Ireland's a pretty small place. It's surprising that the GAA is able to work the county rivalries so well.
okay, and i dont disagree with a lot of that CD but heres a question that gets missed... why identify with "Ireland"? Why not Galway? south Dublin? Cork? Limerick?
The amount of english people I have met who dont like their national team at all purely for the fact that they identify more as someone from Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds than as being someone from England. I also used to hang around with a French person and a Brazilian person both of whom felt the same.
Whatever the true reasoning is, we are certainly a strange bunch when it comes to football supporting.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Ireland's a pretty small place. It's surprising that the GAA is able to work the county rivalries so well.
Interesting article in WSC this month about Zilina. Owner of the club is a huge Zilina fan.
Interesting aspect of it though is that a lot of people came to the Zilina-Chelsea to support and see Chelsea. What I got from it is that the smaller local leagues in Europe are all slowly dying a death.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
To be fair to the Irish people, many of them don't have a club from their community.
And even if they all did, can you imagine eg. if every northside Dub soccer fan tried to go to Bohs, their ground/facilities aren't remotely up to it anymore, in terms of say a 5k+ crowd.
And pretty sure many of their regulars would be pretty peed off also?
The same applies to every other domestic Irish soccer ground I've been to, with the exception of Tolka.
Some of us support teams that didn't have a home for twenty years. Sligo and Longford aren't exactly the most densely-populated parts of the world and they attract fans from (shock horror!) across the arbitrary and completely artificial county borders. If people don't feel like getting up from their couches to support a team that's fine but that doesn't mean those who don't live in towns with a strong football teams have no options.
You're not a genuine fan if you don't want your club's support to grow. It's a football club, not a golf society. Dalymount is ropey but if Bohs thought they would be getting 5k a week they'd clean it up pretty quickly. Valencia aside, investing in infrastructure tends to be the surest way for a club to make more money. In fact, they may have planned just that in anticipation of Sporting Fingal's rampant home support...And even if they all did, can you imagine eg. if every northside Dub soccer fan tried to go to Bohs, their ground/facilities aren't remotely up to it anymore, in terms of say a 5k+ crowd.
And pretty sure many of their regulars would be pretty peed off also?
The same applies to every other domestic Irish soccer ground I've been to, with the exception of Tolka.
Tallaght is a top stadium. Flancare is acceptable. Showgrounds are good. The field in Athlone is nice too. Haven't seen it Wexford's is supposed to be good too. There are a few good stadiums about.
this is a fair point. But focus instead on the centres that do have, at least, one team in the top 2 flights. Its very strange that such a tiny minority have an interest in live football.
chicken and egg situation in fairness and a pretty lame excuse. We can very safely and quite comfortably accommodate 4000 fans in Dalymount. We usually get less than half that.
No way. Trust me AB. You wont meet a more welcoming and fun crowd than LOI fans in general. You would be respected for going to even just a five home games a season (wherever that would be for you).
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
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. Never stopped the insufferable Lunsters either, to switch codes on the thread again.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
switching codes again, the IRFU have announced the prices for the Summer test series against England and France: http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/22968.php
GUINNESS SUMMER SERIES: HOME GAME TICKET PRICES
Premium: €50
Category 1: €40
Category 2: €30
Category 3: Family Ticket €60 (adult €20, child €10 based on two adults and two children)
Category 4: €20
Schoolboy/girl: €10
I was hoping the discussion for this page would move onto ballet or something.
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.
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?]
Last edited by Eminence Grise; 18/04/2011 at 12:16 PM.
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...
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!
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.
Haha - You could set an alarm clock by you - Mods, just lock it or merge with the other dirge of threads.
I thought you were off the drink Ronnie?
"No, I drink to help me mind my own business....can I get you one? (c) Ronnie Drew
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
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