Club or Country?

**Pat O' Banton** · 02/01/2005, 2:49 PM

Originally Posted by Pablo

i would suggest then that your club is not very important to you if a team that plays 8 times a year is of more significance to you

Well you know me so well

. I make an 800+ mile round trip every month to watch them play, so, your right I couldn't care less about club football.

and if your wondering why only every month well, I would go every game but at the moment I can't afford. Still I bow to your superior knowlege of my football watching habbits. (how about another of those rollies type icons)

**Pablo** · 02/01/2005, 2:52 PM

Originally Posted by Pat O' Banton

Well you know me so well

. I make an 800+ mile round trip every month to watch them play, so, your right I couldn't care less about club football.

and if your wondering why only every month well, I would go every game but at the moment I can't afford. Still I bow to your superior knowlege of my football watching habbits. (how about another of those rollies type icons)

i guess i'm using my own barometer here. all the travel home and away and in europe means you have a love of a team. and no doubt you do this too.

and then you say you prefer the international team? your choice but i dont understand it myself

**Pat O' Banton** · 02/01/2005, 4:04 PM

Originally Posted by Pablo

i guess i'm using my own barometer here. all the travel home and away and in europe means you have a love of a team. and no doubt you do this too.

and then you say you prefer the international team? your choice but i dont understand it myself

Why the need to understand anything?

Yes I have followed my team home and away as well as in Europe and watching them live is a time consuming and expensive thing but not one that I would swap (I take it that the traveling that I undertake shows a passion and a commitment.) However what I don’t do is set a barometer for level of support of a team. What about someone who is unemployed, has had a child, simply isn’t earning enough to go to games on a regular basis are these any less committed than you or me?

And yes at the end of it all I still prefer the national team because I do. No explanation, no reasoning, just the way it is. Now does any of this make me less commited to club football? Any less involved in being a day in day out supporter? Is my club any less important to me?

**�anna** · 02/01/2005, 4:16 PM

Originally Posted by Pat O' Banton

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

Okay, what are you saying that the rest of us support our clubs Monday to Wednesday and support the national team for the rest of the week?

For one last time people on this site are as passonate about their club as you are but still would support the national team first.

for fcuks sake. are you intent on misunderstanding me or what? I've said its everyone's individual choice. I really don't care who you do or don't support. I made a comment on the way the replies on the thread were going, and expressed an opinion. I didn't tell you you were wrong (or right) to do what you do. get over it

**eirebhoy** · 02/01/2005, 4:24 PM

Originally Posted by Pablo

i would suggest then that your club is not very important to you if a team that plays 8 times a year is of more significance to you

I would suggest that your country doesn't mean very much to you...

**Pat O' Banton** · 02/01/2005, 4:24 PM

Eanna, the point is that every time you go this subject you make it seem, to me at least, that you are part of a vanguard of fans who are the only ones who are passonate about club football as you put it 'day in day out' now I am simply pointing out that because we support the national side first it does not make us any less day in day out fans of club football. Do you understand that point? Now sorry if I am misinterpreting you but this is the way that your posts on the subject have come across.

**�anna** · 02/01/2005, 4:29 PM

well if thats how it was coming across, it wasn't my intention. I don't give a flying **** about the international team, but even when I did, City always came first. I can understand why your average barstool fan will put his country first ahead of a team he only sees on tv, but how someone who goes to games week in week out can put a national team first- well I just don't get it. But like I said, its not my place to judge anyone- support whoever you like. I'm not claiming to be better than anyone- well, except barstoolers

**�anna** · 02/01/2005, 4:31 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

I would suggest that your country doesn't mean very much to you...

personally, I'm hugely proud of being Irish and there are a lot of things I love about ireland- the national football team isn't one of them. My country means a hell of a lot to me, but I just don't think the football team represents this country.

**Pat O' Banton** · 02/01/2005, 4:34 PM

Originally Posted by �anna

I'm not claiming to be better than anyone- well, except barstoolers

Well hombre, we agree on something as well as Palestine

**eirebhoy** · 02/01/2005, 4:40 PM

Originally Posted by �anna

personally, I'm hugely proud of being Irish and there are a lot of things I love about ireland- the national football team isn't one of them. My country means a hell of a lot to me, but I just don't think the football team represents this country.

But it is your opinion that brings you to that conclusion. Nobody from outside of Ireland think that so that's fine with me. If a Swedish person came up to me tomorrow and told me he thought the Irish national team wasn't representing the country of Ireland then fair enough. To every one of the 6+ billion people in the world (give or take or two) the Irish team is representing Ireland.

**eoinh** · 02/01/2005, 4:52 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

To every one of the 6+ billion people in the world (give or take or two) the Irish team is representing Ireland.

It represents the Republic of Ireland actually.

No football team represents Ireland.

**�anna** · 02/01/2005, 5:13 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

But it is your opinion that brings you to that conclusion. Nobody from outside of Ireland think that so that's fine with me. If a Swedish person came up to me tomorrow and told me he thought the Irish national team wasn't representing the country of Ireland then fair enough. To every one of the 6+ billion people in the world (give or take or two) the Irish team is representing Ireland.

well I'm not an expert on football in other countries, so why should I expect people from other countries to know the situation here. I never said it was fact, just my opinion. Is my opinion LESS valid because I AM Irish

**�anna** · 02/01/2005, 5:13 PM

Originally Posted by eoinh

It represents the Republic of Ireland actually.

No football team represents Ireland.

that being one of the principle reasons I DON'T like the football team and DO support the rugby team.

**Clondalkin Hoop** · 03/01/2005, 9:03 AM

Originally Posted by Pablo

Hers a poser lads......Your club to win the league in 2005 or Ireland to qualify for the world cup.

Only one can happen, what would you pick?

No poser what so ever. It would have to be SRFC.

I'm as proud as the next fella about being irish and i love to see ireland doing well. I travel to most the irish games but when it comes to choose between ireland and Rovers, the latter always comes first.

But in reality this question is only really applicable to eircom league fans.

**Cowboy** · 03/01/2005, 1:17 PM

I find it hard to understand the purpose of this thread as I see no conflict between supporting your club or your country. Why is there a necessity to chose one over the other, are Ireland going to be playing LOI clubs any time soon?

**anto eile** · 03/01/2005, 1:57 PM

id rather Rovers under 12's won a corner kick before ireland won the world cup. the worlds greatest bandwaggon-jumping day tripper man yoo lovers dont deserve a successful international team

**skbio_toronto** · 03/01/2005, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Cowboy

I find it hard to understand the purpose of this thread as I see no conflict between supporting your club or your country. Why is there a necessity to chose one over the other, are Ireland going to be playing LOI clubs any time soon?

At last, some sense on this nonsensical thread. How irrelevant a premise it is to lump in the Irish national team with a club's fortunes. Yet this is a question so often posed on messageboards I surf from time to time.

One attitude I do detect (and in fairness I can understand it to a degree) is that alot of people don't really enjoy going to Ireland matches given the amount of 'johnny come latelies' that seem to populate Lansdowne Road. For me, I've understood from an early age that the majority of people are bandwagon Ireland supporters. i.e. the kind of people who're all about the Irish team when things are going well but ridicules them mercilessly after one error srewn loss. (Begrudgery afterall is a most Irish trait) Certainly not the people who (largely) subscribe to this website. I'm not altogether happy with that scenario either but I've long learned to accept it.

As for the club-country debate Cowboy knocked that whole diatribe much more effectively than my long winded explanation ever could.

Right on.

SKBIO-TOR