Originally Posted by dcfcsteve
MODS : Can we have a smiley for 'slaps head in hands whilst shaking it slowly from side to side'.
And it's not even the off season......
There are differences in circumstance for sure but;
Irish rugby has to a large degree overcome the lack of a tradition of watching local teams in non-knock-out formats, there are different obstacles for Irish soccer but I truely believe it can be done.
Fooball (or soccer in Oz) was also way down the list of spectator sports, behind 2 Rugby codes, Cricket & AFL and in the same league as swimming, basketball & Hockey, it has really lifted itself into the higher level in recent years.
For me there are a lot of similarities;
I can only really vouch for Victoria having lived there but the local media was completely obsessed with AFL, other sports were crammed into a few paragraphs unless it was olympics/wallabies/world cup. It was a virtual model of the GAA media bias in Ireland, this has been overcome to such an extent that a mate sent me a copy of the back of the Herald Sun (Melbourne AFL obsessed tabloid) when Melbourne Victory won the A League and it had relegated AFL to a small paragraph in the corner.
The old league was seen as a joke by AFL ARL & Super 14 fans, but by marketing it properly they have upped the profile and lured in thousands of fans who would never have been to an old NASL game.
BohDiddley's reference to the geographic distance is a very valid one, and it's a major stumbling block but I went to Athlone RTC (back in the day) and there was always a few of us who would go to Mels on a Friday night, the majority of us had "other" teams and some even were part of the weekenders going to see Everton, Spurs & Sheff Utd (there's always one) amongst others but we all wanted to watch live football and the LOI was and is the best that we had on offer.
There will be a percentage of EPL/SPL etc.. fans who will never be converted whatever the situation but there are a lot who could be persuaded to venture into the unknown world of LOI with a little encouragement.
The point about the returning internationals is a moot one, if the FAI wanted to really promote the league they could foot the bill for a marquee player for each of the top flight teams but personally I don't think that's a long term stratedgy, I rather the investment was made in coaching and keeping young players at home, I know there's a thread elsewhere on this but it's the only way of getting long term success.
I think the centre of excellence model that they are building towards is on the right tracks and I hope the coaching standards encourage young players to stay in Ireland but it's a chicken and egg situation, if you're 17 and being courted by 2 or 3 UK sides alongside the FAI 9 out of 10 will go to the UK because currently he perception is there is a greater chance of success.
The truth is the best 2 players of the last 20 years in Irish football Roy Keane & Paul McGrath both started their careers inthe LOI, I really don't know why this message is enforced more.
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