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There was a kind of thinly veiled response to this in yesterdays indo from Dion Fanning who seems to be one of the biggest Sunderland cheerleaders. Basically saying watchin football on TV is just as valid as watching it live. Seems to have serious issues with EL fans who he portrays as kinda elitist snobs. I dont have a link to it, maybe someone else can link to it. The title was soemthing along the lines of " premiership is part of who we are.
Self preservation on Fannings part, it's all he writes about so of course he going to say its super
Saw a bit on the news there yesterday showing all the so called Sunderland fans heading over to the match from Ireland. Chatting about the great craic on the plane. I wonder how many of these people will still be Sunderland fans after a few years when Keane goes elsewhere.
How elite-ist we are, in our state of the art stadia, watching premium level over-paid footballers who couldn't get work abroad for clubs run by suspect businessmen, paying a small fortune for tickets for a very poor return, forever thinking that we are watching the very highest grade of football available on the face of the planet, when in reality it is the Emperors New Clothes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
We are talking about Galway United, yes?
On the Newstalk Travel section of George Hook show they mentioned a charter day trip for E500. Who in their right mind would pay that for a day trip (out & back on the same day).Quote:
Originally Posted by Neish
:rolleyes:
Aparently Cork airport was full of them. No surprise there.
thanks there pete for explaining to us all what a day trip is! :D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by pete
Part of what we are, whether we want to admit it or not
DION FANNING THAT WAS THE WEEK
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Sunday August 12 2007
LAST week was mainly about rituals, as it always is when man prepares for a sacred thing.
The football might have started yesterday, but when the Racing Post's preview of the season is published a few days before I always feel things are up and running. This is not just because it marks the exact moment when I begin to lose money but it brings substance and depth to all the theory.
Once I have studied a learned article or two, flushed out with some detailed analysis and a recommendation to 'sell' on the appropriate markets, about the drop in the number of offsides per game, I feel I am ready for whatever is to come. In matters concerning punting and football, I am prepared to fail but I will not have failed to prepare.
I read in awe of the 'shrewdies' who have spotted the kind of return you don't get at the Bradford & Bingley. They pounced when Torquay were priced up to win the Blue Square Premier at 16/1 (don't look for it, it's not there any more) and I wonder, like I marvel at men who have made several fortunes from inventing something like a cushion for a toilet seat, about their perspicacity.
But, as with all vibrant religions, tradition is not a relic, it is ever-changing, and much of it still revolves around Saturday evening Mass, or what we call Match of the Day. Even now, even with Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Lee Dixon eager to say nothing at all and to say it as badly as possible; even with its bad politics and its spinelessness, there is something holy about Match of the Day.
At this time of year, it comforts us like all faith should. It says, 'You are not alone'. For this reason, some of the advancements in technology bring us even closer to perfect happiness.
Those of you who have Sky Plus boxes will know that, not since penicillin has a discovery done so much to heal and bring hope. What penicillin did for the body, Sky Plus does for the human heart. As I 'series-link' Match of the Day I achieve some sort of peace of mind, secure in the knowledge that - except when there is a system meltdown or a break for internationals - MOTD will be recorded for evermore. Or until May.
There are those who think that somehow experiencing something through television is not experiencing it all. Of course, they are usually driven by a deep ideological devotion to the League of Ireland and they ask how a man from, say, Dundalk can support Liverpool? They wonder if this Dundalk man would cheer Rafael Benitez's side against his hometown club?
Of course this dilemma may arise at most once in his lifetime so it is not a pressing issue, certainly not as pressing as the deep and complex problems of our time, such as should one subscribe to both Sky and Setanta? Family men, in particular, have been rent asunder by this conundrum.
It is a joyous time for most at the end of a long summer. This column took the bold recourse over the past few months of turning to the GAA for solace and, it has to be said, was not disappointed.
Recently I conducted two conversations with Dublin taxi drivers on matters of the Gael and I think I came out adequately. As they were Dublin taxi drivers, of course they did most of the talking, but my well-timed interjections - "I wouldn't rule Cork out of it yet" or "Meath are the ones to watch" (I had taken some counsel on that one) - were met, if not with enthusiasm, at least without scorn.
But there is an ecumenical heart beating in most Irish sports people. Elsewhere, I heard conversations which began by dissecting the failings of the Offaly hurling manager, before moving on to the chances of the Offaly U-21s against Dublin (I was in Offaly at the time), touched on Girvan Dempsey (father played for Kinnitty) before ending, almost as passionately, with a detailed analysis of Didier Drogba's strengths and weaknesses as a centre-forward.
Of course the GAA is at the heart of this talk and drives the community. It is special, but we are not unique. Go to Barbados and listen as they talk of the local cricketers and compare them to the players that went before. In Sunderland or Liverpool or Manchester, they will not consider their conversations lacking in authenticity or passion because they talk about players who are millionaires. It may become a stick to beat the players with, but when supporters talk about those who aren't rich, or aren't paid at all, they just find other sticks.
The people who gather across Ireland this winter, fretting about Liverpool or Manchester United, or wondering about Sunderland have sporting interests equally as valid as the Eircom League supporter, some of whom want to feel both victimised and superior.
Nationalism in its most brutish (is there any other kind?) proclaims one nation's superiority over another. Cultural nationalism is no better. English football is part of what we are and most people accept this as easily as they accept the other pleasures in their lives. Those who ask us not to believe the hype of the Premiership are often most eager to propagate the myths of Gaelic games. The rest of us are as tolerant of the games' contradictions as we usually are of our own.
dionfanning@gmail.com
The same people who pay a travel agent €1000 for 2 nights in Bratislava or some touting git €750 for an Ireland v England rugby match.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
Heading home for the Chelsea game on Sunday with my brother, just know the airport and plane is going to be a blast. :rolleyes: Although the centre of Manchester should be interesting at about 12 with the Manc derby on that day.
:D Nice article, Dion. Daddy must be very proud. :)Quote:
The football might have started yesterday, but when the Racing Post's preview of the season is published a few days before I always feel things are up and running
...
As I 'series-link' Match of the Day I achieve some sort of peace of mind, secure in the knowledge that - except when there is a system meltdown or a break for internationals - MOTD will be recorded for evermore. Or until May.
...
The people who gather across Ireland this winter, fretting about Liverpool or Manchester United, or wondering about Sunderland have sporting interests equally as valid as the Eircom League supporter, some of whom want to feel both victimised and superior.
Didn't want to dignify it with a separate thread but Newstalk's resident "Football Expert" Ken Earley got caught out last night when someone texted in and asked him to name 10 eircom league players...
Even more embarassing was his interview with Roy O'Donovan after news of the Fulham deal broke. Obviously he had only just heard of Roy so he was reduced to asking questions likeQuote:
Ray Treacy
Paul Osam
Wes Hoolahan
George Best
Bobby Charlton
Disgraceful that people can make a living talking/writing about soccer in this country without even a basic knowledge of the highest level of football here. The Newstalk thing is particularly annoying as they consider 15 minutes of banter with a self-important unemployed plasterer to be adequate coverage to give the league out of 15 hours a week on their Off The Ball show.Quote:
Will you miss home? Will you miss your dog, if you have one?
Ken Earley is a knob and his humour is of the lowest form. He is just a sneer who just takes the **** out of things without adding any sort of contribution to life in anyway. T
Earley knows nothing about the game but what do you expect from listening to radio anyway?
"The people who gather across Ireland this winter, fretting about Liverpool or Manchester United, or wondering about Sunderland have sporting interests equally as valid as the Eircom League supporter, some of whom want to feel both victimised and superior."
What a moron. How can cheering one english side against another in a pub be equally as valid as actually supporting an Irish club? As one Hoop said to me after the great celebrations when Myler scored against Derry "Barstoolers would never understand this."
Fair play for putting the article up with said clowns email address!
KOH