Quotewhy ?Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy
Except what happened 20 years ago isn't exactly relevant to now. That and your 'argument' makes limited sense.
why ?
Because it isn't. The novelty effect of playing on a world or wider European stage has been and gone.
Not to mention saturation coverage now of the game and sport in general, compared to then.
There is less 'desire', rightly or wrongly. It's hardly rocket science.
basically just one excuse after another really. you either support a team or you dont. 5 or 6 home matches a season is hardly a big ask.
I keep popping in and out of this.
I go to all home games and I was in Poland. I also go to hurling and football matches for Dublin and other (relevant) counties when I can. I head to Shels matches when they're in Dublin/Bray and I'll pretty much have an interest in some sport or other elsewhere, be it cricket or athletics...
I couldn't go on Wednesday as I had a meeting with a college coordinator which meant it wasn't feasible to get back to Ballsbridge for KO so I watched it in a bar.
Am I less of a fan for it? My career is slightly more pressing than my national team I feel.
I'm sure there were thousands out there in a similar position. Plus the regular crew that come from England that I know that couldn't make it.
5-6 home games a year is easy enough to say for you and other self-righteous Irish supporters but with falling in the week after a pay day (for those poor monthly souls) for the first time since Chrsitmas I'm not surprised that some decided to shun it.
I agree that there's a malaise around the team and that is contributing but it's obvious why that is but this cribbing over crowds has to stop.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
It appears the rise in rugby's popularity and its effect on atmosphere is irritating some rugby "traditionalists": http://balls.ie/rugby/what-the-hell-...-home-matches/
Of course, football is partly to blame...
What The Hell Has Happened To The Atmosphere At Ireland Home Matches?
Irish rugby fans long standing tradition of being one of the most respectful and passionate is increasingly worsening game by game.
The main gripe I have with our supporters at the moment is their insistent need to boo and jeer opposition place kickers. Irish rugby grounds have always been one that withholds the respectful tradition of staying silent for the opposition’s kicker. Yesterday at the Aviva, Owen Farrell had six attempts at goal and for each one he was subject to mindless jeering from what seems to be a current crop of supporters who don’t understand the traditions of Irish rugby.
Any supporter who thinks that by booing and hurling insults at the opposition is going to put him off, is sadly mistaken. Kickers are subject to the same treatment all around the world. What once made Irish rugby special was the eerie silence that descended upon Lansdowne Road (and other grounds around the country) while an opposing player lined up a kick. This is always going to have a longer lasting effect than shouting or whistling.
If the English fans had turned around and handed out the same treatment to Ronan O’Gara yesterday, the home supporters would have cried foul. Instead, they remained respectfully silent for Ireland’s three place kicks.
The same treatment was dished out to Morgan Parra last December when Leinster played Clermont Auvergne but like Farrell, he effortlessly slotted the majority of his kicks, despite the ‘hostile’ treatment from partisan home crowd.
Thomond Park has continued its long standing tradition of observing silence for the kickers, despite the rise of a seemingly younger generation of supporters who might have been ignorant to what has gone before them. The decision to allocate school children in a designated area of the ground is one that is regularly questioned amongst the terraces by rugby fans. During the Heineken Cup pool clash between Munster and Edinburgh in October, the majority of the crowd remained quiet but behind the goal there were a few cries from squeaking voices.
The obvious solution seems to be to get rid of this designated school children zone. Perhaps the youngsters could learn a thing or two from spending time amongst the supporters responsible for this tradition.
That day in Thomond Park, the stadium announcer politely informed the ignorant of Munster’s long standing tradition. On neither occasion on my last two trips to the Aviva Stadium did the stadium announcer try and encourage the home support to observe silence for kickers. He was probably more concerned with preparing the obscene music that is played after a home score, which brings me onto my next gripe.
When did Irish rugby attempt to generate a soccer-style atmosphere at our home ground? And who was responsible for this nonsensical decision?
That Dropkick Murphy’s from the Departed has earned the title of the most annoying song of the last decade. As Ireland ran out on to the pitch yesterday to this pointless music, you couldn’t help but feel it took something special away from the atmosphere.
Irish rugby has now unfortunately gone down the road of playing this ridiculous music after each time they score, much in the same vein as is seen on a Saturday afternoon across English soccer grounds. This has to stop. And soon.
But what was worse yesterday was the decision to repeatedly play a loud drum noise to entice a unified ‘Ireland’ roar at the end of the beat. Any rugby supporter that needs encouragement from a PA system to shout for their team should stay at home on the couch where they belong. It’s another sure sign of taking the game away from its roots. If the younger generation are growing up with this as the norm, what state will Irish rugby support be in ten years’ time?
Since Irish rugby has moved back to the redeveloped Lansdowne Road, it has far from been a fortress. From Ireland’s fourteen games played at the Aviva stadium, they have won just six times. It is a damning statistic that highlights Ireland’s apparent lack of home advantage.
With a packed house in attendance yesterday, it was the away supporters that were the loudest. The only times during the game that the Irish fans made themselves heard was when they whistled and jeered to drown out the cries of ‘Swing Low’ and when they did similar in their foolish attempts to put Farrell off his place kicks.
With the direction Irish support has been going in the last few years, is it any wonder that home teams don’t fear their trip to Dublin anymore?
i think the theory of prioritisation put forward by ArdeeBhoy is totally valid and i think it has a big effect on our attendances at friendlies. I also think it is perfectly justifiable for someone to say "im not going to this game because cash is tight and id prefer to catch the group games".
That said, there is no doubting the event junkie nature of Irish sports fans. The amount of idiots that hop onto facebook before, during and after a rugby game really is something. These are people that had no interest in rugby even 6.5 years ago when i left their company... I used to attend every Irish rugby and football game back in the day except when i couldnt get tickets. That was when Ireland rugby team saw Clohessy run into the dressing rooms at half time for a smoke!Anyway im getting off topic...
What it does prove though is that the average Irish person is very much simply a customer who will pay for what they see as value at a particular time. They might consider themselves "fans" but theyre not really. We dont really have a true fan culture anymore in our domestic sports or around our international teams. Lets not kid ourselves, lunatics like us that obsess over every intricacy of the irish team or our LOI team are very much the minority.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
They're dead right about the lack of respect for a kicker at rugby games. An eerie silence is far more intimidating for a kicker than the usual chorus of boos they have to endure at away games. When I noticed it on Sunday, first thing that came to mind was "day trippers".
I noticed around Europe for the Wednesday night friendlies, there was an A class of friendlies, Spain v Uruguay, England v Brazil, Netherlands v Italy, France v Germany, Sweden v Argentina - all with full houses, the rest were just mickey mouse friendlies with small crowds.
There was a time when we played mickey mouse friendlies to full houses.
And we had big crowds for a string of bad football friendlies. One awful friendly after another,
ie until Brian Kerr came along.
There is not one outstanding factor why our crowds have dropped.
Things have changed with us for a variety of reasons, probably already mentioned. And things may have changed around Europe as well, as in the concentration of high profile friendlies on those few occasions on the football calendar.
On the rugby on Sunday. Was it a sell-out? I noticed pockets of empty seats at times.
Yeah they sold out ages ago. The empty seats were probably sponsors' allocations or people who didn't fancy getting wet.
What a laughable comment. There's plenty of people who're 'better' fans who choose to miss largely meaningless friendlies, especially at home. I suspect they put in rather more effort (& time/expense) than most on this thread, if not all following their country.
Though the vast majority wouldn't indulge in some fatuous comments about whether they are 'better' or not. True fans accept very few people will bother with all the games as we're talking 'quantity over quality' amongst other issues.
Here bloody here. Now can we kill this thread.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Agreed!
And I was just beginning to enjoy the debate about how rugby fans are the best fans in the world!
The "best fans in the world" is clearly such a load of BS that any discussion of the concept can only be as pointless as this thread is/has become.
I agree.
Gastric, there's a hread somewhere called "Rugby is now more popular than soccer, GAA" which discussed similar issues. Hop on in.
This one has to close. Pronto.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
I didnt make the match on Wednesday, due to living in London and being a contractor i dont get paid if i miss work, so i try to miss as few days as possible.
Anyway, i digress, although I dont make all the home games, i still ensure i purchase a ticket and never miss the match on tele. I think it isn't possible for all of us to go, but it is possible for all of us to "support", and by that i mean buying a ticket and still watching the game somewhere.
Last edited by paul_oshea; 12/02/2013 at 10:44 AM.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
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