Barstool facepalm

[redarmyfaction]

Relieved to hear you took your skirt down before heading into the ground.

Hard to climb over the wall wearing one.

[Dotsy]

Sunday in the, 70's was doss mass, home for Tarzan, the Ron Ely TV show followed by an LWT production presented by Brian Moore, the Big match during dinner, then skirt down to make sure you had enough time to Duke into the Showgies before KO.

Brilliant. Exactly the same for me except it was Milltown.

[oriel]

Great days indeed, but remember you boys would have missed most of 'The Big Match' from Nov to Feb as you kicked off at 2.15

I used to love the 80's Sunday Sport radio show on rte for the away games, especially during the winter, fire on............''and now we go back to the Markets Field, there's been another goal Gabriel, which way did it go...................

Happy times,, then MTUSA ruined it all.

[redarmyfaction]

I remember that a hape of lads who got banned from the Showgies for being hooligans (shamrock take note) used to have to watch games from the roof of the now demolished engine shed the far side of the Strandhill road. It must have a tricky climb up, specially wearing a pair of white parallels.

Ron Ely is still on the go, I had a half time pint with him in Mooneys the last time Shels were down, he said Paddy kavanagh was the biggest mink going and he would rather wrestle a million crocodiles or lions than mark the wee c##t.

[Straightstory]

I don't think it means we feel as part of a clique on purpose to feel unique or special. Maybe as a member of a minority it feels "special" for us lo(i)st souls? And not a good special, a kind of sacristy special...

Exactly.

[Macy]

I have to agree with Charlie Darwin most Irish people don't have football in them

Most Irish people don't have regular attendance in them, across all sports, not just football. Look how Munsters crowds have gone now they're not quite as good as they were (but aren't actually really crap either). You don't meet too many Lunsters anymore. GAA hypes it's crowds, but the reality is even for the All Ireland winners, it's a handful of large attendances over a year. Actually you could probably apply it to music too - not interested in going to see bands play their own tunes in pubs - cover bands dominate. But as soon as a band gets labelled the next big thing they're selling out the Olympia as people hop on the bandwagon. We're a nation of event junkies.

[BonnieShels]

Welcome back sir.

[DannyInvincible]

We're a nation of event junkies.

I agree with you completely, but is it just an Irish thing or are we more aware of or sensitive to the indifference of Irish event junkies because we're Irish and feel that it impacts negatively upon Irish football in the sense of missed potential? What are the roots of Irish event junkie-ism?

[BonnieShels]

A deep-seated sense of desire to be part of the "crowd".

[DannyInvincible]

But that's a desire shared universally rather than a peculiarly Irish one. Why is event junkie-ism such an Irish phenomenon?

[Macy]

But that's a desire shared universally rather than a peculiarly Irish one. Why is event junkie-ism such an Irish phenomenon?

No sporting code has managed to maintain crowds over a long season over the long term (too early to tell how rugby will manage this, especially if the H-cup goes belly up). I think we stand alone as to how crap we are at supporting teams over an entire season.

I like to blame the GAA as much as possible, so I will do again - structuring "championships" as knock out competitions at club and inter county level has embedded this culture. It makes every match an "event" as it could be the last match of the year.

[Spudulika]

The Irish are not alone as event junkies, many nations can claim this winning title, and a finger can be pointed at the product. In Germany you have sports supported at all levels, why? Because of community? Presentation? Facilities? Probably all of this.

I disagree Macy at pointing out the GAA, because at club level you will get regular crowds turning up out of tribalism, community and the craic, plus they know lads playing and want to see them scelp or be scelped.

But then it boils down to spectacle, comfort and value for money. If you walk into a ground that's fit for demolition, pay over the odds and watch something that can only loosely be called football/rugby/GAA, then you'll realise that you're not valued, respected and that you'd be better off spending 3 hours and 20quid some place else - like watching X Factor with a dozen bottles from Lidl.

All sports are suffering, especially when what people get doesn't match what they paid.

[Macy]

I disagree Macy at pointing out the GAA, because at club level you will get regular crowds turning up out of tribalism, community and the craic, plus they know lads playing and want to see them scelp or be scelped.

We get regular crowds too. But for clubs and counties, compare league attendances with championship games - they get the crowds out a handful of times a year in reality.

[nigel-harps1954]

We get regular crowds too. But for clubs and counties, compare league attendances with championship games - they get the crowds out a handful of times a year in reality.

Go further down in the chain yet Macy. I've seen GAA club league games with bigger attendances than LOI matches.

[Spudulika]

Second what Nigel says, grassroots GAA is very well attended. 3 years ago I was down watching a match between Donaghmoyne and someone else in the Monaghan league, more than 600 there (paying in) in what amounted to a match between a couple of townlands. In November I was at an LSL match in Rathcoole with half a dozen people watching.

[Macy]

Go further down in the chain yet Macy. I've seen GAA club league games with bigger attendances than LOI matches.

In the past I did regularly attend club league games, of the then county champions. They would've been on a par with first division attendances.

However, my main point is not the absolute figure, it's the comparison with the latter stages and championship games I was getting at. If you know GAA clubs that get as good as attendances for the early stages of the league as they do for the knock out stages of the championship, I would suggest that's the exception rather than the rule. The GAA have to run double headers, play them at night, and turn the nights into pop concerts to fill Croke Park for national league games. If any of those teams make the All Ireland Final later in the year, the media the week before will be all about all the "real" fans missing out on tickets and how it's not fair. They have the same problems of us, when it comes to consistently getting the crowd in - it's just hidden by bigger attendances later in the summer that boost averages, at both club and county level.

Rugby is the only sport pulling in decent crowds week in, week out. But then we've some of the top teams in Europe, and whether that lasts is a different matter (with the aforementioned drop off now Munster are only good, rather than really good). I remember when Basketball and Ice Hockey could fill the Manchester Arena - it last a couple of years and then both teams went belly up.

[BonnieShels]

In the past I did regularly attend club league games, of the then county champions. They would've been on a par with first division attendances.

However, my main point is not the absolute figure, it's the comparison with the latter stages and championship games I was getting at. If you know GAA clubs that get as good as attendances for the early stages of the league as they do for the knock out stages of the championship, I would suggest that's the exception rather than the rule. The GAA have to run double headers, play them at night, and turn the nights into pop concerts to fill Croke Park for national league games. If any of those teams make the All Ireland Final later in the year, the media the week before will be all about all the "real" fans missing out on tickets and how it's not fair. They have the same problems of us, when it comes to consistently getting the crowd in - it's just hidden by bigger attendances later in the summer that boost averages, at both club and county level.

Rugby is the only sport pulling in decent crowds week in, week out. But then we've some of the top teams in Europe, and whether that lasts is a different matter (with the aforementioned drop off now Munster are only good, rather than really good). I remember when Basketball and Ice Hockey could fill the Manchester Arena - it last a couple of years and then both teams went belly up.

What is an acceptable attendance week-in week-out at LOI games?

At the end of the day this is an island of around 6million people We can compare with the EPL and Championship and the Bundesliga all we want and it will; prove nowt. Laying into the GAA for having a surge at the end of their season is also not proving anything.

I think when you look at the attendances for Italian and Spanish football (outside of the Big-two) you realise that the phenomenon may not be uniquely Irish. We just notice it due to the fact we live here.

[Dodge]

Soom good honest stuff from GAA fans here on the problems they're having selling the game
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056849975

I post their view as some here are clearly biased against the GAA (like me)

[BonnieShels]

Soom good honest stuff from GAA fans here on the problems they're having selling the game
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056849975

I post their view as some here are clearly biased against the GAA (like me)

I've read that before. There's some good things in there.

I think though, despite its flaws, the GAA is far and away ahead of the FAI when it comes to marketing their product, despite it being haphazard sometimes. Though it does help having the Dublin football team to market.

[Spudulika]

Macy, rugby at club level almost went completely out of business after the provinces came in, as recently as 2006/7 Connacht were struggling to get crowds in and were being actively blocked by Galway City/County Council. GAA and rugby have willingness to use political nous as well as getting into primary schools, plus there is the link between juvenile and adult codes which sees kids aspire to play Junior/Intermediate/Senior. In the LOI how many clubs have properly structured age groups down to under-9? With proper coaching, assistance from a central body and a very active club body? Even in "non-league" Irish football we don't have it regularly.

I can speak from experience of leagues on the continent pulling in tiny crowds - Russia for one - despite large urban communities. The blame cannot be put on those not attending matches, but on the clubs and governing bodies. And the media contribute to negativity but they have to fill space.