GAA Angry Fans
There are two recurring targets for fans’ anger, week in, week out – ‘The Sunday Game’ and the conditions at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. There is praise for the quality of RTÉ’s preview of the Munster hurling final but disappointment at its scheduling. Things are reported to have improved at the Stadium of Lee, but there’s still a long way to go.
Cork football fans certainly are a demanding lot. Their team duly despatched a very good Limerick side in an excellent Munster Final but they’re still not happy. And there is justifiable criticism of the continuing poor – not ‘puke’ – quality of football in Ulster.
It seems Dublin fans can never get it exactly right on The Hill and their hurler’s brilliant performance against Kilkenny was marred by booing of the Cats’ place ball takers. Fans voice their views for and against the GPA’s claim for 5% of GAA revenue and some angry fans believe the compulsory wearing of helmets by all hurlers will mean the end of the GAA as we have known and loved it for the past 125 years.
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I THOUGHT IT was disgraceful the way the Dublin fans on Hill 16 booed and whistled at Henry Shefflin every time he went to take a free. If they can’t win by fair means they should not win by foul
WHOSE BRIGHT IDEA was it to put Dublin flags all around the empty spaces on Hill 16? If it was the Leinster Council, then Kilkenny county board should complain about the favouritism shown.
Unfortunately, booing at opponents’ placed ball takers is spreading faster than the swine flu pandemic. However, I’m sure the Leinster Council have better things to do than favouring Kilkenny hurlers. Maybe it was a clever ploy to create the illusion of a bigger crowd. What next? Tailors’ dummies and blow up dolls on Hill 16?
THE NEW RULE about helmets starting in January is ridiculous. Players will quit rather than wear a helmet. Look at the number of inter county hurlers who don’t wear them or who wear them and throw them off – Ken McGrath, John Mullane, Seán Óg and every goalie. This ruling will take away from the game.
I totally disagree with the GAA's plans to have all hurlers wear helmets. Of course, it’s essential for underage players but it must be optional for senior players. This cannot be enforced. Scrap this idea now. Players must be allowed make the decision.
The general hospital in Waterford has done research that showed that hurling has twice the proportion of eye injuries of any other sport. If you look carefully at old GAA photos you’ll notice many players wearing caps and even hats. Even in the early days, they recognised the need for some head protection. Personally, I think wearing the helmet is a ‘no brainer’, irrespective of a hurler’s age.
TWO PROVINCIAL FINALS on Sunday and RTÉ wasted their time talking to the usual suspects coming out with the same old clichés about the Munster hurling final. Get a grip RTE! This is nonsense. I’ve nothing against Ring or Mackey - two of the greatest ever - but if they want to preview the Munster final it should be on a different show next Saturday or Sunday.
‘THE SUNDAY GAME’ should be there to show the weekend games and analyse them. The item on the Munster final should have been a separate show.
EVEN BY RTÉ’s standards ‘The Sunday Game’ raised incompetence to an art form. This took the biscuit.
The item on the Munster hurling final was thoroughly enjoyable. It showed up just how bad that infamous ‘Late, Late’ special programme was last January. But it should have been broadcast on another night as a ‘stand alone’ programme. It should not have got in the way of the usual highlights and analysis of two provincial finals, especially when they had such historic pairings. I suspect some RTÉ Sports ‘bod’ thought they’d get away with it because neither Limerick nor Dublin would make a game of it. How wrong they were!
WATCHING CORK against Limerick and seeing the performance of the umpires, two of whom awarded Cork '45's which were blatant wides, got me thinking. Surely, all umpires at intercounty level should have to undergo an eyesight test, at a minimum of once a year, to ensure they are up to doing the job? With all the preparation and sacrifices of teams it’s no longer good enough for all this effort to potentially hinge on the word of a guy in a white coat who might or might not have seen something critical.
AFR’S SHOUT: The umpires are usually part of a longstanding team, built up over the years, that the referee knows and trusts. Inter-county refs are assessed on their umpires’ performance, so there is some check on them. I wouldn’t underestimate the difficulty of getting younger people to give up their Summer Sundays regularly to umpire big games. So, it’s usually down to older people who have nothing better to do with their time or who are dedicated to the GAA. Why bother with eye tests? A better solution would be to have an electronic tracking device in the ball that would register only when it passed between the uprights and could even automatically update the scoreboard.
Yes, that was a scare in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday. One has to feel somewhat sorry for Limerick who are still looking for that long-awaited Munster crown after all those years. From a Cork perspective, it is a question of ‘a lot more to do’. Despite Conor Counihan’s best efforts, it would seem that the recent hype and expectation may have crept into the mind-set of some the players. When Limerick came at them, especially in the first half, Cork seemed shell-shocked with the intensity and had very little with which to respond. Great credit, then, to Canty for his inspirational input in the second-half, on a day when leaders were in short supply. Hopefully, Cork will have learned a little more about themselves on Sunday and that it will stand to them.
Two other observations (1) Cork may have a so-called strong panel, but that was not very obvious on Sunday and (2) forget this nonsense that Cork are rated in the top two (prior to Sunday at least) for the All-Ireland. I would say in the top four or five, with Tyrone leading the charge. There is a long way to go yet and a little caution might be well advised.
CORK WERE AWFUL on Sunday. Not one player can say they came out of the game with their heads held high. Fair dues to Limerick and to the honest Limerick fans: hard luck and commiserations.
I think you’re both much too hard on Cork. They’re a good side who will go far in this year’s championship. Fair play to both teams. They played the game in a great spirit. There was none of this carry-on of feigning injury for whatever reason. They took a knock, got up immediately and got on with the game. Apart from a handful of excellent players, Limerick may lack skill and class in certain areas but I wish more inter-county teams played with their enthusiasm.
I ARRIVED AT the Blackrock Terrace at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday having come in from the East Cork direction at 1.2 p.m. There were very fans few around. I offered to pay cash to go into the terrace for myself and three young students with ID cards. ‘No, you can’t pay in!’ the kind local officials told me. We had to take a ten minute walk in the rain to the Munster Council caravans in the Show Grounds where we then queued with hundreds of others for another fifteen minutes.
I asked for one adult Blackrock terrace ticket and three student tickets to the same terrace. I was told I could only purchase four adult tickets costing €20 euro each as there were no student or juvenile tickets into the Blackrock End, despite them being advertised all week. Basically, I was told ‘Take it or leave it!’. The GAA go on and on about lowering ticket prices and encouraging the youth but the Munster Council seem to do what they like on match days. This was a blatant and cynical rip off of students and young fellows. The sooner the Croke Park authorities investigate this situation the better.
Ah yes, our regular ‘cock up’ story from the front line at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I didn’t have the pleasure of being there myself, but AFR’s undercover agents report that the stewarding and general organisation were better than the Cork v Kerry game, but many fans were angry at youngsters being charged €20 for a terrace ticket.
WHY IS THE GAA ploughing money into grounds up and down the country when there is absolutely no need? What is the point of having four or five grounds with a 45,000 capacity in Munster? These millions could be put to better use, and giving the players 5% of GAA revenue would be a good start. The GPA deserve every penny they can get from the GAA because without the players there is no GAA.
CLUBS SHOULD BE let run themselves as their own business, like we see with club lotteries. If a club decides to pay players or give them expenses or whatever, that should be the club’s decision. As for the romantic notions we have about this being an amateur association, ‘Wake up and smell the coffee!’ My club has its own stand, dug outs, clubhouse, gym, the lot. What’s the point of all these facilities if the players aren't looked after?
LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, the GPA have lost the run of themselves. All anyone is interested in these days is money. The GAA has morphed over the last few years into a two headed monster which is now eating itself. Everything about Gaelic games has become more and more ‘professional’ but for me the games have become less enjoyable. The standard of shooting is at an all time low with intercounty players hitting wides that their Grandad could have converted with his eyes closed. The fans are being overcharged and short changed and the way forward is to start up the GSA (Gaelic Supporters’ Association). The first thing we could do is call a strike in protest at the way things are going.
IF THE GPA want a fight then let’s give it to them. I'm sure that members up and down the land will be able to deal with the hardships that would come as a result of any strikes that are threatened. The problem is how do we get our voices heard and show we want a line drawn in the sand. One thing I will never be is a feeder for a professional game because that is not what the GAA has ever been about. I will find something else to do with my time and my kids’ time and, unlike county players, there won't be too many ready to take my place
This is a very touchy subject that will split the GAA done the middle if it is pursued. The GAA should generously look after all players, not just inter-county, with travel expenses, free physio, free gear, free tickets to big matches and the Government should pay them a tax-free lump like what’s paid to artists and writers. But the GAA’s amateur ethos should remain, if only for the reasons so eloquently stated by ‘The Skull’.
THE MONAGHAN VERSUS Armagh game on Saturday night was dreadful. I am not a fan of Monaghan's style of play by any stretch of the imagination and would prefer if they were knocked out in the next round. Watching their earlier game this year v Derry showed all that is wrong with Gaelic football.
It was one of those games where the closeness of the score line made for some excitement, but masked the underlying poor quality of the play. I was hoping some Monaghan have gone back a lot from the team that gave Kerry a big fright in 2007.
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