I have my reservations about the Fenway hurling classic, but I've been a bit disappointed by some of the criticism of yesterdays event. Some have called it a failure because it only attracted a crowd of 12,000 people, which I think is flawded reasoning. Yes, its a big drop from 27,000 last year, but its still a huge crowd for a hurling game outside of Ireland. Actually, look at the attendance figures from last years championship. Barring the final, yesterdays crowd was bigger than many of the crowds for last years Leinster championship round games. Bigger than Tipp V Waterford in last years Munster championship. Bigger than last years All-Ireland Quarter final between Clare and Wexford. There are reasons for criticism of the endeavor, but attendance isn't one of them.

As for the 'why are we spending money abroad instead of promoting the game at home' argument, can't we do both? Why does having one prevent the other? Given that they still sold 12,000 tickets for yesterday (I think), and also sold TV rights to TG4/GAAGO and NESN, isn't it possible the GAA recouped the expense, to some extent at least?

As for criticism of the actual format, well, there may be grounds there. As I said, I'm not sure if having this format as peoples intro to hurling is ideal. The reduced pitch size obviously necessitates some changes, but there are pro's and con's:

Pros -
- 11 a side: I think this is a good modification to accommodate hurling on smaller sized pitches. Playing with 15-a-side or 11-a-side doesn't change the fundamental nature of the game
- one hand pass per sequence of play: I actually think this forces a higher standard of hurling, as people can't rely on hand-pass to get them out of trouble, it forces players to be more imaginative with their methods of passing. Alot of handpassing in hurling is now really just throwing the ball, which hurts the spectacle. Anything that redresses that is good
- Different points per type of goal. Having goals scored from outside a certain range be 5 points is a novel initiative. It encourages more spectacular goal attempts, which can result in more spectacular goals, which adds to the spectacle.

Cons -
- maybe too many rule changes. The referee seemed like he was blowing every 30 seconds, and there was a lack of physicality, but I couldn't really tell if it was for a foul half the time, or the shot clock running out
- In a country where I usually get a 'so its like hockey, right?' response when I try to explain hurling, introducing hockey style elements may not help promotion of the game here. The hockey style penalty in lieu of a '65 might be an example of this
- Goals only/No point scoring: This is the big one for me. The ability to put points over the bar is a big part of the game, you take it away, you change the game too much I think. And alot of Americans I know who are into hurling, really like this aspect of the game

I realize the reason for not having point scoring. On smaller pitch, you could theoretically have goalkeepers scoring from puck-outs. But there are ways around this, I think. Like in Fenway today, they could pull back both goals to under the football posts, which I think would increase the length by 35-40 feet? After that, you could not allow points to be scored directly from puck-outs, or directly from frees in a teams own half. And then maybe only allow point scoring from within a certain zone (or even outside a certain zone if you wanted to preserve the goal scoring focus of the game).

I'm not sold on this format, but I have to recognize its successes. But I think if we're going to criticize it, it should be fair criticism, otherwise its criticism thats easy to ignore

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 19/11/2018 16:08:00    2151665

Successes. A shambolic farce. GPA cohorts on a junket. Why not send Leitrim hurlers and Tyrone? Another one of the GPA's brainfreezes.

Bellewest (Westmeath) - Posts: 150 - 19/11/2018 16:17:09    2151667

A rubbish concept. Scrap it.

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2550 - 19/11/2018 18:33:02    2151702

I got more enjoyment out of watching Ballygunner deservedly win the Munster Club Final than watching that "stuff" in Boston.... at least the Galway v Kilkenny game in Sydney was a proper match.

katser (Galway) - Posts: 2193 - 19/11/2018 19:29:45    2151713

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2658 - 19/11/2018 20:34:17    2151729

PaudieSull1 (Down) - Posts: 738 - 19/11/2018 22:35:58    2151754

katser (Galway) - Posts: 2193 - 19/11/2018 22:42:23    2151757

it was a bit of craic and an end of season jolly for all the suits,that is about it.
there is method to the madness,massive fundraising for the 4 counties involved happen in america.
i also liked a few things - 1 handpass (as most handpasses are dubious in the extreme),i liked the referees being miked up,and i liked the use of the replay for foul play.it would cut out a lot of off the ball incidents if a player though a tmo could get them sent off.
it didnt look like fenway was bursting at the seams for the game either!

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 20/11/2018 08:38:35    2151775

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2658 - 20/11/2018 14:12:39    2151823

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 20/11/2018 14:50:52    2151835

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 20/11/2018 15:46:42    2151851

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2658 - 20/11/2018 21:39:00    2151909

Spot on posts Canuck. Sadly the President of the Asociation is quoted as saying he sees a future for the Fenway Series, this must be an awful kick in the hole to volunteers in the weaker counties struggling to promote the game, who are lacking in resources for coaching & promoting the real game & not the dogs boll#x of a version played in Fenway. But then again let's be honest GAA upper echelons are all geared towards elitism these days with numerous examples year in year out. The President also says Fenway must be able to pay its way, so how about some transparency & tough questions by journalists on this, like who pays what ? Are the GPA paying it all & if so is it coming from the millions allocated per annum from direct GAA funding or from the GAA commercial revenue percentage. Are the GAA contributing towards it this year & if so how much. Who is paying for all the leading GAA officials who travel. Are the players given a fee ? Their seems to be a lot of spin on viewing figures that watched on TG4 & Nesn, why don't they reveal the figure ? Don't expect any of the above to be answered from an organisation that claims to be one of the most democratic of all, but whose Congress delegates voted against transparency this year. Wild Geese trophy, Fenway Classic trophy, All Stars trips to Asia etc, all very nice if your from the elite hurling counties, but if your breaking your b#lls from Leitrim, Westmeath, Kerry or wherever promoting the game, forget about help or recognition from the GAA. It is hard not to view it as a junket for all, players I would make an exception for, officials, well it's a jolly. Also very hard to see how no one has raised the issue of how a newly appointed CEO of one organisation whose company is involved in the recruitment of another CEO of another organisation cannot be viewed as a conflict of interest, but hey anyone who raises their head above the parapet these days is deemed a pariah.

Uimhir.a.3. (Galway) - Posts: 409 - 21/11/2018 01:04:49    2151931

I would want 'hurling' to be showcased internationally.
Given the smaller size US pitches - you could keep the point score with narrower goal posts (say 2/3 normal width) and with 65s (from own 35 yd line). The 11-a-side works - but why not allow the traditional rule of kicking ?
Could keep the 5-pts goal though - thoughts ?

omahant (USA) - Posts: 2580 - 21/11/2018 01:59:17    2151932

If they are doing this Fenway Hurling at all they should try and get some value out of it. Get it on RTE and give it some profile. As we saw at the weekend rugby get fierce mileage out of on off tests that mean very in the long run. For kids they really only get to see Stars like Pat Horgan, Joe Canning, Graham Mulcahy or Tony Kelly on TV for a few months in the year.

The positive is because there are only goals, there are some excellent goals. If they did promote it and youngsters could see their idols scoring spectacular goals on front of a big crowd there could be some good to it. I only suggest RTE over TG4 because it's harder to get kids to watch the gaeilge.

I would agree with other posters however that this should not take precedence over the promotion of hurling in weaker counties.

tomhealycork (Cork) - Posts: 80 - 21/11/2018 10:26:59    2151958

I just can't see the issue with this.

If you don't like the format - don't watch it.
If you think its a waste of resources - doesn't it pay for itself via sponsorships, admittance fees etc.?
If you think its a junket for the lads - don't the hurlers of Cork, Clare, Wexford and Limerick (this year) deserve this for all their efforts?
If you think its a waste of time as it doesn't promote the sport in the US - i) its on the tv here so I'd imagine its promoting the sport locally, ii) hurling will never replace the big four in the US but its a nice change of scene, iii) there's a lot of diaspora in the north east of the US and the attendance was higher than a lot of senior hurling games in the league and championship this year so, while modest enough, it showed a degree of interest and iv) I'd be very surprised if the marketing department in the GAA didn't do a cost benefit analysis of the increase in brand awareness as a result of holding this tournament and established that it was a worthwhile endeavour.

Over several different threads, posters have said that the GAA are not good at promoting the games (which I would largely agree with). Now they try something to promote it and they have it thrown back in their faces - damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Kurt_Angle (Dublin) - Posts: 567 - 21/11/2018 11:01:16    2151964

tomhealycork (Cork) - Posts: 80 - 21/11/2018 11:39:06    2151968

Kurt_Angle (Dublin) - Posts: 567 - 21/11/2018 14:36:59    2152010

Pile of Dung.

The_Fridge (Tyrone) - Posts: 2088 - 21/11/2018 15:19:32    2152016

Was at the matches on Sunday in Fenway, there was no way in hell there were 12,000 people there. Talking to the ticket agents, they said only 8000 tickets were sold, and of that amount, less then 4000 people showed. It is a great idea to play matches when all the season is over, but to play on half a field with no point scoring, 11 a side is a bad promotion of the fastest field game in the world. They should do this right, meaning find a park/stadium that will let for full match to happen. The ref was blowing his whistle every 2 mins, making the match completely unbearable. And just think, the New England Patriots were off that day, so if they were playing football, you wouldn't have anyone in Fenway. Great idea and concept, piss poor execution though. Just my 2 cents.

NarrowBack914 (USA) - Posts: 181 - 21/11/2018 15:25:17    2152017