The PA Announcer at Croke Park

[OwlsFan]

Am I alone in thinking this guy in an utter ****? France just score, our hearts are in our shoes and he comes on all upbeat and jolly to tell us about the magnificient attendance. "Thanks from the FAI". To hell with that. Concentrate on the equaliser ffs!. Cliches like "Boys in Green", "Let's hear it for both sides" (grrrrr)..

I was at the ground nice and early expecting some rousing music. Some non-descript music that you'd hear on Q102 was played. Eventually "Put 'em under pressure" was played but then cut off just as the crowd was getting in to it.

When the French were out warming up on the pitch we were asked to give them a "big welcome". Thankfully most fans ignored that and were either silent or gave them a hearty boo. Respect their anthem, sure, but welcome the opposition who are there to kill our dreams. Get real. So he played some top 10 song when the French were out instead of "fields of athenry" or "you'll never walk alone" etc etc to make the French feel they were up against a 12th man. They left the pitch feeling "What was the hell John O'Shea was talking about?".

END OF RANT.

P.S. Best support I've heard at a home Irish game since Holland at home.

[Jicked]

The man is an absolute idiot. I have no idea who thinks that that adds to the atmosphere. It's even worse for the rugby today wher after every mundane penalty he roars out the kickers name and the score as if people don't already know before some god awful song blares out to encourage fans to go wild after a first half penalty.

[Sproston Green]

Yeah, the guy is very annoying, has a squeaky little nervous voice like his voice is just breaking and someone is tickling his nether regions

[Youths4Ever]

he is the same guy that does all of Lenister's game in RDS and has bad timing and is terrible with timing all season so nothing new only thing i don't get is that why he is still doing it

[finbarrk]

He annoys me too. He sounds lonesome as if someone is after dying sometimes.

[mandrake]

Yeah, the guy is very annoying, has a squeaky little nervous voice like his voice is just breaking and someone is tickling his nether regions

well summed up, i went to the smoking area and i dont even smoke at half time and listened to the radio to avoid him...
i watched the rugby today and god he's even worse at that , i'd be wishing for a 3-0 win in rugby 0ne score to avoid his voice...
maybe hes not at the game doesnt watch it and has a time to anounce things and does it no matter whats happening

i'm sure he thinks he great,
then at the end the adverts for soccer republic and eircom and carlsburg while the team is on pitch and the crowd are trying to chear and sing...

[fionnsci]

Better than the 'fógra do na gardaí agus do na maor' lad anyway. Remember the announcer saying "substitution for West Germ....ahem Germany" at the game in 07!

[Splurge]

we were laughing at him last night, he sounds like yer man from father ted who does ther announcing at the fair in season 1.

[Blue-Army]

we were laughing at him last night, he sounds like yer man from father ted who does ther announcing at the fair in season 1.
yeah, we were thinking the same. :D My friend was convinced it's the same fella.

[theworm2345]

Yeah, the guy is very annoying, has a squeaky little nervous voice like his voice is just breaking and someone is tickling his nether regions
Was thinking the same thing myself

[mypost]

Hate the Ole Ole music blared out at full volume, when we score. Go West was much better. Trouble with that, is people start cheering and applauding to the music, rather than the team.

The PA wasn't all bad last night though. The French girl telling the frogs not to smoke and to stay behind after the game sounded great. :D

[4tothefloor]

The resident Soccer/Rugby announcer is a bellend. The 'fógra do na gardaí agus do na maor' lad still has his communion money I'd say. Doesn't say much for the PR industry in Ireland :D

[jbyrne]

have been saying it for years that he is a complete clown who hasnt a clue. leave the atmosphere to the fans please. trying to force atmosphere on fans with tacky music after we score is counter productive.

this eejit thinks its all about him but if you think he's bad at the football just wait till you attend an Irish rugby game..... unbearable really! was listening to the radio coverage from the rugby yesterday and the rte reporters were giving out about him blaring all over their reports!

have hardly missed a home rugby match since 1985 yet didnt go yesterday with probably the main reason being the complete tack fest this lad has made the matches. its more like an ice hockey match these days with constant music throughout the game

[dingbat]

he is the same guy that does all of Lenister's game in RDS and has bad timing and is terrible with timing all season so nothing new only thing i don't get is that why he is still doing itYep, he's a moron. He's actually capable of sucking the atmosphere out of a stadium, whether it's 18,500 in the RDS or 75,000 in Croker.

There's a group of us in the North Stand at Leinster games who've taken to shouting at him to shut up when he goes off on one of those really long spiels of his...

[dingbat]

then at the end the adverts for soccer republic and eircom and carlsburg while the team is on pitch and the crowd are trying to chear and sing...That was hugely frustrating. There were still thousands of people there who wanted to cheer the lads on to Paris and all you could hear were those deafening ads. The FAI really don't have a clue, not that that's surprising news.

[RodgenotPodge]

He's a complete gob****e. I've complained about him to the IRFU a few times and I know others have too but he is getting worse. And what's with the bloody drummers? Its so bad I'm seriously thinking of giving up my tickets.

[Schlooooomp]

The stupid ****er also made a balls of pronouncing the names of some of the Italian players before that game. He just gave up on Camoranesi after Camo, Cama, Camel. What a joke.

[Schumi]

He had an entertaining version of one of the Australian subs yesterday too. :rolleyes:

[Straightstory]

He's a twerp of the highest order.

[RodgenotPodge]

The constipated Christian Brother who does the Fógra stuff is relatively harmless and at least he gets it over with.

[Yard of Pace]

The PA wasn't all bad last night though. The French girl telling the frogs not to smoke and to stay behind after the game sounded great. :D

She sounded seriously hot, it has to be said.

Yer man announcing the attendance was a disaster, I couldn't believe my ears.

[jmurphyc]

I don't like him at all, but I dislike the timing of the adverts far more. I can accept them being there, as obviously the FAI have to make money, but they are often on at the most inappropriate of times. Surely they could have left the ads off until the team had left and everyone had finished applauding them. They totally kill the atmosphere.

[jbyrne]

I don't like him at all, but I dislike the timing of the adverts far more. I can accept them being there, as obviously the FAI have to make money, but they are often on at the most inappropriate of times. Surely they could have left the ads off until the team had left and everyone had finished applauding them. They totally kill the atmosphere.

they would say that if they wait till then the ads will be shown to an empty stadium

[jmurphyc]

they would say that if they wait till then the ads will be shown to an empty stadium

That would probably be the reasoning, but there was a huge amount of people staying behind until the players left the pitch. There still would have been plenty of people in the stadium after the pitch was empty.

[Junior]

Probably because I'd had a good few scoops before the game, however, every time an incident happened on the pitch, Id look up at the screen to see" Action Replay" and Id be thinking here we go, we'll see what happened now, only to see a pesky advert.

I must have done it 3 or 4 times before eventually kopping on - The Gargle has definitely dimmed me brained as they say........

[Splurge]

I don't like him at all, but I dislike the timing of the adverts far more. I can accept them being there, as obviously the FAI have to make money, but they are often on at the most inappropriate of times. Surely they could have left the ads off until the team had left and everyone had finished applauding them. They totally kill the atmosphere.

yeah, those adds were annoying and a distraction

[Wolfie]

Yeah, the guy is very annoying, has a squeaky little nervous voice like his voice is just breaking and someone is tickling his nether regions

Yeah - he was vaguely reminiscent of that generic adolescent character with the squeeky voice from The Simpsons who tends to have menial jobs at Krusty Burger etc.

[SuperDave]

Probably because I'd had a good few scoops before the game, however, every time an incident happened on the pitch, Id look up at the screen to see" Action Replay" and Id be thinking here we go, we'll see what happened now, only to see a pesky advert.

I must have done it 3 or 4 times before eventually kopping on - The Gargle has definitely dimmed me brained as they say........

I do it every time even when I haven't been drinking. It angers me.

They show action replays during the rugby (I was given a free ticket yesterday about 10 minutes before kick off and it was the first rugby game I've ever been to at croker. The atmosphere was awful. Worse than any soccer friendly I've ever been to. And the 'shussh'ing that goes on before opposition penalties is pathetic. Sanctimonious, holier than thou tossers to a man.)

[dynamo kerry]

I do it every time even when I haven't been drinking. It angers me.

They show action replays during the rugby (I was given a free ticket yesterday about 10 minutes before kick off and it was the first rugby game I've ever been to at croker. The atmosphere was awful. Worse than any soccer friendly I've ever been to. And the 'shussh'ing that goes on before opposition penalties is pathetic. Sanctimonious, holier than thou tossers to a man.)


that's a munster habit. good in limerick, odd elsewhere.

they don't need to shush in munster

i think the replay thing is they don't kike the idea that contentious stuff could be shown while the ref is deciding.

pity..

[Leeside Swagger]

he is the same guy that does all of Lenister's game in RDS and has bad timing and is terrible with timing all season so nothing new only thing i don't get is that why he is still doing it

Complete gimp, playing music after the home team scores has no place at soccer or rugby matches. Its embarrassing to be honest...

[Leeside Swagger]

i think the replay thing is they don't kike the idea that contentious stuff could be shown while the ref is deciding.

They were showing adds at the soccer instead of replays, what was that about? Was headwrecking because we had a sh*te view and were depending on the big screen, the fai would sell their granny to make a few extra pound.

[Schumi]

it was the first rugby game I've ever been to at croker. the 'shussh'ing that goes on before opposition penalties is pathetic. Sanctimonious, holier than thou tossers to a man.)

Do us a favour and don't go to any more.

[RonnieB]

The adverts at the very end are annoying. The sheer volume of them.

[dingbat]

And the 'shussh'ing that goes on before opposition penalties is pathetic. Sanctimonious, holier than thou tossers to a man.)Eh, no. That's called tradition, same as the soccer team turning to face the flag for the anthem. There's a tradition of silence before rugby place kicks in almost every ground in these islands; the development of the kids shouting out during the run up is a very recent one.

[Sproston Green]

Yeah - he was vaguely reminiscent of that generic adolescent character with the squeeky voice from The Simpsons who tends to have menial jobs at Krusty Burger etc.

That's right, I was thinking that myself - good call!

The adverts on the screens are a pain in the rear too, get yourself ready for another look at the 'Action Replay' and then some daft ad appears. I think it was at it's most infuriating when Lawrence's shot was deflected - I keep forgetting, do it evra time :D (sorry)

[twoenz]

The adverts are a FIFA directive: you're not allowed to show anything that can be contentious. I actually thought that you couldn't show an away teams goal in case the home team fans got angsty.

How bizarre was it to have a former manager take to the field at half time to belt out a folk tune? Just shows how different a game it is now in Ireland to 20 years ago.

[mkbucks]

i LOVE when he says KEOGH. He sounds like a duck getting pinched!!

[Leeside Swagger]

[QUOTE=twoenz;1274225]The adverts are a FIFA directive: you're not allowed to show anything that can be contentious. I actually thought that you couldn't show an away teams goal in case the home team fans got angsty.
[QUOTE]

No way thats true, how is a goal chance contentious?

[OneRedArmy]

that's a munster habit. good in limerick, odd elsewhere.:rolleyes: Silence for the kicker ISN'T only a Munster thing. Jesus H Christ, is there anything Munster Rugby hasn't done....

I'll agree with Superdave that the footy atmosphere was infinitely better than Sunday. But Saturday evening under lights always beats Sunday afternoon when people are laying off the beer.

Roll on Lansdowne anyhoo, the atmosphere for both sports will hopefully be a lot better.

[RodgenotPodge]

A do-or-die World Cup play-off versus a nothing-at-stake rugby friendly? Not really a valid comparison in terms of atmosphere. Have a listen to the singing of the national anthems the day England first came to Croker.....

The only time anyone needs to be shushed for a goal kick is when some clot who doesn't understand the ethos of the game is given a free ticket.....

[dingbat]

No way thats true, how is a goal chance contentious?Depends on the type of chance - was there a deflection which should have been a corner, for example?

[twoenz]

Which happened.

And there could be a push in the area that was missed. there's loads of reasons.

[saint dog]

think the pa is declan king
hes been doing it for years and quiet good at it too
compared to some we hear in the loi
ok sometimes his timing can be off but very good at pronouncing names etc

[John83]

think the pa is declan king
hes been doing it for years and quiet good at it too
compared to some we hear in the loi
ok sometimes his timing can be off but very good at pronouncing names etc
I'm sure the great Italian midfielder Purloo agrees. Most of the PAs in the league just get the job done. I've only heard irritating crap like this guy comes out with at Pats and Bohs.

[saint dog]

obviously a while since youve been to either :p

[Schumi]

I've only heard irritating crap like this guy comes out with at Pats and Bohs.

You missed out on the tool that used to do Cork's games so, he was the worst of the lot. I think he's on Newstalk now.

[John83]

obviously a while since youve been to either :p
I've been in the discover Ireland division. ;)

[tetsujin1979]

Thought the PA at Stade de France was equally pants, some fat bloke in a mic waddling across the turf trying to get the crowd that had shown up at that point to shout out the surname of each player, e.g. he said "Patrice" crowd shouted "EVRA", etc.

[AidoP]

Thought the PA at Stade de France was equally pants, some fat bloke in a mic waddling across the turf trying to get the crowd that had shown up at that point to shout out the surname of each player, e.g. he said "Patrice" crowd shouted "EVRA", etc.

Thats a common thing here in Germany where the PA announces the players 1st name and then the crowd calls out his second name. Same when the home team scores he goes "FC Bayern Muenchen" and the crowd goes "Eins" and then says the name of the other club and the crowd goes "Null". He then says thanks (in German of course) and the crowd says youre welcome (again in German). Obviously it must be a continental thing then.

[endabob1]

Complete gimp, playing music after the home team scores has no place at soccer or rugby matches. Its embarrassing to be honest...

:mad:This is one of my pet hates, it's fake, cheap, tacky & deeply embarrassing