Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

[SkStu]

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.

[Charlie Darwin]

Ireland's a pretty small place. It's surprising that the GAA is able to work the county rivalries so well.

[BonnieShels]

Not sure about that. Or at least people can operate on both levels, ie supporting Liverpool and Ireland. I don't know how many Slovaks supported Zilina before they qualified for the CL or how many Belorussians supported BATE. I think a lot of it just has to do with the weakness of the league (in comparison to others) - the only way you can see the top Irish players in action is to watch the EPL and I think that's it for a lot of people. Obviously there are people who just enjoy the better standard of football and the fact that a lot of people won't have any LOI-supporting friends, so you'll gravitate towards English football just to fit in.

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.

[ArdeeBhoy]

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.

[Charlie Darwin]

To be fair to the Irish people, many of them don't have a club from their community.

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.

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.

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...

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.

[peadar1987]

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.

To be fair, concerns about the ticket availability and stewarding problems aren't what's keeping northside Dubs from supporting Bohs.

[SkStu]

To be fair to the Irish people, many of them don't have a club from their community.

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.

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..

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.

And pretty sure many of their regulars would be pretty peed off also?

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).

[Macy]

To be fair to the Irish people, many of them don't have a club from their community.

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.

[DannyInvincible]

So they support a club hundreds of miles away in a different country instead? Sorry, I just don't buy that argument.

Was about to make a similar point.

[tetsujin1979]

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

[DannyInvincible]

I was hoping the discussion for this page would move onto ballet or something.

[ArdeeBhoy]

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.

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.

[Eminence Grise]

I was hoping the discussion for this page would move onto ballet or something.

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?]

[SwanVsDalton]

So, should LoI players don tutus to attract the culture vultures?

The GAH crowd would just love that...

[Eminence Grise]

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...

[SkStu]

[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?]

If Sepp Blatter is reading this then womens football could be in trouble...

[Stuttgart88]

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!

[an_ceannaire]

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.

[Junior]

Haha - You could set an alarm clock by you - Mods, just lock it or merge with the other dirge of threads.

[Dodge]

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.

Can a mod explain how this thread keeps popping up? It seems like every 3 months or so. I assume its a glitch