Eircom league/Gaa.

With City doing so well now and the barstoolers/couch potato's even taken an interest.One thing makes me wonder when Cork play in the All-Ireland?? Now l hope Cork win but some narrow minded Gaa supporters makes me cringe when they ridicule Eircom league.
They think that Eircom league is amateur two-bit football as a well known Gaa tv presenter described it.Well l think that Gaa is compared to no one or to another foreign league but Eircom league is compared to english premiership.They (Gaa)have their own monopoly and therefore their own market and think their great.
Well at least Cork City is at last realizing its potential and giving lrish soccer a public profile.l think now the club deserves bigger investors to come on aboard as we still have along way to go.Again l wish the hurlers luck.Just a thought l had and hope Rico gets better soon.

Great post, well said. Im 100% in agreement.

What GAA presenter said that the EL is two bit football?

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Originally Posted by sullanefc

What GAA presenter said that the EL is two bit football?

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I am not sure but to have a guess i would think Pat Spillane is the only one that could say that...

The GAA should be compared to the AFL Aussie Rules League after all they play each other in the so-called Compromise Rules International Series.
The Aussies are professional and rougher and tougher than the Thugball lads.

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Originally Posted by aIr BaNd!

With City doing so well now and the barstoolers/couch potato's even taken an interest.One thing makes me wonder when Cork play in the All-Ireland?? Now l hope Cork win but some narrow minded Gaa supporters makes me cringe when they ridicule Eircom league.
They think that Eircom league is amateur two-bit football as a well known Gaa tv presenter described it.Well l think that Gaa is compared to no one or to another foreign league but Eircom league is compared to english premiership.They (Gaa)have their own monopoly and therefore their own market and think their great.
Well at least Cork City is at last realizing its potential and giving lrish soccer a public profile.l think now the club deserves bigger investors to come on aboard as we still have along way to go.Again l wish the hurlers luck.Just a thought l had and hope Rico gets better soon.

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A lot of the credibility of the GAA is kept up by the legions of volunteers who go out on a Saturday morning and coach zillions of kids. It can look a bit like crowd control more than coaching, but somehow it results in huge numbers of young players growing up playing and loving the game.
The children of the mid 90s are the emerging stars of today, and they get huge media attention when it comes to the club and inter-county championships.
How does soccer compare with that? Well, you have similar commitment from coaches, some clubs working with hundreds of children every year. But probably 90% drop away once they hit teen years, and the better players are spotted by UK based clubs, in some cases probably before the FAI even know of their existence.
Lastly, the GAA is really strong in rural areas, and to be fair, has helped many small parishes maintain their identity. Is any organisation is better run in this country? I doubt it. Soccer will probably always be the poor relation when compared with the GAA, but that gives nobody the right to run down the EL. It is amazing what has been achieved on the tiny resources available to clubs.

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Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy

, and the better players are spotted by UK based clubs, in some cases probably before the FAI even know of their existence.

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not to sure about that.Uk clubs have severaly reduced the numbers they take over every year.It cost so much to keep them and now the Irish lads realise that the chances of making it are so slim as they have to compete with other young hopefulls,which now come from all parts of the world,aswell as the obvious happenings of a new player in the transfer wndow coming in to take your place.

one thing to say for gaa fans who mock or taunt the el.the el is professional with pro players and managers who do this as a living the gaa is just an amateur game but for political reasons receives more funding than the fai.the gaa isnt compared to any league where as the el is compared to english football which is possibly the best in the world and also the gaa dont loose players to other teams in foreign countries.the el have pro teams competing in major european tournaments unlike gaa(i know this isnt possible for gaa but it is somethin to be pointed out for the achievements of el clubs..come on city we can beat slavia!!

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Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy

Lastly, the GAA is really strong in rural areas, and to be fair, has helped many small parishes maintain their identity. Is any organisation is better run in this country? I doubt it.

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great post agree 100%.I'm from a rural area myself and the difference in the commitment level in the 2 sports are huge.I'm sure Sullane FC will agree with me on this one.For me local soccer is just a social thing to keep fit for football in the summer.it makes the winters enjoyable but the GAA has a big pull here.

I was listening to Sportscall on Rte 1 tonight and it just reminded me exactly why I detest the GAA. Ignorant, narrow-minded rednecks. I know its not true of all GAA people, but there's a hardcore there, and there are a lot of them around.

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Originally Posted by Éanna

" I detest the GAA."

"Ignorant, narrow-minded rednecks".

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Quod Erat Demonstrandum

Lets have a few facts here

1) EL players are fitter and faster than their GAA counterparts as proved by a recent UL study. The UL college formally known as Thomond college are elading world experts in physical fitness. GAA players were physically stronger than their EL equivalents.

2) Football is the biggest participant sport in the Republic by quite a long way. The GAA has obviously got the biggest spectator sports.

3) People give their time freely for all sports.

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Originally Posted by gspain

Lets have a few facts here

1) EL players are fitter and faster than their GAA counterparts as proved by a recent UL study. The UL college formally known as Thomond college are elading world experts in physical fitness. GAA players were physically stronger than their EL equivalents.

2) Football is the biggest participant sport in the Republic by quite a long way. The GAA has obviously got the biggest spectator sports.

3) People give their time freely for all sports.

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1. SOME eL players are fitter and faster than their GAA counterparts.
SOME GAA players are fitter and faster than their eL counterparts.
However, what exactly does this prove?
What does it mean?
Not a lot really, except that some sports people take their fitness levels more seriously than others.
2. Football has more players, GAA has more spectators. The only thing that this statistic is useful for is showing that football is very under funded by the state.
3. Without exception, all sports, the whole world over, are dependent on the volutary contribution of people. It applies universally, there is no football v GAA dimension to it.

People are entitled to their views on the GAA. It is possible btw to support both football and GAA. I was at the hurling final on Sunday & am going to Prague tomorrow. Does that make me any less of a Cork City/EL fan? :confused:

Yes.


:)

i think the big difference between the two sports is competence. whatever you think about the GAA, and regardless of the govt funding, its a well-run outfit, and they have the grounds and facilities to show for it: semple stadium, croker, limerick, etc. even battered old pairc ui caoimh is head and tails above anything our footballers have to play in.

the football people on the other hand havent been unable to harness th epopularity of their sport. incompetence, in-fighting, stupdity, etc have ill-served football supporters in this country and left us with a league that in comparison to other countries of a similar size (norway, switzerland, belgium, etc) is poor. with a few exceptions, football grounds in this country are dreadful and instead of building on facilities they had, places like flower lodge, glenmalure park and dalymount were either sold off or left to rot. it makes my blood boil really, because all of us should have been able to watch decent local soccer when we were kids instead of the second rate crap i used to go see when i was a teenager.

its been up to the likes of city (and in fairness shels) to drag the standards of football and facilities from the dark ages, because if they had to rely on the clowns in the FAI, nothing would happen.

so i guess my point is you cant blame the GAA for being a better organisation. in my opinion soccer is a far superior sport, but because of poor organisation, facilities, standards etc it has underperformed woefully.

PS: and to the original point, anybody who says the FAI an deL is a two-bit organisation has a point. in comparison to the GAA it is, and that is not an insult to gret aclubs like City who ar ebucking the trend and doing their best despite the incompetence of those running the show.

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Originally Posted by patsh

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

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Richardson, is that you ? :D

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Originally Posted by coislaoi

I was at the hurling final on Sunday & am going to Prague tomorrow. Does that make me any less of a Cork City/EL fan? :confused:

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No, of course it doesn't.
There were a good few City shirts there and I was talking to a gang of lads in the pub on Saturday night, who were up for the game and the only subject mentioned was City.
We're lucky to have such a wide range of sport to support and I will never apologise for being a sports fan.
A football team with the heart, skill, fitness and determination displayed by the Cork Hurlers on Sunday would be hard to beat.

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Originally Posted by patsh

2. Football has more players, GAA has more spectators.

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Probably but not as one sided as you'd think. The amount of people who watch soccer on TV (Irish, English, Internationals and Euroepan) V The amount of people who watch GAA matches must be pretty close.

As for the amount of people who go to soccer matches (international and all eircom league matches) V the amount of people who go to GAA matches wouldn't be totally lobsided either as a county like Dublin would get 50,000 at 6 games in GAA (300,000) compared to soccer where there would be 10,000 people at 36 weeks in the season (360,000) plus the european games and home internationals.