Wouldn't want to intrude on tour big day out
Wouldn't want to intrude on tour big day out
Peraonally, I think the 2 main factors have been:
1) the introduction of the national underage leagues and the LOI clubs becoming the best underage clubs in the country. Kids now look at LOI clubs as the gold standard of football in Ireland, whereas previously they were just an afterthought.
2) Dundalk and Rovers reaching group stages has helped people take the league more seriously and realise that it is a high standard and we can compete are European levels.
Point 1 is an interesting one. I have mates that had zero interest in the LOI, only had eyes for the EPL but then their kids started playing for the underage LOI teams and they got sucked into it themselves via the kids. Dads and Mams going to Shels, Pat’s and even Harps and they feel part of the club. We always think if you can get them young, you can get them hooked but you can get adults in that way too by association.
Point 1 is spot on, it’s definitely helped with the perception of the League of Ireland. I wouldn’t agree with point 2 though, the rapid rise in attendances was well underway by the time rovers qualified at the end of last summer, while Dundalk’s qualification was in the middle of lockdown. Plus both sides qualified in the 2010s and we never saw league wide crowd increases off the back of 2011 and 2016. It undoubtedly increases the attendances of the clubs involved but it wouldn’t have much bearing on league wide crowds IMO, although it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Another point I genuinely think has helped LOI crowds is the state top level football is getting to in recent years between the whole super league thing, absolutely astronomical transfer fees, price gouging and ticketing availability for premier league games, and course the never ending discussion on incorrect VAR decisions in more or less every game on tv these days. An accumulation of all of those things has seemed to help the LOI as in eyes of some of these new LOI fans is, it’s a more pure and old school football experience compared to the ‘modern football’ equivalent overseas which people seem to becoming less tunnel visioned into, or at the very least, less dismissive of their own country's league
Paaatrick's Agletic
Bookmarks