The Croke Park experience and atmosphere

[Claret Murph]

But even the pubs didn't seem to have any buzz at all it seemed like a friendly we were playing . Now in the clear light of day no doubt with 67,000 32,000 were people were were not the regulars I seen people dressed like they were going to a night club and not a match . I was in the lower canel end saw loads of EL tops these lads seemed to get behind the lads . Now when stand up for the boys in green came round a few times as always I was one of the first up and if any sunshine boys told me to sit down I would have had a few things to say that's for sure .

[Peadar]

Yeah, Richard Dunne would be a far more suitable candidate for captain.
I never said that Keane didn't try but he wasn't impressive. He hasn't had a good game for Ireland in long time.

[reder]

The whole day was just completely bizarre. The stadium itself looks really nice you as approach it. However, we had to enter the davin end via a narrow old gate before the turnstiles. The view from block 320 was ok, it was very difficult to follow what was going on down the far end of the ground. Wouldnt class the stadium as world class.

The atmostphere was just pathetic. I expected a cauldron of nosie. The little noise that was made just went up and out of the place. At Lansdowne the old stands kept it in. For what its worth I think the lansdowne fans have now been diluted with a ridiculous amount of daytrippers. The man beside me from the north didnt have a notion what was going on on. I commented on our lack of width in the first half and he looked at me like I had 40 heads.

The whole day from the fans view was summarised with that mexican wave. As that wave went around the ground, we were being pinned back on the edge our box and under the cosh big time. Most of our fans there really didnt have a clue what was going on.

Lets hope 20,000 or so of the day trippers stay away on wed and the 50,000 there can create and atmosphere. On a side note, the corporate people obviously didnt fancy the fixture, there were rows of seats free in the centre block of the stand to our right in the upper tier.

[OneRedArmy]

I don't go for booing, but its impossible to create an atmosphere when the performance is that poor.

I am of the opinion people came into the ground full of expectation but the tripe that was on show knocked the stuffing out of everyone fairly quickly (which was actually not dissimilar to the 1st half of the rugby against France).

Also the combination of the band and the schoolboys in the Davin/Cusack corner with their constant Mexican wave generation actually worked against the atmosphere.

I don't see how anyone can defend the performance on Saturday, as opposed to the result.

Under lights on Weds will be better as long as the team put on a better show, but to blame the atmosphere on the ground, in any way, is frankly ridiculous. Lansdowne would've been an equally quiet venue on Saturday had we played so poorly (San Marino at home anyone?!).

The rugby against England showed that Croker is well capable of being very very loud.

[Claret Murph]

I have never booed Ireland or Galway United and never will ,as I see myself as a Soccer fan now I can see why poeple do when your team has put in a shocker but i feel that it will not make me feel any better or the players .

[zenokelly]

I was one of those screaming abuse at O' Shea eveerytime he gave the ball away. I don't pay €50 for a ticket and not do what I want to do. I can say what the fuuk I like.

Someone told me to "sit the **** down" while getting ****ed off by that ****!n donkey. If he said that again I would have told him to f off.

I chose the atmosphere when I heard the team, I knew the team was just an anti-climax, we weren't ever going to play well with the way they were set up.

However, I wouldn't boo some player off the pitch or shout abuse at someone like Kilbane who you know is always trying his best.

ANd don't bother paying attention to any wankker that tells you to sit down especially when you are "standing up for the boys in green", you know they're not real fans!

[Stuttgart88]

Owls Fan, I thought the overall support was quite good until it became apparent that there was nothing more to get excited about. The canal end made a very good attempt to generate an atmosphere but as always, what happens on the pitch is what gets a crowd alive, or at least sustains it, not the other way around. The lack of any real critical context for the game was a factor too.

I was at both the rugby matces at Croker. Whilst the England game made the hairs on the back of one's neck stand up, France was nothing special. We were losing for a lot of the game and many just sat and watched. At the end I heard loads of "only a game" nonsense that made me livid.

As for the negativity - that's the Irish for you. At football they always know best, always need to be having a pop at someone. They're never happy. God knows there's not much to cheer about the current set up (a string of promising kids coming through excepted) but many attendees are just cranks who don't know the game well & who'd be complaining no matter what was happening.

[reder]

The whole day was just a big let down. The level of noise was pathetic. The welsh fans were so far away from the davin lower you could barely see them.

Also the lack of banners at the game was unreal. I know one person put a banner about stan and bouncebackability in the upper davin was told to remove it "or lose it" by a steward. My brother was sitting i row 2 of the block and he told me.

Also alot the the regular banners were no where to be seen. (Chelsea irish were there, west landan!!) It can only get better on wednesday night, cant it?

[Stuttgart88]

Posted this on the other thread (merge them?):

I thought the overall support was quite good until it became apparent that there was nothing more to get excited about. The canal end made a very good attempt to generate an atmosphere but as always, what happens on the pitch is what gets a crowd alive, or at least sustains it, not the other way around. The lack of any real critical context for the game was a factor too.

I was at both the rugby matches at Croker. Whilst the England game made the hairs on the back of one's neck stand up, France was nothing special. We were losing for a lot of the game and many just sat and watched. At the end I heard loads of "only a game" nonsense that made me livid.

As for the negativity - that's the Irish for you. At football they always know best, always need to be having a pop at someone. They're never happy. God knows there's not much to cheer about the current set up (a string of promising kids coming through excepted) but many attendees are just cranks who don't know the game well & who'd be complaining no matter what was happening.

[Jerry The Saint]

On a side note, the corporate people obviously didnt fancy the fixture, there were rows of seats free in the centre block of the stand to our right in the upper tier.

Upper tier isn't corporates - the empty section was likely to be some screw-up on the ticket distribution.

[OneRedArmy]

Upper tier isn't corporates - the empty section was likely to be some screw-up on the ticket distribution.Aren't they overspill media/VIP seats in the centre block of Upper Cusack?

[Peadar]

Aren't they overspill media/VIP seats in the centre block of Upper Cusack?

That's the Hogan Stand.

[Stuttgart88]

I used to get all my tickets at Elverys going all the way back to the 70's. I completely agree about half the tickets going on open sale again.I remember camping out overnight to get tickets for the England game in November 1990. It was a cold October night. I was in the doorway at the Trocadero restaurant and they brought us out chips when the kitchen was closing. We arrived at 6pm the day before and were still 200m from the door, where 4 lads had set up a picnic table and were playing cards.

Anyway, 30 mins before the doors opened eraly in the morning, word got out at Ray Treacy's, the other outlet, that they were selling out fast and many ran up to Exchequer Street. Basically there was a stampede from the back and within minutes 100 of fcukers ran over us in our sleeping bags and we lost our place in the queue and got no tickets. These people should be ashamed of themselves. As for the policing...what policing?

Anyone remember the day where it all changed? You could ALWAYS buy tickets from Elvery's or Mick Dowling's except for the Spain game in 1989. They sold out in a flash and from then onwards it was a much tougher proposition.

[OneRedArmy]

That's the Hogan Stand.
Thats why I said overspill.

I'm fully aware the regular media and VIPS are in lower/upper Hogan.

[Jerry The Saint]

I've sat in that section before, just through normal GAA club tickets:confused:

[head the ball]

Largely agree about the atmosphere, but I thought it was actually not too bad. (I have sat thru some turgid games at Lansdowne as we all have) I mean there was no aggro between the players which is always good for getting the crowd going. Also I thought the Welsh support was very quiet, obviously they have no faith in their team or management, now we know why.
Wednesday will be better, it'll be too cold and too late to bring wee micky and the suits wont fancy it and we know Slovakia are a decent team. With Robbie out it will be interesting to see what our approach will be. With Hunt and Duff out wide and hopefully Doyle and Ireland lurking around the box I think the change might do us some good. Over to you Stan to get the selection right!
Oh and more time for a jar too beforehand which always lifts the spirits.

[padzer]

I was in Upr Cusack 711 and i thought the atmosphere was dire. I have been in Croke Park many a time and the place was electri and I think it was a strange decision to give the Wales fans the hill. The fans needed something from the game to liven them up tho, like Carsley flying in with a tackle early in the Czech game, playing with a high tempo even a couple of surging runs would have done the trick. We live in hope but Wed should be better.

[elroy]

I cant stand people booing/abusing our own players, we're there to support them after all! Fair enough the odd criticism when its deserved, poor performances, cyprus/san marino.

However, there were a number of people around abusing a number of irish players at any opportunity. It makes me wonder about how well some irish people understand the game.

We are not Brazil, we're a small nation with limited players. Robbie Keane is our best striker by a mile, he shattered the goalscoring record and no one can deny if tries his heart out. Yet he gets tons of abuse. Hes not the polished striker he ought to me but hes without doubt the best we have.

I get as frustrated as everyone else with this team but abusing players like finnan, duff and kilbane on sat is uncalled for.

[jbyrne]

I remember camping out overnight to get tickets for the England game in November 1990. It was a cold October night. I was in the doorway at the Trocadero restaurant and they brought us out chips when the kitchen was closing. We arrived at 6pm the day before and were still 200m from the door, where 4 lads had set up a picnic table and were playing cards.

Anyway, 30 mins before the doors opened eraly in the morning, word got out at Ray Treacy's, the other outlet, that they were selling out fast and many ran up to Exchequer Street. Basically there was a stampede from the back and within minutes 100 of fcukers ran over us in our sleeping bags and we lost our place in the queue and got no tickets. These people should be ashamed of themselves. As for the policing...what policing?

Anyone remember the day where it all changed? You could ALWAYS buy tickets from Elvery's or Mick Dowling's except for the Spain game in 1989. They sold out in a flash and from then onwards it was a much tougher proposition.

i was camping outside elverys that day and people almost got killed in the stampede when hundreds tried to skip the queue. dont think those days are they way to go unless well marshalled by stewards. there wasnt a lack of tickets last sat in any case

[RogerMilla]

i think the atmosphere would have been far better had we got a few early goals!! results and quality of opposition is what creates the atmosphere , especially when we as a support were trying to get used to a new stadium , wednesday should bring a better atmosphere , if we get three points then the feel good factor wiill start to take root ensuring a massive day when the germans come

[Peadar]

By the way, the bars in the Premium Level were very welcome on Saturday but what's the story with this? I thought UEFA didn't allow alcohol to be sold in the stadium for competitive games?
I've certainly had my share of non-alcoholic beer in European grounds.
Savage hotdogs in Croker too but a bit of onion wouldn't have gone astray.

[bennocelt]

saw the game on TV here in wales, the game was far too depressing for irish and welsh fans to sing and dance about, by the end i honestly couldnt have given a fcuk if wales had scored an equaliser

it was depressing to see a mexican wave at the game, what kind of muppets do that at football (compare it to the irish fans in germany who refused, quite rightly, to join in with the germans and their all signing and dancing waves)

anyway to be honest lansdowne hadnt much of an atmosphere for ages too
i gave up going to home games due to the boredom of it all

see you all in slovakia and cezech , god willing

[Countyman]

saw the game on TV here in wales, the game was far too depressing for irish and welsh fans to sing and dance about, by the end i honestly couldnt have given a fcuk if wales had scored an equaliser

it was depressing to see a mexican wave at the game, what kind of muppets do that at football (compare it to the irish fans in germany who refused, quite rightly, to join in with the germans and their all signing and dancing waves)

anyway to be honest lansdowne hadnt much of an atmosphere for ages too
i gave up going to home games due to the boredom of it all

see you all in slovakia and cezech , god willing

sounds like you're in it for the craic rather than the football.

[John83]

I thought the overall support was quite good until it became apparent that there was nothing more to get excited about. The canal end made a very good attempt to generate an atmosphere but as always, what happens on the pitch is what gets a crowd alive, or at least sustains it, not the other way around. The lack of any real critical context for the game was a factor too.
I agree with you. The atmosphere started out pretty reasonable for a crowd packed with, as others have called them, daytrippers, but it died out when it became clear that the game was so poor.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah I hate the mexican wave. I found the stewarding to be great on Saturday as in I did not notice it any point. At LR they are in your face to sit down etc. Atmosphere was good to start but the second half killed it due to Wales control of the football. I was in the Lower Cusak but it was really the lower Davin. Going to be in the Uppper David on Wednesday night so will be able to compare.

Drank in the Swan bar on Aungier St and there were a great lot of Welsh in it after the game. Far enough from teh stadium to get away from the madness but not too far that there was no atmosphere.

[Schumi]

I was at both the rugby matches at Croker... France was nothing special.I thought the atmospehere at the France game was much better than on Saturday. There was far more of a sense of occasion about it anyway.

[Torn-Ado]

I watched the match in a pub in Sweden and it sounded fairly dead to be honest. There seemed to be a lack of colour too.Possibly because of the flags problem.

I still think the atmosphere can and will be better in Croker. All we need is a good game of football. there would be no mexican waves if the two teams played quality football.

:)

[noby]

The only thing more cringeworthy than the mexican wave was the booing of the Welsh for not joining in.

[joe_barry80]

I remember camping out overnight to get tickets for the England game in November 1990. It was a cold October night. I was in the doorway at the Trocadero restaurant and they brought us out chips when the kitchen was closing. We arrived at 6pm the day before and were still 200m from the door, where 4 lads had set up a picnic table and were playing cards.

Anyway, 30 mins before the doors opened eraly in the morning, word got out at Ray Treacy's, the other outlet, that they were selling out fast and many ran up to Exchequer Street. Basically there was a stampede from the back and within minutes 100 of fcukers ran over us in our sleeping bags and we lost our place in the queue and got no tickets. These people should be ashamed of themselves. As for the policing...what policing?

Anyone remember the day where it all changed? You could ALWAYS buy tickets from Elvery's or Mick Dowling's except for the Spain game in 1989. They sold out in a flash and from then onwards it was a much tougher proposition.

i used to get my tickets through the school only 2 pound it was great. Nowadays it is f**king farce applied for 2 tickets for all the home games and got f**k all reply I was 5000ish on the list. I got tickets no problem for the sa marino game away. Surly with the extra capacity I would have got something.
There should be an amount on public sale no internet just outlets where people who care to get off their ar*ses get tickets.

[Peadar]

All the Welsh were already standing, as they did for the whole game, so they couldn't very well join in.

[noby]

It may not have the same 'effect', but it is possible on a terrace/standing. They started to join in after about the third lap.

[jbyrne]

the wave should be banned along with the poxy band and playing pop tunes after a goal is scored.

have never come away from a match before so disillusioned with the whole match day experience (team performance and atmosphere) as i did on sat. by 2nd half i was just looking forward to my post match pint and promising myself id never attend a home match again

[Newryrep]

The anthem was sung with a lot more passion at big games in Lansdowne. Obviously a 3pm saturday kickoff didn't help and eveningg ames will be better but I think it was down to the performance and previous ones..

I actually thought the anthem was rushed, but at least they didnt have any body accompanying it.

The only reason why a 3pm Sat kick off should affect the atsmosphere is the type of people going to it. It actually suits me as i can get the train down and back and have a few beers and from the amount of people on the train plenty had the same idea.

[Peadar]

Spare a thought for the Welsh. They've only sold 15,000 of the 75,000 tickets for the San Marino game on Wednesday. Imagine what the atmosphere in Cardiff will be like! :D

[Collyontour]

Croker is crying out for a singing section. Too many people are happy to sit on their hands and stay quiet. Wednesday should be better but what will it be like for the Cyprus game if the performances don't improve?

[Peadar]

Croker is crying out for a singing section.

Lower Canal End is where it's at.

[piggy]

we were sitting in the lower cusack and the atmosphere was terrible. When we stood up for the "stand up for the boys in green" people were giving out and any attempt to sign or cheer was met with silence. The same people who didn't want to sing and shout were the first to sigh an moan when a move or a pass didn't come off. There is no point going to the game just for the occasion. How can people expect passion and heart from the players on the pitch if a load of the "supporters" are sterile and silent.

[WexDec]

Now certainly a lot of block bookings are in the "wrong hands" It must be frustrating for those fans not on the BB list. However that problem may well be resolved by a few more bad performances. I was shocked to see some of the corporate boxes were empty on Saturday. When the bill from the fAI for the next batch of games comes through in July or august some people won't be sending the money back.

Good it'll free up loads of tickets for people that want to support the team and purify the waiting list for LR and future Croker matches and even shred some waning block bookers

[DubJohn]

The only thing more cringeworthy than the mexican wave was the booing of the Welsh for not joining in.

Close, but incorrect..

More cringeworthy still was the "Who are ya" chants in foreign accents. :mad:

[WexDec]

The atmosphere in LR was much superior than what we had on sat, however I am hoping that the night game on wed will give us a better atmosphere. Very disappointed with the pitch as well, very very bobbly.

Yeah the night game under the lights should generally up the atmosphere and despite the performance we did get 3 points and the German result was favourable so in terms of a competitve edge this match does now represent something very important. Certainly much more so than if we had lost or drew. Just look at the reports from the Welsh camp going into a San Marino home match after losing to a poorly performing Irish team - incidentally having the double effect of giving us some confidence for the game away to them however undeserved and their heads dropping qualification prospect wise, but thats another day. It was a must win game and we won it. If we follow that up it might have a big effect on the players. Forget about Stan, I'm talking about the players themselves.

Noticed how bobbly the pitch was and had heard about that in advance what with the rugby being played there. It can show up more in the afternoon sun of course. The ball seemed to look like it weighed a ton too even when either back four were passing it around, very slow pitch. Heard something about the pitch being "rolled" in the interim between matches ?

[pineapple stu]

Croker is crying out for a singing section.
Definitely. You can blame the FAI on that one. It was suggested to them, they agreed to go with it, the press release was written for them, all they had to do was add one box to the letter to the block bookers and then arrange everyone who ticked that box in the one area, but then they didn't bother.

[KoemansCC]

Lower Canal End is where it's at.

I assume that's where all the EL fans were seated...

[SuperDave]

we were sitting in the lower cusack and the atmosphere was terrible. When we stood up for the "stand up for the boys in green" people were giving out and any attempt to sign or cheer was met with silence. The same people who didn't want to sing and shout were the first to sigh an moan when a move or a pass didn't come off. There is no point going to the game just for the occasion. How can people expect passion and heart from the players on the pitch if a load of the "supporters" are sterile and silent.


same as me. upper hogan 728 back row. when i sang, there were about 5 people around joined in and the rows and rows in front sat silently. I was later informed that some people actually looked round when i started singing as if to say who is that dude? *******s. I even said (in a fairly loud voice, each time a song died as a result of the lack of vocal support) "who are these people?" in an attempt to generate a response. But all i seemed to get was further contempt from people i hold in something lower than contempt. Shocking freeloaders. Too many first timers about.

and did anyone else notice the empty block of seats atop the cusack?

[WexDec]

Lets hope 20,000 or so of the day trippers stay away on wed and the 50,000 there can create and atmosphere.

Exactly (although being a bit pedantic I hate the term day trippers to describe non-regulars as all us culchies, corkonians, northies etc. are actually day tripping for the matches. Valid for English club teams but hardly for a national team)


On a side note, the corporate people obviously didnt fancy the fixture, there were rows of seats free in the centre block of the stand to our right in the upper tier.

You know what, f*ck 'em !

[DeNiro]

and did anyone else notice the empty block of seats atop the cusack?[/QUOTE]

That was for a cameraman I thought!

[strangeirish]

and did anyone else notice the empty block of seats atop the cusack?


That was for a cameraman I thought![/QUOTE]


Must have been a big lad!

[soccerc]

and did anyone else notice the empty block of seats atop the cusack?


All these empty seats in the Cusack (http://www.chatsoccer.eu/images/emptyseats.jpg)

[SuperDave]

All these empty seats in the Cusack (http://www.chatsoccer.eu/images/emptyseats.jpg)

haha

the premium level was pretty full. it was the block above i was on about.

[WexDec]

All the Welsh were already standing, as they did for the whole game, so they couldn't very well join in.

Some were, a fair percentage initially, crouching over and up with their arms. Could clearly see it as we were in 302 Cusack but I guess you wouldn't from the far end so why would they bother then when getting booed (....or at all anyway)

[WexDec]

Spare a thought for the Welsh. They've only sold 15,000 of the 75,000 tickets for the San Marino game on Wednesday. Imagine what the atmosphere in Cardiff will be like! :D

They should give them out free to schools then, try and get the next generation going. Its a good contrast though to the speculation about the atmosphere on Wednesday. We did get 3 points so it could be worse and should be getting behind the team to follow that up and build some momentum regardless of prevous performances and results.