Is Hurling the greatest game ever?

rustedtrumpet · 05-02-2014 03:01AM

orangesoda wrote: »

You could use the McDonalds analogy here, it is the most popular fast food chain in the world, it doesnt mean it has the best food

Hurling is the most popular sport in the world? I think ill stick with the Supermac's analogy

Da Shins Kelly · 05-02-2014 03:06AM

It's totally subjective, but it's probably my favourite sport. It's thrilling to watch and incredibly skillful. The sheer speed and accuracy involved is crazy.

orangesoda · 05-02-2014 03:07AM

rustedtrumpet wrote: »

Hurling is the most popular sport in the world? I think ill stick with the Supermac's analogy

Soccer, i just heard that analogy when aussie blokes were arguing with poms about australian rules v soccer

12gauge dave · 05-02-2014 03:07AM

I know gaelic games our close to alot of irish peoples hearts and rightly they are your national sports but thats where it ends they our national sports which irish people play and inter county level is no joke but even county players will tell you that soccer at professional level is a whole different ball game of ability.

05-02-2014 03:26AM

How can you claim the best sport in the world based on a handful of games? Hurling has some great games every year but an awful lot of ****e too that noone remembers*

Every sport is 'the best in the world' while you're watching an exciting game.

*Soccer is far worse for that though

sabat · 05-02-2014 04:06AM

Tommy Dillon wrote: »

less than a 100 years and you'd have been shot by the british army for going around holding a hurl...

Can you give me an example of this occurring please?

[-0-] · 05-02-2014 06:02AM

Why can't people use the fecking search function on boards? This keeps coming up!

Yes, it is. For the record.

iDave · 05-02-2014 08:51AM

When 2 evenly matched teams play it is for me the most entertaining and exhilarating to watch.
Hurlings main problem is the lack of upsets. Favourites usually win.
Regardless the skill involved is spellbinding.

cournioni · 05-02-2014 09:14AM

Some people really need to look past their anti-GAA bias and appreciate this sport for what it is; one of the fastest and most skillful field sports around. If the GAA weren't so closed-minded in the past (and arguably at present), it would have far more exposure around the world at this point in my opinion.

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 09:39AM

There are a few reasons why hurling is not more popular

1. It's too skillful. With soccer and gaelic football anyone can go outside for a kick around even if you've never played before. This creates a massive imbalance between 'hurling counties' where children are trained in the art of hurling from the age of 5 and play at a high level in their schools and clubs, and 'non hurling counties' where the underage infrastructure is not there to train the kids to a competitive level.

2. The GAA are not international. To develop a sport internationally takes years of very concentrated effort to achieve a balance between bring in new players and providing competitive tournaments for those at the top.
Rugby for all it's hard work has managed to maintain competition at the highest level in 9 countries (the teams in the 6 nations and the tri nations) They're slowly introducing new nations and expanding it's base, but this takes time and effort, something the GAA aren't really doing.

3. It needs a lot of space to play. You need a big pitch, you can't really play 5 a side hurling or play properly on a green area in an estate

3. You need to be really fit to play it. This one puts a lot of people off.

4. It hurts when you get hit with the hurley.

5. it hurts when you get hit with the sliotar

6. it hurts when you get hit by the other hurling players

7. The GAA screwed it up for generations by insisting that if you play any other (non gaa) sports, you're not allowed to play hurling

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 09:42AM

darced wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I agree that they do have this amazing skill at being very tall, and getting wierd with totalitarian dictators

They're not very skillful at acting though (space jam)

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 09:44AM

SimonQuinlank wrote: »

With the aid of €114m of government funding over the years.

And far superior in your opinion.

The FAI got 191 million for the aviva, and it's smaller, uglier and they didn't even get to keep the naming rights.

WesternZulu · 05-02-2014 09:50AM

I am a big fan of gaelic football and soccer, hurling and rugby to a lesser extent.

I have to say there is nothing quite like a hurling snob!
A regural agrument in GAA discussions boards by them is how hurling is far superior compared to gaelic football!

I agree it's a great and skillfull game, but hurling people don't half like reminding people of it!

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 09:51AM

MaroonAndGreen wrote: »

I dont think people realise this, but soccer at the pro level is incredibly skilled.

You can be guaranteed that if you put any Premier League player into an amateur league they would absolutley tear it apart.

Their first touch and ability to do things under pressure and with little or no time for thinking is amazing.

Soccer is the most skilled sport, and the best sport in the world. The standards are amazing as it picks the best from probably a billion players.

How can you claim hurling is better when there isnt even a million that play it? It'll never reach world class standards.

I don't disagree that professional soccer players at the highest level are very very skillfull, but the actual point is that the initial investment in training required to learn the basic skills required for hurling is a lot higher than to play at the lowest levels of Soccer.

Anyone can join the local pub soccer league and have a laugh if they want to. In order to enjoy a game of hurling, you need to learn how to control the sliotar with the hurley and catch it, and solo with it, and how to pull the ball along the ground and how to win the ball back from a tussle while getting your shins hacked off.

Essentially, you can be a casual football player with little or no commitment to the game. To be a hurler at the lowest level takes hours and hours of practise

Jimoslimos · 05-02-2014 09:53AM

I hate these type of threads because they invariably degenerate into petty squabbling and snide pot-shots at sports people don't like.

Personally I enjoy both playing and watching hurling, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone who feels different. It's not perfect and there are perfectly valid criticisms to be made, it just isn't competitive enough at inter-county level and it suffers from being an afterthought (to gaelic football) in the minds of the GAA. Two completely different sports trying to share a common rule-book - lunacy.

Soccer is ubiquitous because it is very simple to grasp the basics along with low cost of entry. This makes achievement at the top level all the greater because of the sheer number of competitors. This isn't a slur on hurling by any means (which I prefer). I reckon everybody here would rate Usain Bolt's gold medals above those of say the winner of the modern pentathlon or sailing events for much of the same reasons.

The King of Moo wrote: »

By your logic, isn't an American equally and paradoxically entitled to claim that baseball is the best sport in the world because it's "their sport?"
How's that different from your claim that hurling is the best because it's "ours?"

Wasn't baseball originally an English sport?!

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 09:54AM

12gauge dave wrote: »

As much as the gaa boys may hate it nothing has catched the imagination of the world like soccer. You may think its easy to play and that they are just overpaid lil girls falling around the place. But the level and ability top soccer players are at is unbelievable.

The one thing that stands soccer out from gaelic football hurling and rugby is the freedom of expression with the ball as long as you dont handball it there is endless skills and possibilities that is the magic in it with gaelic and rugby its less free.

I dont begrudge any sport but irish people think gaelic football and hurling are miles ahead of other sports its almost an ignorance to other sports and its a shame really.

Take a look at the Hurling highlights from this year and you will see the some amazingly expressive hurling. It's gone to a new level. The new style of play by Clare is poetry when it works well (on an off day it's frustrating as hell to watch)

Ush1 · 05-02-2014 10:08AM

Akrasia wrote: »

There are a few reasons why hurling is not more popular

1. It's too skillful. With soccer and gaelic football anyone can go outside for a kick around even if you've never played before. This creates a massive imbalance between 'hurling counties' where children are trained in the art of hurling from the age of 5 and play at a high level in their schools and clubs, and 'non hurling counties' where the underage infrastructure is not there to train the kids to a competitive level.

Football is too skilful to someone who has never kicked a ball. Hurling requires every player to have a very specific shaped stick, no as readily available as a pair of legs.

Akrasia wrote: »

2. The GAA are not international. To develop a sport internationally takes years of very concentrated effort to achieve a balance between bring in new players and providing competitive tournaments for those at the top.
Rugby for all it's hard work has managed to maintain competition at the highest level in 9 countries (the teams in the 6 nations and the tri nations) They're slowly introducing new nations and expanding it's base, but this takes time and effort, something the GAA aren't really doing.

Football spread hugely because of colonists such as the British Empire, would be very difficult to emulate that in this day and age.

Akrasia wrote: »

3. It needs a lot of space to play. You need a big pitch, you can't really play 5 a side hurling or play properly on a green area in an estate

Why not?

Akrasia wrote: »

3. You need to be really fit to play it. This one puts a lot of people off.

Arbitrary. At what level? Applies to football as well.

Akrasia wrote: »

4. It hurts when you get hit with the hurley.

5. it hurts when you get hit with the sliotar

6. it hurts when you get hit by the other hurling players

Boxing hurts when you get punched and that's fairly international.

Akrasia wrote: »

7. The GAA screwed it up for generations by insisting that if you play any other (non gaa) sports, you're not allowed to play hurling

Maybe, although I would say that idea was more to do with preserving the pool of players they had, rather than trying to stop it spreading over seas. Still wouldn't be anywhere near as popular as soccer.

WesternZulu · 05-02-2014 10:11AM

Akrasia wrote: »

Take a look at the Hurling highlights from this year and you will see the some amazingly expressive hurling. It's gone to a new level. The new style of play by Clare is poetry when it works well (on an off day it's frustrating as hell to watch)

You could apply that to any sport.

Kerry/Dublin/Mayo on their day are poetry in motion
Barcelona/Spain/Bayern/City on their day are poetry in motion
Clare on their day are poetry in motion.
NZ/France/Wales on their day are poetry in motion

See what I'm getting at, any top team in any sport are great to watch.
Hurling is not unique in that regard.

Alf Veedersane · 05-02-2014 10:12AM

I don't see the point in trying to compare hurling to sawker. The only similarities are that they are field sports and involve a ball.

Similarly, just because hurling and gaelic football are Irish sports governed by the GAA doesn't make comparing them valid in any way.

Just enjoy watching whatever sport you watch without trying to compare it to another sport.

I love watching a really good game of sawker. I also really enjoy a good game of hurling.

But I don't compare them anymore than I compare apples and oranges.

Akrasia · 05-02-2014 10:31AM

Ush1 wrote: »

Football is too skilful to someone who has never kicked a ball. Hurling requires every player to have a very specific shaped stick, no as readily available as a pair of legs.

This too, everyone has to have their own equipment, to play soccer, only one person needs to have a ball and everyone can join in.

Why not?

because a sliotar can travel a long way. The GAA are looking at ways of setting up 5 a side hurling, but they can only make it work with ground hurling and that might as well be hockey IMO)

Arbitrary. At what level? Applies to football as well. the ball

The sliotar travels a lot faster than a football. there is a lot of running for 50 50 balls in hurling.

Dravokivich · 05-02-2014 10:35AM

What makes the game great?

In all sports there are skill sets required to be developed by their players. I saw a video a while back as a promo where some GAA Footballer was getting a few soccer players to take some shots over the cross bar from a distance. They weren't good at it solely because it's a skill set they didn't need to develop. I'd love to have seen a video the other way around of a GAA footballer needing to dribble by a series of defenders with the ball on his foot. Just as it'd be amusing to see a rugby player do it, as well as *insert sport here* playing against *insert sport here* for a whole range of other games as well.

Just because people who play Hurley are better at it than those who don't, for me doesn't make it a sport that's exceptionally great. Individual matches can stand out and be considered great among matches from different sports. But I don't think a sport in itself can or even should be.

keeponhurling · 05-02-2014 10:42AM

As somebody who plays hurling and was at those finals, I do hate it when the hurling crowd have to go on about being the best sport.
What's the point?
If you enjoy it, then good for you.

If somebody else doesn't enjoy it, then that's fine too.
You don't hear any other time there's a good match in another sport going on about it.

I do really like the Clare lads now though, and how they try stuff and play with great skill, Tony Kelly, Podge Collins etc.
While not as good (yet) as the recent Kilkenny team, they are better to watch

Ush1 · 05-02-2014 10:46AM

Akrasia wrote: »

because a sliotar can travel a long way. The GAA are looking at ways of setting up 5 a side hurling, but they can only make it work with ground hurling and that might as well be hockey IMO)

A football can travel a long way also, just don't hit it so hard and it doesn't? Same should apply to a sliotar.

Akrasia wrote: »

The sliotar travels a lot faster than a football. there is a lot of running for 50 50 balls in hurling.

But you aren't competing against a ball, you're competing against other players.

CHealy · 05-02-2014 10:48AM

I'm not sure which one came first, but Gaelic seems like it was made up as an after thought for those not skilful enough for hurling. For me, hurling is a far superior game.

Of course none of them come close to football.

topper75 · 05-02-2014 10:54AM

anncoates wrote: »

I got picked up once by the gardai when I was a young lad and one of them actually advised me that if I was getting trouble in the estate again to just carry a hurley with me because "you can give him a hiding and it's not a weapon ".

Which seems curiously apt for garlic sports.

Vampires tormenting you? You're wasting your time calling the gardaí.

anncoates · 05-02-2014 10:59AM

Akrasia wrote: »

6. it hurts when you get hit by the other hurling players

Because there's no physical contact in other top-level field sports.....

Optimalprimerib · 05-02-2014 11:00AM

Baze wrote: »

No, of course not.. Football* is.

*Not talking about the "football" where they play with a prolate spheroid and call it a 'ball' and where handling it isn't against the rules.

Oh you mean soccer.

anncoates · 05-02-2014 11:00AM

topper75 wrote: »

Vampires tormenting you? You're wasting your time calling the gardaí.

Had to read back through until I got that.

Wilfork · 05-02-2014 11:03AM

American football is hands down the greatest game ever

Dravokivich · 05-02-2014 11:04AM

Wilfork wrote: »

American football is hands down the greatest game ever

You saw the superbowl right? Hands down, the worst match of any sport I ever saw.

Is Hurling the greatest game ever?

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