Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

[DannyInvincible]

I was hoping the discussion for this page would move onto ballet or something. :p

[ArdeeBhoy]

So they support a club hundreds of miles away in a different country instead? Sorry, I just don't buy that argument. We've fans from across county borders - I can name a few rossies even amongst people I'd know.

Know what you're saying, but there are numerous Leagues with a much higher media profile than the LoI will ever have, as per newsprint, TV, Internet coverage and people tend to vote with their feet towards what they perceive what they 'think' is a better product.
Would be inclined to agree with them, but understand in many cases casual fans also could take far more interest in their local sides.

Though they tend to not do so, blame 'democracy'/Capitalism?? And the issues mentioned up thread of marketing etc.

As for the drop in rugby prices;those are all 'meaningless' friendlies, even the one v.England.

[Eminence Grise]

I was hoping the discussion for this page would move onto ballet or something. :p

Little point, sadly. A recent survey found that most footballers believe a pas de deux is a French father of twins, and that Nutcracker is what Vinnie Jones did to Gazza.

[Edit: it's just dawned on me that a ballet in Dublin can get a higher attendance than many league matches. So, should LoI players don tutus to attract the culture vultures?]

[SwanVsDalton]

So, should LoI players don tutus to attract the culture vultures?

The GAH crowd would just love that...

[Eminence Grise]

Do you think they'd be worried that LoI players might have better legs than them? And which LoI players would look good in a tutu anyway? The results could lead to a merger of this thread and the Grounds you've got sick in one...

[SkStu]

[Edit: it's just dawned on me that a ballet in Dublin can get a higher attendance than many league matches. So, should LoI players don tutus to attract the culture vultures?]

If Sepp Blatter is reading this then womens football could be in trouble...

[Stuttgart88]

Congratulations Leinster. Impeccable performance.

However, one incident prompted me to think of this thread.

75 minutes gone. Toulouse put a kick over to narrow the gap to 6 points. Camera pans in on a man with his young kid on his lap, the look on his face correctly acknowledging that this is now a nail biter. But...the chick behind him decides it's a good time to refresh her lipstick!

[an_ceannaire]

The love affair between the Irish public and our national football team has well and truly died lads :(
And if the egg chasers makea WC Final, it will only get worse.
You would not even know there was a game on this weekend, and a qualifier at that. Added to that the lack of interest/crowds for the last qualifiers and the Nations Cup........football and the Irish Public, a love lost. :curse:

[Junior]

Haha - You could set an alarm clock by you - Mods, just lock it or merge with the other dirge of threads.

[Dodge]

The love affair between the Irish public and our national football team has well and truly died lads :(
And if the egg chasers makea WC Final, it will only get worse.
You would not even know there was a game on this weekend, and a qualifier at that. Added to that the lack of interest/crowds for the last qualifiers and the Nations Cup........football and the Irish Public, a love lost. :curse:

Can a mod explain how this thread keeps popping up? It seems like every 3 months or so. I assume its a glitch

[an_ceannaire]

it pains me lads :(
we used to be top dogs. Look at us now. Playing fourth fiddle for the nations affections
Its hurting me this

[Sullivinho]

Can a mod explain how this thread keeps popping up? It seems like every 3 months or so. I assume its a glitch

I posit the theory that the OP is the 'Ireland' forum itself become sentient and in that respect, his/it's concerns are quite genuine and shouldn't be taken lightly. In fact if the conscious embodiment of a message board were capable of such composition, I expect this tale of wandering affection would have been delivered movingly, in the form of a sonnet.

[TrapAPony]

I personally think at the moment that Trapattoni's way of playing the game and some unusual squad selections are putting people off them. The Irish team need to qualify for the Euro's. Then everyone will jump on the bandwagon again.

[an_ceannaire]

I dunno Trapapony
i fear the lack of a real world star in the team, added to the style of play plus the growing discontent with the whole world of football and the money and behavious of players, incl Irish players, has cut too deep . i think its not even just the ireland team the nation is growing tiresome of but the game itself at the highest level.
Rugby is still a lot "purer" than football

[Dodge]

it pains me lads :(
we used to be top dogs. Look at us now. Playing fourth fiddle for the nations affections
Its hurting me this

You're hurting because other people maight prefer to watch another sport instead of football? HAve you nothign more important to worry about than someone's preference for TV viewing?

I can only suggest you do your best to enjoy whatever games you like, whether on TV or in person, and let other people do the same.

[Stuttgart88]

the nation is growing tiresome of the game itself at the highest level.
Instinctively I might think there is some truth in that - I'm disillusioned with the modern game myself. But take the number of people still obsessed with MU and the EPL etc and I still think football is right up there.

My last jersey count in Rathfarnham (July) yielded a 14:3 football to rugby ratio. Only one of those football tops was an Ireland top.

I'm still not really sure what the "unusual team selections" are though.

Anyway, I maintain my view that any team sport that Ireland can get to a WC final in can't be an internationally popular sport :)

[SwanVsDalton]

In fact if the conscious embodiment of a message board were capable of such composition, I expect this tale of wandering affection would have been delivered movingly, in the form of a sonnet.

Oh! My Sporting Heart Does Break! by Footie

Oh Trapattoni left Reid behind.
Ireland ignored the call.
And McCarthy was maligned,
with little chance to play ball.
The fans they were consterned,
and remembering glory days past
cried 'will Trap ever learn
and get us to major tourneys fast?!'
With hardened hearts of ice and stone,
they turned instead to an oval game.
Bandwagoning on to success,
though they still found time to complain...

Meanwhile the nation's sporting eyes
Ignored football while it slowly died.

[gustavo]

I've merged all an_ceannaire‎'s doomsaying threads into one "super thread" as requested

[Wolfie]

Well, I'm a lifer. I've been through all of the highs and lows of the last 25 years and I can't identify with people that dip in and out when the goings good.

Surely, when things are less than perfect, that's when support in its truest sense kicks in??????????????

[BonnieShels]

Well, I'm a lifer. I've been through all of the highs and lows of the last 25 years and I can't identify with people that dip in and out when the goings good.

Surely, when things are less than perfect, that's when support in its truest sense kicks in??????????????

I still find it odd that people get upset when others like other sports. Except baseball, rugby league and golf. Eugh.

[Charlie Darwin]

Lads, don't confuse attendance figures with active participation. Rugby gets the biggest numbers going to matches but football has been the most popular game for decades and will continue to be.

[TiocfaidhArmani]

Lads, don't confuse attendance figures with active participation. Rugby gets the biggest numbers going to matches but football has been the most popular game for decades and will continue to be.

You only have a couple of top flight rugby teams in the whole country anyway so you could be on to something. Cork Con I'm sure get two men and a dog at their games.

[TiocfaidhArmani]

That's why it's so important that LOI clubs find a way to attract families because it's not reliant on individuals stepping outside their comfort zone - it's a family doing something together.

Not gonna happen when games are ending at near 10pm on a Friday night!

[ArdeeBhoy]

So what if rugby has a higher profile for now, anyway?

Will be supporting the team on Fri.night & next Tues and the rugby lads If I wake up early enough on Saturday.
If the latter win the or later in the competition, fair fecks to them.

But I'll always be a soccer (& cricket /GAA man) ahead of rugby.

[Stuttgart88]

Compare this with the France v Ireland football peak viewing of over 2 million (http://www.rte.ie/mediasales/television/news.html#eighteen) This stat shows that Ireland's biggest game of the year in rugby fell quite a bit short of the GAA showcase.

Stats by themselves don't tell that much, but let's try and compare like with like. Irish rugby deserves its time in the sunshine but let's face it - and this isn't begrudging a great win over Oz - so far they've only achieved the very least of what'd have been acceptable, a Q/F. FFS, there are only 9 serious competitors for 8 QF places. Ireland play Wales in a WORLD Cup QF. What's the definition of parochial again?

Ireland has been suffering. Let the people get their kicks from sporting success. Rugby is in a position to deliver right now. Bertie's corrupt and self-serving regime should be ashamed for not investing more in sport when the money was rolling in. Even from a purely self-serving angle it was a trick missed - sporting success placates the public in bad economic times.

[geysir]

It's the wrong place to be serious, Stutts.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Can I just bask in the warmth of a realised prediction made last weekend. I didn't want to be so unkind as the state the bleedin obvious thread starter at the time but was there really ever a doubt?... my other predictions - Girls Aloud will reform without the kicked one ...or any groundbreaking success. Also -the price of stamps will soar ever higher...

[drummerboy]

Driving through Ballymun the other day, just down from IKEA and noticed a sign advertising Rugby coaching for kids, all ages. Times are changing. It might be a while before we see a lad from Ballymun playing for Ireland but you have to applaud them for their efforts. Full time coach goes arund all the schools in the area. The GAA do the same, in fairness, they had a couple on the successful panel this year. Not sure about the FAI although Ballymun United are a very progressive club.

[jbyrne]

Driving through Ballymun the other day, just down from IKEA and noticed a sign advertising Rugby coaching for kids, all ages. Times are changing. It might be a while before we see a lad from Ballymun playing for Ireland but you have to applaud them for their efforts. Full time coach goes arund all the schools in the area. The GAA do the same, in fairness, they had a couple on the successful panel this year. Not sure about the FAI although Ballymun United are a very progressive club.

rugby and gaa are trying to infiltrate the areas of our cities and towns that the FAI have been in for years. there are loads of FAI supported inner city projects etc that I have heard about. some great schoolboy clubs doing great work in these areas also

[Fixer82]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXt6GtMxOI8&feature=related

I think people are more affectionate towards the Rugby and GAA lads who seem much more honest and don't roll out clichés in interviews and appear to really put their heart and soul into it.
Compare the video above to the actions Stephen Ireland and Carlos Tevez and it's an easy choice.

Qualification would swing things back in favour of soccer a bit but overall I'm just happy we're such a competitive and proud sporting nation, no matter what we are competing in. There's room for us all

[SwanVsDalton]

No need for all this fussin and a'feuding. Take ROG's example, and everyone just get behind everyone else. Via Twitter:

RonanOGara10 Ronan O Gara
And best of luck to the other boys in green in andorra on Friday... we're all rooting for ye here... Come On Ireland!

[Charlie Darwin]

Tevez and Ireland are just awful in general though. Richard Dunne and Stephen Hunt are every bit as thoughtful as the rugby lads. I'm sure there are a few flash blokes within Irish rugby who are kept away from the media. Look at the likes of Henson and O'Connor for bad examples in rugby.

[Stuttgart88]

No need for all this fussin and a'feuding. Take ROG's example, and everyone just get behind everyone else. Via Twitter:

RonanOGara10 Ronan O Gara
And best of luck to the other boys in green in andorra on Friday... we're all rooting for ye here... Come On Ireland!Nice also to see Hunt, Kelly and Long(?) all cheering the rugby lads.

Not like the Irish to try and drive a wedge where no divide exists (insert sarcasm smilie).

[Sullivinho]

I'm just happy we're such a competitive and proud sporting nation, no matter what we are competing in. There's room for us all

My thoughts exactly. Well said.

[cullenswood]

The current Irish soccer team has lost the support of the traditional Irish bandwagon supporter. People that would have been huge soccer supporters 11 years ago now follow Munster and Leinster even though a huge majority would fail a quiz on Rugby Union rules.
This has given the hard core Rugby people the right to dismiss the Irish soccer team as not reflective of them and in some respects "lower class". A bit of success will change all that, and those same people who haven't watched a European or World cup qualifier in 10 years will be in a pub next June with an FAI jersey on and the Leinster jersey in the wardrobe.

[OwlsFan]

The "decline" in support began with Saipan. Then
the Kerr/Staunton eras failed to ignite and Trap's reign
hasnt brought the barstoolers back for a number of
reasons, not least the economy. We haven't qualified for anything for almost 10 years now while the Irish rugby team automatically gains entrance to the WC and is 2nd seed in the group so should advance. Rugby had the advantage there. I'll be cheering on the rugby team on Saturday but I'd take 6 points any day from the next two games to a rugby World Cup win .

[wonder88]

Just noticed in town (Galway) this evening quite a few people young and old wearing Irish rugby jerseys. It looks like rugby has overtaken soccer as far as the general Irish public is concern these days.

[Bungle]

At the end of the day, the vast vast majority of Irish people want to see Ireland do well in all sports.

I am so proud of the Irish rugby team and I'll be cheering them every bit as much, as I would the other boys in green on Friday/Tuesday. The same goes for any Irish athlete/boxer etc.

I think people need to luck at the issues at work, rather than criticise the Irish population as being bandwagon. The Irish football team lie somewhere between distinctly average and good as international football teams go. Allied to this, they don't play an attractive type of football (Trap does have us playing a way that is also going to give us a chance of getting to tournaments to be fair). Meanwhile, the rugby team drawn mostly from two of the biggest rubgy clubs in the world (Leinster and Munster) have some of the very best players in the world.

I grew up in what would be one of the "traditional" football areas of Dublin and I've supported the Irish football team all over the world. If I'm being honest, this week I've spent as much time thinking about whether Rory Best would be fit for the Wales match, as I have thinking about whether Doyler should start against Andorra/Armenia. Does this make me a bandwagon supporter or just a guy who sees the Irish rugby team as a great bunch of lads doing us proud?

The FAI played a part in alienating alot of the public. During the good times, they charged through the roof for tickets and took all of us for granted. Alot of people I know who care about the Irish team are losing their jobs, or have very little disposable income, so paying 50 quid for a ticket to see Ireland play Macedonia etc isn;t as simple as it was 5 years ago. I will always go to the Ireland games, but perhaps, when the Irish team starts playing more attractively, then alot of those people might consider spending what little money they have on going to see Ireland again.

[Charlie Darwin]

Just noticed in town (Galway) this evening quite a few people young and old wearing Irish rugby jerseys. It looks like rugby has overtaken soccer as far as the general Irish public is concern these days.
Bear in mind we're in a recession and A) the type of person who has the money to buy replica shirts, B) the type of person who has the money to go out in town, and C) which team has been playing games the past few weeks.

[Stuttgart88]

Just noticed in town (Galway) this evening quite a few people young and old wearing Irish rugby jerseys. It looks like rugby has overtaken soccer as far as the general Irish public is concern these days.There's not a statistician in the world who'd query the validity of that conclusion based on that evidence. Or then again...

[Murfinator]

Big week for Ireland across both games. Very exciting time to be a sports fan in this country. :)

[mypost]

Just noticed in town (Galway) this evening quite a few people young and old wearing Irish rugby jerseys. It looks like rugby has overtaken soccer as far as the general Irish public is concern these days.

Only a few weeks ago, the ruggers were getting hammered by every media outlet. Now they've beaten Russia and America, and now suddenly everyone claims to know the difference between a ruck and a maul.

If our football team get the results we need to qualify direct this week, it'll put whatever rugby achievements there are atm in their place. Even if all three results we need are 1-0.

[shakermaker1982]

I think beating Australia is the reason for the rugby love in mypost. You know, that country that won the most recent Tri Nations and tipped for great things at this WC.

If Ireland get to a semi final and final in the rugby WC then I think it would overshadow whatever happens with the football team. It doesn't bother me....I hope we are successful in both sports over the next few days.

[mypost]

Even though it was a surprise result against Australia, Australia aren't the force they were.

Rugby's hardcore is D4 and Limerick. Football is the most active sport in the country. If we qualify next week, nothing the rugby do can eclipse it, and there's nothing like Ireland in a major football tournament for a mass feel good factor across the nation, irrespective of class, wealth, age, or sporting preference.

[jbyrne]

Even though it was a surprise result against Australia, Australia aren't the force they were.

Rugby's hardcore is D4 and Limerick. Football is the most active sport in the country. If we qualify next week, nothing the rugby do can eclipse it, and there's nothing like Ireland in a major football tournament for a mass feel good factor across the nation, irrespective of class, wealth, age, or sporting preference.

this ill-informed nonsense does your argument no good at all. have a look at the AIL league tables and tell me how many of those clubs are in D4 and Limerick?
sure LOI football in this country is hugely dublin based.

edit: 14 "D4" and limerick AIL clubs vs 38 for rest of country. clubs from cork, antrim, galway, tyrone, down, derry, wicklow, tipperary, meath, sligo, armagh and kildare. not to mention numerous junior clubs popping up all over the country in recent years

i think the football community needs to wake up to the fact that rugby and the GAA are a big threat before its too late

[bennocelt]

I think people need to luck at the issues at work, rather than criticise the Irish population as being bandwagon.

The FAI played a part in alienating alot of the public. .

Agree. I'm looking forward to the rugby game this weekend and couldn't give a fanny adam about the football today or next Wednesday. The likes of John Delaney, O Brien, the obscene salaries, the mono -syllabic players and their antics, the style of play, the total disregard towards the LOI and the ole ole fans - nah, wouldnt be into that any more.
Give me club football anyday of the week:D

[AlaskaFox]

this ill-informed nonsense does your argument no good at all. have a look at the AIL league tables and tell me how many of those clubs are in D4 and Limerick?
sure LOI football in this country is hugely dublin based.

edit: 14 "D4" and limerick AIL clubs vs 38 for rest of country. clubs from cork, antrim, galway, tyrone, down, derry, wicklow, tipperary, meath, sligo, armagh and kildare. not to mention numerous junior clubs popping up all over the country in recent years

i think the football community needs to wake up to the fact that rugby and the GAA are a big threat before its too late

27% of all the clubs in the country is a hell of a lot though. So it's hard to argue with his reasoning. Surely two areas that have more than a quarter of the clubs from the whole island are the "hardcore" areas like he states.

You're also right to say it's popular around the country, but you can't dispute that it's in those two regions where it's most popular.

[mypost]

Agree. I'm looking forward to the rugby game this weekend and couldn't give a fanny adam about the football today or next Wednesday. The likes of John Delaney, O Brien, the obscene salaries, the mono -syllabic players and their antics, the style of play, the total disregard towards the LOI and the ole ole fans - nah, wouldnt be into that any more.:D

Show us your passport.

We all have a love-hate relationship with the FAI. But we have to put that crap aside when the national team are playing.

[jbyrne]

27% of all the clubs in the country is a hell of a lot though. So it's hard to argue with his reasoning. Surely two areas that have more than a quarter of the clubs from the whole island are the "hardcore" areas like he states.

You're also right to say it's popular around the country, but you can't dispute that it's in those two regions where it's most popular.

there are hardcore areas fair enough but the same could be argued about our football clubs. arent 25% of the league of Ireland clubs from Dublin alone?
which international squad has a better spread from around the country? id say its rugby by far. only 2 of the team v andorra that were actually born here are from outside dublin. only 4 dubs will start for the rugby tomorrow with players from wexford, monaghan, cork, limerick, carlow and antrim.

my point was that its ignorant to just dismiss rugby in this country as largely being from just two areas.

[Macy]

I don't believe that Rugby will beat football in popularity. However, the FAI should be seriously concerned about where the national team sits. They've managed to pee off many LoI supporters who won't go, and many of those that follow UK football are feeding in to the whole club more important than country vibe, on top of some of the other issues around the national team (pricing, style of play etc).

Due to stupid priorities, the FAI's main source of income is the National Team, and that's where the threat is. Rugby is getting the numbers through the gate - there's little money for the FAI in the numbers playing the game in junior leagues around the country, even if that dwarfs rugby. And then rugby re-invest it in local teams and youth development and so the cycle continues...