Iāve always found it odd that sky, despite apparently getting only a couple of thousand viewers for championship games in the UK, keep purchasing the rights, along with an exclusion clause for GAAgo.
Boom.
A lot of counties and the ones you mention are well able to tap in to diaspora to generate funds . I know Kerry and Tyrone do very well in the USA and say Mayo too .
I assume in co vid era this tap will be only a trickle if not turned off .
Make no mistake the GAA will feel the hit in a big way .
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Hurling is a better sport so I think a lot of people would have thought that
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All well and good for the dubs to go pro, they will draw all the money and go for 20 in a row. Everyone amateur creates a more level playing field compared to full time professional level. It would create a system where the top 30 players in a county will get everything at the expense of bord na nogs. GPA are hungry cunts. On the flip side would you blame the players for asking for money?
Yes
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I am not glossing over the fact. I am saying or highlighting how important the grass roots/amateur ethos are in any organisation. Rugby is driven by elitism and where it puts all its resources. GAA to its credit isnāt like that even if some ranks think it should. Now that the tide has gone out you can see who has been swimming naked. I dont believe Ireland is big enough to sustain any professional support. You can point to smaller countries who do but they dont have amateur sports like GAA which are most popular played and viewed and where everyone in the country supports a soccer team in another jurisdiction.
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No harm to see the inter county gravy train come to a halt.
It was acknowledged by GAA and even GPA it could never go professional. A lot of rugby people said same about Irish club/provincial rugby and will be vindicated.
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LoLz. The GPA may have said it, but they never for a second meant it.
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Every single pro sport from racing to rugby and anything in between will be in dire straits in the next few months if crowds arenāt back.
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Thereāll be big trouble in some of the lower tiers in particular in England. Below championship in soccer they are all in a bind
The Irish rugby football team has always been well supported, better than the association football national team. Thatās your staying power.
In terms of the point about the āsocial aspectā and ābandwagonersā, this is hilarious. Association football in Ireland is popular, but Irish association football is the definition of bandwagon. Indeed, John Delaney long ago realised that the way to the association football fan in this country was a few free drinks.
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All sport in Ireland has a huge bandwagon element . GAA , rugby and soccer . We are a big day nation of sports fans .
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And other countries arent?
The house of cards will fall in very soon. The premier league is just like a property bubble.
Hopefully inter county gaa is fucked from it. The money spent on running inter county teams is offensive.
Hopefully itās also the end of paid coaches at club level also.
It would be wonderful if straight knock out championships came back but being honest
Sport without fans is fairly dire to watch. Even golf is a struggle.
Itās very bad in Ireland. Theyāll jump on any bandwagon. Look at gaa attendances for league games and then all Ireland semi finals. Itās a complete bandwagon.
Limerick had about 5k in an all Ireland quarter final in 2018 and then 40k wanted tickets for the semi final.
Iād say Championship clubs are in every bit as much of a bind if not more. All of them are leveraged to the eye balls chasing the golden ticket that is the premier league TV money.
Id say your average league one and league two side while hugely dependent on match day revenues and probably fucked for in medium term wouldnāt have anywhere near the level of debt to revenue.
The social supporters in Rugby are at the provisional games, the national team is widely supported regardless but you would rarely get the same people at an AIL game and a pro 14 game. This is across munster, big Dublin clubs and ulster clubs.
The national team is largely corporate entertainment Clubs raffle off their tickets to corporates to raise money.