[quote=âThe Wild Colonial Bhoy, post: 845990, member: 80â]Itâs only in dear old Ireland that one sporting organisation regards other organisations as a threat and seeks to undermine them by muscling in on sporting facilities, grabbing all the funding to ensure others donât get it â and constantly spouting feverish, nationalistic and completely one-sided propaganda guff in an attempt to portray themselves as the saviour to all things sporting and cultural in Ireland (and everyone else as somehow inferior and less deserving).
Do the jersied hordes who jump on the despotic bandwagon every year not realise that they are financially supporting probably the biggest openly fascist organisation in Europe? Or is fascism okay when itâs on your side?[/quote]
Allow me to introduce you to the NRL, AFL, FFA, Cricket Australia and ARU.
Cobh is the home of little englanders, riddled with scrotes from years of local tars riding the english sailors itâs no surprise that soccer is popular there. You may as well be in some shithole like Blackpool as be in Cobh.[/quote]
Youâve obviously never been to Blackpool.
English clubs not cast their scouting net around the world to Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Spain - all countries with a history of fascist dictatorships and a tradition of football. Young lads are less likely to make it professionally in football than in previous generations and less likely again to play for a big successful club.
Rugby is interesting as the professional game, academies and a chance to make a living playing rugby has attracted players to the game from other sports like GAA. However the money is drying up, reports of severe and life changing injuries and the prospect of some high profile Irish players in wheelchairs in a few years may mean parents steer kids away from it as a sport.
Athletics - is dead on its feet in this country - little or no financial reward and the carding system sees athletes having to race to stay supported meaning they burn out. Some exceptions but I donât think Rob Heffernanâs gold medal will change anything until athletes are made to come together centrally to pool training and other resources like the boxers have done.
GAA is a default choice for many because it is central to a community and facilities are in place to support players.
Youâd wonder though sometimes about what the future holdsâŚ
You go to our canteen on a friday and it will be all chat about who is going to see Connacht. They look at me as if I have 2 heads when I tell them I have zero interest and that its lightly Iâll attend a few club GAA games on Sunday. Myself and another fella who is a die hard Salthill Devon follower sit and ignore these easily bought cunts.
[quote=âKinvaraâs Passion, post: 846744, member: 686â]Youâd wonder though sometimes about what the future holdsâŚ
You go to our canteen on a friday and it will be all chat about who is going to see Connacht. They look at me as if I have 2 heads when I tell them I have zero interest and that its lightly Iâll attend a few club GAA games on Sunday. Myself and another fella who is a die hard Salthill Devon follower sit and ignore these easily bought cunts.
Connacht Rugby FFS.[/quote]
The support base they have created defies all logic. I go in to them once or twice a year but i used to laugh at the way they pushed every game as if it was do or die in papers road signs etc but it has worked unbelievably well. Theyve tapped into a niche of blow ins, d4 wannabes and very importantly for them, women who want to be seen down there before hitting buskers on a friday. The hardcore rugby support numbered just in the few hundreds 10 years ago. Back then the place was empty for celtic league games. I think they offer a welcoming support option for people who maybe have no direct connection to their local gaa club and who if they went to gaa games would feel out of the loop compared to people who would know players etc. A lot of this crowd went to croke park to see the hurlers when they were high profile and going well but the thing about rugby is they have a few guaranteed high profile matches to look forward to every year. They have the gaa beaten up a stick, the national league is no more meaningless than the rabo league but you wouldnât believe it going by the hype.