National Forum

Donal O'Gs Comments On Football In General And The TC In Particular

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Replying To oneoff:  "There are few things more cringe than listening to the likes of Donal Og talk about hurling and trying so desperately hard to make it out to be something it's not."
What are you on about?

ecad123 (Galway) - Posts: 272 - 17/05/2023 21:22:27    2479320

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I agree. It's a minority sport that has little appeal outside a small number of counties. Yet corporations are expected to bow down to it."
Fully agree,I'm a hurling man first but please believe Donal og doesn't represent the hurling people,if he had any class he would apologise but think his ego is too big, football is more popular than hurling in Ireland,I have no problem with that.

cityman73 (Limerick) - Posts: 783 - 17/05/2023 21:22:36    2479321

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "No, I agree the football championship shouldn't be termed the All Ireland but at least in the football there are 16 teams competing for the title. Yes, it could be argued that there are probably only 5 or 6 teams that can realistically win the football championship which also applies realistically to the hurling championship. The main difference I see between the football and the hurling is there are a lot of counties that play in two football championships than compete in the hurling equivalents. I don't agree that there should be a third tier in the football championship. The provincial should be scrapped as it is not working. If you look at the two provincial championship that are a success: muster in hurling and ulster in football, in my opinion, the reason they are success is that all the counties are predominantly focusing on one code - football in ulster with the exception of Antrim and hurling in muster with the exception of Kerry. Maybe, there in lies the solution. Should counties focus on the code they are strongest in and not try to compete in two codes? Cork, Galway and Dublin are probably the only counties that are playing both to a high standard but maybe this is down to resources and playing population."
There are not 16 teams competing for the title, most of them and only trying to park the bus and keep a reasonable score but the are not trying to win!

ecad123 (Galway) - Posts: 272 - 17/05/2023 21:27:40    2479323

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Replying To Crinigan:  "Just the usual hurling high horse mentality. These types live in a bubble - nobody in the world gives a fiddlers or has any interest in the sport outside of a few counties in Ireland. To me it's incredibly boring and over rated - ball is either out of play or high up in the air and you can score a point from literally anywhere. I turn it over as soon as I see it on tv and I know many like this - there is a reason it's a dying sport. Donal Og would want to wake up."
Like in fairness there is not that much to football, the only thing it has is that almost any one can play it as the skill set is not very high, if you are athletic and fast then you are set, like I myself can't stand the way football has gone, like where is the skill in handpassing? And in fairness that's what 95% of the game is now, even points and goals are hand passes it's nearly a cure for insomnia!

ecad123 (Galway) - Posts: 272 - 17/05/2023 21:38:33    2479326

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I knew football was dead when I witnessed Galway v Sligo in the Connaght final and Kerry v Clare.

Had to turn both games off at half time, most boring one sides games you'd ever see for finals.

Don't even get me started on Dublin v Louth, was like watching an under 14 team trying to defend against a senior team, how people pay €35 in to watch these football finals is beyond me!

Give me a Clare v Limerick Munster hurling final or Wexford v Kilkenny Leinster hurling final anyday ahead of this one sided affairs!

Past hurler (None) - Posts: 922 - 18/05/2023 07:45:51    2479337

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Replying To Viking66:  "It's only a minority support because some counties and clubs don't promote it properly as they should. Both football and hurling should be promoted equally. The GAA is the GAA, not the HA or GFA."
2021 viewer numbers
All Ireland Football Final - Mayo v Tyrone 944k
All Ireland Hurling Final - Limerick v Cork 774k

2022
Football final - 872k
Hurling final - 786

So Football gathers a larger audience BUT still massive audiences (football 2nd most watched after the Late Late Toy show, hurling 4th just behind Ireland v France (rugby) which gained 818k so I would suggest you are confusing the number of teams playing at the top tier with interest level. Looking at football, there are a good number of aspiring teams but in truth there are just a handful of real All Ireland contenders.

Looking at research (granted its from 2014) for the list of the top ten most popular sporting activities is interesting

Exercise 12.2%
Swimming 9.4%
Running 8.5%
Cycling 5.9%
Soccer 5.9%
Dancing 4.3%
GAA 4.0%
Golf 3.3%
Weights 2.9%
Rugby 1.4%

wexford2012 (Wexford) - Posts: 92 - 18/05/2023 08:14:16    2479341

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Donal ógs comments were poor but lost in all of this has been the real lack of coverage by RTE of the McDonagh Cup compared to the Tailteann Cup. Important that both are given similar exposure. We have to promote our games as best we can. I would hazard a guess that many of our Football and Hurling snobs will put other sports eg Rugby or football ahead of one of our own.

HurlingObserver (Down) - Posts: 66 - 18/05/2023 09:31:45    2479352

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The problem with GAA live coverage is that it's decided which games will be shown too far in advance. RTE were due to show all four provincial finals before a ball was kicked. It didn't take alot of foresight to see that only the Ulster final would be worth watching. Had there been more flexibility in the decision to show certain games then the Munster Hurling championship would be mainly on RTE and then GAA Go could cover the provincial football finals(except Ulster). In that scenario, the Ulster championship can still be covered on RTE along with the big 3 in Connacht.

PK57 (Louth) - Posts: 1661 - 18/05/2023 09:57:45    2479356

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Replying To Galway9801:  "Almost every sport on earth is a minority sport with a limited appeal outside its traditional enclaves.
That goes back to history,culture, a game being passed down through generations, or spread through empire, migration etc,, and has little to do with aesthetics.
Hurling is a wonderful and unique part of our heritage."
Very true, And at the risk of being considered to be a snob in general, the most popular things tend to be the simplest and require the least skill and nurturing.

Hence soccer, rap, soap opera, etc, etc rather than higher forms of culture. Among which are hurling in an Irish context.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3512 - 18/05/2023 10:00:06    2479357

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I agree. It's a minority sport that has little appeal outside a small number of counties. Yet corporations are expected to bow down to it."
Nonsense. Go to any Munster final (can't speak for Leinster) and there are people from all over the country in attendance.

bloodandbandage (Cork) - Posts: 377 - 18/05/2023 10:11:15    2479360

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Very true, And at the risk of being considered to be a snob in general, the most popular things tend to be the simplest and require the least skill and nurturing.

Hence soccer, rap, soap opera, etc, etc rather than higher forms of culture. Among which are hurling in an Irish context."
You can now add Gaelic football to the list… no skill required just be able to run around in circles for 70 minutes…..An experience in basketball would also help…!!

ForeverBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 3818 - 18/05/2023 10:14:30    2479362

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I'll ask the question,why can't the news channel on RTÉ be used to show a hurling match in McCarthy or Mc donagh championship??it looks to me that RTÉ have no rights to matches on Saturday..why??with staggered times shouldn't be a problem..the channel I mentioned showed under 17 soccer yesterday..can I also say thanks to tg4 for covering the under 17/20 competitions,we'd never see them only for it.

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2507 - 18/05/2023 10:49:38    2479372

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TG4 coverage is great, I watched Munster U20 final on Monday on it and many minor matches. I see no reason why not give them championship matches.

ExiledInWex (Dublin) - Posts: 1336 - 18/05/2023 12:28:21    2479407

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Very true, And at the risk of being considered to be a snob in general, the most popular things tend to be the simplest and require the least skill and nurturing.

Hence soccer, rap, soap opera, etc, etc rather than higher forms of culture. Among which are hurling in an Irish context."
So you think soccer is simple and requires little skill !! LOL

Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1558 - 18/05/2023 12:40:03    2479411

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Replying To Onion Breath:  "So you think soccer is simple and requires little skill !! LOL"
Lesser rather than little would be the correct term in comparison to higher level sports.

Same as it requires less skill or training or talent to shout into a microphone about capping pigs, than it does to sing a part in Verdi.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3512 - 18/05/2023 13:16:37    2479419

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Very true, And at the risk of being considered to be a snob in general, the most popular things tend to be the simplest and require the least skill and nurturing.

Hence soccer, rap, soap opera, etc, etc rather than higher forms of culture. Among which are hurling in an Irish context."
Soccer requires an incredible amount of skill to play at the highest level. Far far more than Gaelic football if we are being honest.

Meath10 (Meath) - Posts: 199 - 18/05/2023 13:43:35    2479424

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It is time for these two sports to parts ways a they have nothing in common other than the players. Hurling is close to ice hockey and football of late closer to soccer. It used be closer to rugby and Australian football or American football. It is not about snobbery. Having had a group of North Americans watching ours games. A football game first and then the hurling game. No interest in the football match and on the edge of their seats without a sound for the hurling game. Personally for me football was my first love and never missed an All-Ireland. I would not go across the road to watch the garbage played today.

Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 3035 - 18/05/2023 14:11:12    2479433

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Just caught up reading all the thread, whilst I agree that there is certain snobbery in hurling but after reading this Gaelic football people are equally as snobbish.

DuhallowRed (Cork) - Posts: 310 - 18/05/2023 14:23:48    2479436

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Replying To Viking66:  "It's only a minority support because some counties and clubs don't promote it properly as they should. Both football and hurling should be promoted equally. The GAA is the GAA, not the HA or GFA."
It's more than that and this just ignores history. Clubs should decide which sport they play. Hurling has never been played in many clubs in Donegal since they were founded. It's not part of the culture.

Rolo2010 (Donegal) - Posts: 746 - 18/05/2023 14:36:29    2479438

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Replying To Canuck:  "It is time for these two sports to parts ways a they have nothing in common other than the players. Hurling is close to ice hockey and football of late closer to soccer. It used be closer to rugby and Australian football or American football. It is not about snobbery. Having had a group of North Americans watching ours games. A football game first and then the hurling game. No interest in the football match and on the edge of their seats without a sound for the hurling game. Personally for me football was my first love and never missed an All-Ireland. I would not go across the road to watch the garbage played today."
I'm fine with that. At least we wouldn't have to deal with your type anymore. We get to keep Croke Park and the hurling final can be played in Semple.

Rolo2010 (Donegal) - Posts: 746 - 18/05/2023 14:48:19    2479440

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