Why so anti GAA?

[clash]

Maybe this isn't the case everywhere but i'll just tell you why i'll never be at my local clubs matches again.

I used to support both the county (Gaa) and my town (soccer) even though i wouldn't be the biggest soccer fan, i also follow rugby quite closely. Two of my brothers also followed both with the rest of them including my father only following the Gaa.

Now i went to see the county (Gaa) playing a match which we lost, fair enough. Went down straight afterwards to catch the town (soccer). It was called out on the radio that the county (Gaa) lost and most of MY towns supporters cheered followed by shouts of "rednecks" and "culchies".

Thats not to say i never experienced that kind of ****e before, i work and live in town now where i hear that same ****e all the time but i didn't think it was as bad.

Now the points.

I nor my brothers have being to a game for the town since and i for one will never be going again and a lot of people i know who would have gone are in the same mind after seeing that crap at the game in question.

Is this just my town soccer team or is this pretty normal ?

And if this is pretty normal then i think we found the reason for the pathetic attendances at Eircom League matches.

[Ash]

On the other hand, I follow my local soccer team, local GAA club
(although I dont get to as many matches as I used to ) and county GAA team and
I've heard abuse from those GAA fans of soccer being a shower of West Brits, nancy
boys with gel in thier hair, soccer sh!te etc., and they revel in the thoughts of the
soccer club loosing.

Actually the worst I heard was while at a GAA double header in Croker, Cork v Galway
and Kerry v cant remember. But there was 1 bull of a Kerry man in front of us with his
equally bullish son and if anyone gave out about anything to do with Kerry GAA the 2
of them went mantal calling everyone a shower of soccer foreign loving cnuts.
The veins we're nearly popping out of thier heads. They even butted in on other peoples
conversations to tell then how much soccer was for wánkers etc and a Kerry footballer
should never be disrespected. Random gibberish any time someone mentioned soccer.

[Dodge]

NH, in some country towns, the villagers consider themselves metropolitan compared to the yokels from the farmlands around them.

As for the original question, the GAA has tried to suppress football at all levels in Ireland and is therefore hated by some within the game here. Others consider themselves sports fans and enjoy both. I consider myself a sports fan but despise the GAA (except tin the Tallaght issue, obviously)

[clash]

On the other hand, I follow my local soccer team, local GAA club
(although I dont get to as many matches as I used to ) and county GAA team and
I've heard abuse from those GAA fans of soccer being a shower of West Brits, nancy
boys with gel in thier hair, soccer sh!te etc., and they revel in the thoughts of the
soccer club loosing.

I've never met a GAA fan/player that didn't watch soccer and/or rugby except one old fella from Kerry. And i most certainly never heard any GAA supporter revelling in their local soccer club losing.

I have seen it the other way around, i haven't even seen it from any rugby fans/players. It seems to be an almost completely Soccer thing.

[ifk101]

Bit of an over-reaction here??

There are plenty around that follow both codes, as there are plenty that are die-hard football and die-hard GAA fans. The GAA has traditionally taken a strong anti-stance towards "garison games", so you can't blame the die-hard football fans for having pented-up feelings towards the GAA. We have a photo at home of my auld lad playing a rugby match - everyone is facing the ball except the auld lad because he knew if the GAA powers at be at the time saw him in the photo he wouldn't be allow to play GAA. My auld lad never held any resentment towards the GAA even though he was forced eventually to chose the rugby over the GAA, but I think it is understandable that certain people can have lingering resentment towards the GAA because of this. That rule in effect divided local communities into GAA families and non-GAA families, and this divison has been passed down to the next generation.

Look at this way - at least the result of the GAA match was announced. When's the last time you heard the result of a football match announced at a GAA ground?

[clash]

Why would they shout "rednecks" and "culchies" when they are clearly from the same neck of the woods. Methinks this incident happened in your mind.

The Soccer club = the town (rather large one).

[drummerboy]

I've played both games. My kid plays both codes. I'm involved in my local football club. I occasionally go to see Shels/Bohs/CHF play. I go to Croke Park to see the Dubs every summer. I have serious issues with some of the morons that run the FAI. Up until very recently I have always disliked the hierarchy of the GAA because of their attitude to foreign games. This has changed now. I welcome their openness. I know their are sections within the GAA who dispise soccer but I think the vast majority of the membership of the GAA are genuine sports fans who would gladly enjoy a good game of soccer or rugby as well as their own games. Thinks will become even better in my opinion.

[dcfcsteve]

I'm bored with this very new trend of posting messages slagging EL football in a seemingly constructuve, yet ridiculously one-sided and miopic way. I'm also amazed at the sensitive nature of such souls - who's whole world and sporting affiliations can be turned upside down in an instance by the throw-away comments/actions of a tiny number of people. People who Irish society is chock full of outside of the EL.

Clash is a new signing on here, talking about an anonymous football club. I'm sorry - but I refuse to take anyone like that seriously. I suspect said person has joined foot.ie to have a go at the EL.

Clash - if you do have a genuine concern, stop hiding behind the safety net of anonymity. Say what club, when it happened, who you are etc. If you're going to try to stir the sh!t, have the courage of your own views to be open about it all.

Otherwise, I'm afraid you're just another WUM who probably never had much interest in Irish football anyway and who is better left out of it anyway.

If Clash doesn't give us the details of the event and himself, I suggest everyone just ignores this thread for the WUMming that it is.

[Strabane_Harp]

have to say that at harps its pretty normal to support both the harps and donegal/tyrone, doesnt seem to be any difference up there.

In fact harpskid often has his 'harpskid on tour' flag when he goes to croker (not as often as us tyrone men but sure )

[clash]

I'm bored with this very new trend of posting messages slagging EL football in a seemingly constructuve, yet ridiculously one-sided and miopic way. I'm also amazed at the sensitive nature of such souls - who's whole world and sporting affiliations can be turned upside down in an instance by the throw-away comments/actions of a tiny number of people. People who Irish society is chock full of outside of the EL.

Maybe i wasn't clear.

When i "thought" it was the tiny number of idiots u get in every sport i didn't mind.

When the whole place cheered when the county GAA team lost and my heart was broken from the loss, THEN i "knew" it wasn't just the small number of tossers.

I'm not saying this is the majority feeling in the EL, i'm saying it IS the majority feeling in my local EL club.

Clash is a new signing on here, talking about an anonymous football club. I'm sorry - but I refuse to take anyone like that seriously. I suspect said person has joined foot.ie to have a go at the EL.

On here because i enjoy all sport including soccer and i find it impossible to go to EL matches anymore because of the attitudes of people i've highlighted.

Clash - if you do have a genuine concern, stop hiding behind the safety net of anonymity. Say what club, when it happened, who you are etc. If you're going to try to stir the sh!t, have the courage of your own views to be open about it all.

Think what you want.

[harpskid]

In fact harpskid often has his 'harpskid on tour' flag when he goes to croker (not as often as us tyrone men but sure )

Less a yer lip Aitken

I'll kindly remind you that my famous flag (Davy Keogh only wishes he'd wan like it!) was present at a couple of Tir Eoghain games in the past lending support to my dear neighbours in The O Neill County...

Well ok, Harps happened to be playing in the vicinity and I just happened to go, but still...

[Drumcondra Red]

What does WUM mean?

[Jerry The Saint]

You're always going to have a sizeable number of arseholes/"bigots" following both codes who tend to inflame the issue with petty actions and childish name-calling. There's also plenty of rugby people who are very anti-GAA and/or soccer (e.g. in certain schools) but such people would tend to consider themselves aloof and don't get involved in similar conflict and mudslinging. In general, I find that most fans of sport in Ireland take a fairly ecumenical view and will take an interest in all the major sports (as long as there's a successful team for them to follow! ).

Speaking of childish namecalling, I've often wondered about the use of the term "bogball". It seems to follow the idea that soccer is the sophisticated, international, urbane brand of football and is therefore superior to the Gaelic game played by the uneducated micks fresh out of the bog. This in turn feeds into some people's view of soccer as a game for West Brits ashamed of their own "bog" culture. Both perceptions are nonsense of course.

[Strabane_Harp]

Less a yer lip Aitken

I'll kindly remind you that my famous flag (Davy Keogh only wishes he'd wan like it!) was present at a couple of Tir Eoghain games in the past lending support to my dear neighbours in The O Neill County...

Well ok, Harps happened to be playing in the vicinity and I just happened to go, but still...

Ah now dont get me wrong Chris, if Tir Eoghain were put out id be shouting for Donegal in a flash.

the only ulster teams i dont wish well are derry and armagh

[WeAreRovers]

I consider myself a sports fan but despise the GAA (except tin the Tallaght issue, obviously)

Penny not dropped yet Dodge? Isn't it about time that you lads got your act together? Who owns your club? Who owns Richmond? Ah well, it's your look out but don't say you weren't warned.

KOH

[ifk101]

When the whole place cheered when the county GAA team lost and my heart was broken from the loss, THEN i "knew" it wasn't just the small number of tossers.

It must of been a Longford Town match you were at because then you would have been able to see that "the whole place", that is, all five fans were jeering the GAA result. And Longford's County team always lose! Furthermore, your "small number of tossers" suggests that Shamrock Rovers weren't the visiting team that day.

[stann]

Maybe i wasn't clear.

Even as another noob in this guise I think you've been very clear, clash (of the ash?). If you profess to be a sports fan then you must know that there is this type of arseholery, on a large scale, in all codes.
If you don't know this then one reason might be that you are part of it! It might be hard to notice a bunch of one type of fans having a cut off another code if you're in the middle of them doing the same thing.

And I wonder why you still refuse to even say which town you are from!

On here because i enjoy all sport including soccer and i find it impossible to go to EL matches anymore because of the attitudes of people i've highlighted.

Aw! Bless! Now stop WUMming.

[Drogman.]

Clash, you might be interested in reading the thread below on our MB.

http://www.irishfootienetwork.com/viewtopic.php?t=3830

[Dodge]

Penny not dropped yet Dodge? Isn't it about time that you lads got your act together? Who owns your club? Who owns Richmond? Ah well, it's your look out but don't say you weren't warned.

Penny dropped for me months ago. Just have a pain in my ******** with everybody there at the minute... Too numb to do anything personally

[sullanefc]

I've never met a GAA fan/player that didn't watch soccer and/or rugby except one old fella from Kerry. And i most certainly never heard any GAA supporter revelling in their local soccer club losing.

I have seen it the other way around, i haven't even seen it from any rugby fans/players. It seems to be an almost completely Soccer thing.

You don't get out much do you???

For every anti-GAA EL fan out there, there is an anti-EL GAA fan. The GAA aren't even afraid to hide their anti-Soccer/Rugby attitudes. Look how long it has taken them to open up Croke Park FFS. And even that is still in doubt. Have you heard the Rovers in tallaght story??

This is not confined to a national level. Locally, if you talk about soccer or rugby in the wrong circles you get the usual "don't mind that foreign sh!t" response.

As far as I'm concerned, it's 2-way small-mindedness and those with these attitudes are in the minority. Get over it, the world is not perfect.