felt more like a 12/13 point victory.

The beat Kerry in 2015 and it was a hammering in spite of them only winning by a few points.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Some of Dublin's wins were also very tight and one was even a replay.

However, it does seem that Dublin's production line will keep them dominant for a few years yet, more than Kilkenny were. I hope I am wrong on that.

road_high

blanch152 wrote: »

Another deluded amusing post.

Kilkenny won 8 in 10, yet weren't as dominant as Dublin.

Dublin didn't win three All-Irelands by one point, one of them after a reply!!!


So so funny.

Kilkenny could have been beaten any of those years. Unlike the yawning snoredom that is Dublin. You're probably the only one laughing, the rest of us are bored to tears- only bothered watching it out of tradition, nothing else.

Niles Crane

WesternZulu wrote: »

You could say the same about Mayo running Dublin close in a few finals. KK were just as dominant as Dublin are now.

I really don't get this thing about football losing its appeal as a sport. The statistics show it's higher scoring than ever:
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.balls.ie/amp/gaa/stats-average-score-in-gaelic-football-392746

I think the Sunday Game has a lot to answer for. Sunday after Sunday the three auld lads tell the nation how bad gaelic football is compared to the golden days when they played. People listen to this and take it as gospel and nostalgia does the rest.

If any of you are in any doubt of the relative appeal of football between now and the past I'd suggest look up some of the regarded classics on YouTube.
The standard is appalling with very poor and undirected kick passing. The games were relatively low scoring as well to make things worse.

Lastly, can hurling fans watch a game of football at all without feeling compelled to tell the world how poor it is comparatively? It's tiresome and it would nearly turn you off the sport.

The scoring is higher because the players are far more skillful than they used to be.

The problem with the sport are as follows:
People don't want blanket defences.
They don't want endless handpassing.
They don't want negative styles of play.
People want more of a contest for the ball all around the field.
People want more open attacking football to be played.

Football is my favourite sport yet I don't go to watch my own county play because of the ****e style of play and I've watched less football this year than I ever have before.

Danjamin1

road_high wrote: »

Kilkenny could have been beaten any of those years. Unlike the yawning snoredom that is Dublin. You're probably the only one laughing, the rest of us are bored to tears- only bothered watching it out of tradition, nothing else.

A late free won the game last year. Donal Vaughan stupidly got himself sent off for reacting to John small otherwise it could have been a very different outcome. If Dublin went down a man it’s entirely likely Mayo could have won. I highly doubt Dublin are leaving points out there for the craic to see how low a margin they can win by.