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Testimonials for individuals - in the GAA?

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Replying To Spoddgy:  "Are you Jerry kiernan in disguise?"
There's a tendency for GAA players to think they put more effort in than other athletes and it's rubbish.

Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 27/09/2017 15:27:47    2051062

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Replying To Laois76:  "There's a tendency for GAA players to think they put more effort in than other athletes and it's rubbish."
Difference is, those Olympic athletes get (admittedly modest) stipends so that they can concentrate full-time on their training. This isn't the case with GAA athletes, by and large.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 27/09/2017 17:22:15    2051088

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Replying To Gleebo:  "Difference is, those Olympic athletes get (admittedly modest) stipends so that they can concentrate full-time on their training. This isn't the case with GAA athletes, by and large."
Not even talking about Olympic level Gleebo. Go to your local triathlon club and see the hours that are put in by amateurs. All types of sports, martial arts, cross country runners who don't make national teams, amateur cyclists, Your top 10 800m/1500m runners in any county put as many hours in with core work, speed work.

I've seen county men at my local athletics club who couldn't keep up a speed night. They were unable to keep up with a lot of runners doing 8 to 10 800m with 60 second intervals. So county players aren't unique in their training.

Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 27/09/2017 18:40:15    2051119

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Replying To MesAmis:  "dent in his legacy?..sounds like a reach
alano12 (Dublin) - Posts:2003 - 27/09/2017 02:23:28

Maybe not phrased correctly.

He's entitled to do it and best of luck to him with it.

However I don't think it is outlandish to think that this will colour people's thinking about him from now on as it can be viewed as being a little greedy.

It doesn't dent his legacy in terms of his playing ability at all but it will affect how people remember him in general. It won't affect everyone but a lot of people will have a different outlook on him following this I think."
Agree with you there that the holier than thou image dome have will be altered

alano12 (Dublin) - Posts: 2208 - 27/09/2017 22:28:00    2051183

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Classic GAA contradiction & implementation of rules, sanction the event, then complain about it & say you won't be attending it, the amateur rule shattered & a precedent set for all time. They have shown through this, the SKY deal, the GPA deal that the advance of commercialism & the set up of professionalism is very much the agenda. What is most galling about all this is the statement by Revenue that they won't be taxing the income beggars belief & is a smack in the face to hard working taxpayers. Is it now ok to take in €300,000 link it with some charity & not pay any tax ? Unbelievable.

Uimhir.a.3. (Galway) - Posts: 409 - 27/09/2017 22:54:00    2051196

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Replying To Uimhir.a.3.:  "Classic GAA contradiction & implementation of rules, sanction the event, then complain about it & say you won't be attending it, the amateur rule shattered & a precedent set for all time. They have shown through this, the SKY deal, the GPA deal that the advance of commercialism & the set up of professionalism is very much the agenda. What is most galling about all this is the statement by Revenue that they won't be taxing the income beggars belief & is a smack in the face to hard working taxpayers. Is it now ok to take in €300,000 link it with some charity & not pay any tax ? Unbelievable."
Where did you hear that the GAA sanctioned the event? Just because they're not taking action to prevent it (because there is no clear rule against it) does not mean that they are sanctioning it. As far as I am aware, and I will happily stand corrected, Paraic Duffy was approached about it and was asked if it could take place in Croke Park. That is not happening. Cooper was quoted in ione newspaper as saying that Duffy gave it the green light but he may be giving a very loose interpretation of what actually transpired. I have no inside track on what happend.

Sindar (Roscommon) - Posts: 348 - 28/09/2017 09:28:54    2051241

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Replying To Laois76:  "There's a tendency for GAA players to think they put more effort in than other athletes and it's rubbish."
29 green thumbs...surely that's a record!

Id much rather have that than a testimonial!!

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 28/09/2017 10:55:04    2051271

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Replying To bumpernut:  "29 green thumbs...surely that's a record!

Id much rather have that than a testimonial!!"
It's embarassing Bumpernut! Any post i put effort into generally gets unnoticed, which is perfect, i post for the sake of the post. Then a one line statement. WTF?

Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 28/09/2017 12:57:07    2051315

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Replying To Laois76:  "It's embarassing Bumpernut! Any post i put effort into generally gets unnoticed, which is perfect, i post for the sake of the post. Then a one line statement. WTF?"
Yep you're better keeping it short and sweet Laois....Ive the attention span of a gold fish myself!

Ironically a post having a 'pop' at GAA players on a GAA forum is one of the most popular posts in a long time.

Methinks there's eggchasers about! :)

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 28/09/2017 15:12:40    2051377

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Replying To bumpernut:  "Yep you're better keeping it short and sweet Laois....Ive the attention span of a gold fish myself!

Ironically a post having a 'pop' at GAA players on a GAA forum is one of the most popular posts in a long time.

Methinks there's eggchasers about! :)"
I think maybe gaa people are involved in a lot of sports across the board and see that there's so much effort put in, in so many sports. I'd say they are genuine gaa posters. It's funny i was accused of being a gaa brown noser not so long ago! Also my brother has an account KK1926 and i was being accused of multi liking. At least it puts that to bed!! I don't know how you'd like 30 times!! But it doesn't mean anything. I love reading good posts and like everyone i enjoy if i think i put a coherent argument forward for some point and don't get too emotional. Which is hard!

Also i think Colm's testimonial has just pushed things a little too far. It's a bit of a 'i'm more special than any other gaa player' statement. I'm a dyed in the wool gaa man but when i retired and took up other sports, running in particular, it opened my eyes. There are huge benefits to being a gaa player that someone who participates in a minority sport, with the same effort, don't receive.

Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 28/09/2017 15:59:18    2051390

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Just a couple of points. 1. How much has Joe Brolly earned from his RTE/Indo work over the past 20 years? Has Joe's 'amateur ethos' mentality dictated his media work? Has he kept the proceeds or donated them to charity/good causes? 2.. The GAA has long, long since lost it's soul and principles when it comes to money with certain individuals, counties, clubs, managers, coaches, gurus, dieticians etc all getting financial reward. 3. Colm Cooper is doing no different and good luck to him. Anything negative said about this is just TOTAL hypocrisy.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9816 - 28/09/2017 17:37:34    2051420

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A couple of things on this.

First off the idea that this money being made is damaging to the game etc, that boat has well and truly sailed.

When I listened to Sean Kelly talk about him and Bertie ahern of all people coming together to set aside special funding for dublin gaa it reminded me of the shadiest of deals yet when questioned about whether that same level of funding was appropriate now considering what smaller counties are going through his answer was the smaller counties should just play in a second tier competition and get on with it. He may as well have said let them eat cake. And this isn't anything anti dublin so please don't make it out to be, it's anti gaa at the very top. Money has already ruined the gaa what with manager under th table payments and a sustained level of financial doping already in place. Yet now people are up in arms because a player will make a few quid.

Oh it's against the spirit of the game apparently but the disparity of funding across the counties isn't? Under the table payments isn't? When you dig down into the disparity between what players get depending on the county of their birth etc the amateur ethics of the association has been dead for quite a while.

Now is the gooch more entitled to this than any other player who's retired etc. In my opinion absolutely not. But he's the first to test the waters with this, should he not because others are as deserving as him but haven't done so? Does the player in counties with more advantages turn down said advantages because his competitors in smaller counties don't have them?

And we need to be aware of who this is aimed at. There's is an assumption that it's somehow taking advantage of the ordinary fan who goes out selling tickets to keep the club afloat etc. But does it really, it's a corporate gig in Dublin. In reality there's not going to be any ordinary fan out of pocket in attendance to begin with. Is it really that big an issue if a gaa player fleeces a few rich corporate entities to gather a few quid together for himself and in the mean time help out a few charities? Do all our after dinner speakers who do the circuit give any of their money to charities?

I do understand and agree with the opposition to this on the basis of what we all want to believe the gaa aspires to be, I'm just not sure anymore that those aspirations hold true in this modern day version of the gaa to begin with.

tearintom (Wexford) - Posts: 1480 - 28/09/2017 18:03:45    2051427

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Replying To alano12:  "colm cooper sacrificed a lot for the gaa..have no issue with it..the man is retired and if he wants to make a few quid off what he achieved than so be it"
Its his own business as far as I'm concerned but if fools which to participate that fine. Saying that he put a lot into the game does not add up with me- many many GAA players have put in as much or more into the game and some of these were from clubs or counties which won nothing and were never hardly hear off. It is supposed to be an amateur sport. Now he is probably as deserving of a few bob as all the managers/fitness gurus/ and whatever other titles we may put on the army that backs up the larger more successful county teams.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 28/09/2017 19:01:12    2051438

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Replying To Ulsterman:  "Just a couple of points. 1. How much has Joe Brolly earned from his RTE/Indo work over the past 20 years? Has Joe's 'amateur ethos' mentality dictated his media work? Has he kept the proceeds or donated them to charity/good causes? 2.. The GAA has long, long since lost it's soul and principles when it comes to money with certain individuals, counties, clubs, managers, coaches, gurus, dieticians etc all getting financial reward. 3. Colm Cooper is doing no different and good luck to him. Anything negative said about this is just TOTAL hypocrisy."
Ex player-pundits do what they do as a job. Whether you agree or disagree with these pundits, they have a commercial value for a paying public (via whatever media outlet is paying them). Ex players and managers cashing in has been around for decades but the difference is they actually work for their money.
A guy I used to know from Granard set up a GAA club in Barcelona 15 years ago, one that is still going today. A hell of lot of work went into it. He's a nobody in GAA terms (meant with the greatest respect). For two years he's been trying to raise 70K to beat MS that he suffers from. My point being that there are thousands of volunteers in the GAA who have put in as much time as our top players and they all do it because they love it and get something out of it. Cooper may have ruinnd that entire ethos for many of those.

Sindar (Roscommon) - Posts: 348 - 28/09/2017 20:00:09    2051459

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Replying To Sindar:  "Ex player-pundits do what they do as a job. Whether you agree or disagree with these pundits, they have a commercial value for a paying public (via whatever media outlet is paying them). Ex players and managers cashing in has been around for decades but the difference is they actually work for their money.
A guy I used to know from Granard set up a GAA club in Barcelona 15 years ago, one that is still going today. A hell of lot of work went into it. He's a nobody in GAA terms (meant with the greatest respect). For two years he's been trying to raise 70K to beat MS that he suffers from. My point being that there are thousands of volunteers in the GAA who have put in as much time as our top players and they all do it because they love it and get something out of it. Cooper may have ruinnd that entire ethos for many of those."
Well said

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 28/09/2017 20:49:19    2051477

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Let's stop this pretend, insulting, patronising crap that the GAA is still "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". It is fantasist, nostalgic bull of the highest order. Cooper looks around him and sees elements making a small fortune out of the GAA, elements who never contributed to the Association a hundredth of what Colm Cooper did, and he thinks. "I'll make a few quid, why the hell shouldn't I?"........and why the hell shouldn't he? Those going on about tradition rhubarb, rhubarb, that went up like Dorothy's house in The Wizard of Oz.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9816 - 28/09/2017 21:22:04    2051487

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Replying To Ulsterman:  "Let's stop this pretend, insulting, patronising crap that the GAA is still "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". It is fantasist, nostalgic bull of the highest order. Cooper looks around him and sees elements making a small fortune out of the GAA, elements who never contributed to the Association a hundredth of what Colm Cooper did, and he thinks. "I'll make a few quid, why the hell shouldn't I?"........and why the hell shouldn't he? Those going on about tradition rhubarb, rhubarb, that went up like Dorothy's house in The Wizard of Oz."
There are a lot of very good ex county footballers and hurlers around the country in a bad way mentally or physically.Why should Cooper good and all as he was Make a fortune whilst these men live in misery.

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1689 - 28/09/2017 22:16:45    2051502

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Replying To browncows:  "Its his own business as far as I'm concerned but if fools which to participate that fine. Saying that he put a lot into the game does not add up with me- many many GAA players have put in as much or more into the game and some of these were from clubs or counties which won nothing and were never hardly hear off. It is supposed to be an amateur sport. Now he is probably as deserving of a few bob as all the managers/fitness gurus/ and whatever other titles we may put on the army that backs up the larger more successful county teams."
how many tickets did others sell when compared with him?...the guy was a major star and still is..thats what i mean..not disputing the massive effort countless people have put in but dont pretend like he hasnt made the gaa money

alano12 (Dublin) - Posts: 2208 - 29/09/2017 00:26:30    2051549

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Replying To Ulsterman:  "Just a couple of points. 1. How much has Joe Brolly earned from his RTE/Indo work over the past 20 years? Has Joe's 'amateur ethos' mentality dictated his media work? Has he kept the proceeds or donated them to charity/good causes? 2.. The GAA has long, long since lost it's soul and principles when it comes to money with certain individuals, counties, clubs, managers, coaches, gurus, dieticians etc all getting financial reward. 3. Colm Cooper is doing no different and good luck to him. Anything negative said about this is just TOTAL hypocrisy."
So JB working in a job as an analyst for RTE would be the same as hosting a dinner in aid of himself .?
Disappointed in gooch to be honest and I feel more sorry for his club members who organise lottos and fundraisers . He would not be popular in my club if he didnt give a sizeable chunk of the dough to help the club .
If he's not bothered with that then he's sunk in my estimations as a man - .. as the man once said ..

Finsceal (None) - Posts: 559 - 29/09/2017 16:11:38    2051740

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Replying To overinthewest:  "It is so wrong - on so many levels - pure greed. He is done so much for clubs around the country and then does this - forget about all the volunteers who helped mould him into the player he was

I'm disappointed, disgusted, and mad.

A bit like the baseball movie about the Boston red sox taking the bribes " Say it ain't so"

Reputation tarnished and sullied - Joe Brolly is 100% correct on this"
I agree with you 100%, Gooch has been on radio ant tv now trying to promote his book and explain away/shrug off this testimonial controversy, promoting his book etc. I don't know the whole thing seems wrong,Ray Darcy is doing his usual brown nosing act on RTE radio with the Gooch at the minute.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3172 - 09/10/2017 15:35:28    2054161

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