Why donât you mention the fact you played AIL rugby?
[QUOTE=âchewy louie, post: 919241, member: 1137â]Maybe, but I think some people are trying too hard to be offended by rugby all the same. While we can debate the merits of it and the fact that fuck all teams/countries play it, we have been competitive/relatively successful at in between the provinces and international side since the turn of the millenium and that will always draw in your casual fans.
I used to play a bit in my early teen and atteneded a lot of games in my late teens and early twentys but am fairly indifferent to it these days. But some lads on here are almost falling over themselves to have a go at rugby and are as bad as the casual fans who lap up all the media stuff[/QUOTE]
If Tom McGurk issues a simple statement stating that rugby is not the heartbeat of the nation I will never bad mouth the sport again⌠Itâs more than the media for me. Itâs every clueless cunt asking me did I see the match and wanting to offer their opinion even though they know fuck all about the game. The status chasing socialite women that tag along. Being hushed in a pub when a kick is being taken. Having soccer or even GAA turned off for some no mark rugby game involving Munster and some made up Italian team. ⌠I could go on, but it attracts a far greater level of cuntishness than any other sport around⌠Itâs been said before, it isânt sport as we want it to be- Tribal, passionate and a sense of us verses them, itâs a social occasion. While that has itâs place too, donât rub it in my face as if it is the embodiment of our sporting nation because itâs not, it doesnât even represent our nation.
For arguements sake, if Wimbledon had relocated to Dublin that time in the late 90s and were an established EPL side you can be guarenteed you would have a very similar bandwagon about them as there is about Irish rugby. I donât really blame rugby, it has done a very good job in marketing its game and other sports could learn from it.
The issue here is the follow the flock mentality of your average Irish sportsfan who is very easily led, âsure Iâll go along for the craicâ mentality and not rugby football.Rugby football has meerly exploited
I think @Rocko is an awful old clown at times but by God that is a tremendous piece of writing.
Bravo.
This is my favourite bit.
Italy and Scotland are so bad that a win against them is the equivalent of Ireland beating a team like Moldova in association football. And Ireland actually lost to both of them last year.
Ireland effectively won 2 matches out of 3 in a four team competition. Big fucking deal.
As Iâve previously stated, Ireland did very similarly to how they did in 2001. They won four (if you want to include the two dead rubbers) out of five matches in the Six Nations, and threw away a big lead to lose to New Zealand late on in a friendly.
In 2001 they avoided the ignominy of being thrashed in a friendly by Australia and they beat an England team who would go on to win the next World Cup and a France team who had reached the previous World Cup final. The coach was sacked as a result of this record and there was no media hysteria either as a result of these wins or the sacking of the coach, in fact much media opinion supported the sacking.
In 2014, Ireland lost to England, which they did not do in 2001. France and Wales were poor this year, France because of poor coaching and disorganisation and the fact that they generally donât take the tournament that seriously anymore*, and Wales because they are suffering the after-effects of the heroic efforts of their players for the British Loins. Ireland did no more or no less than what should have been expected of them this year.
Cue mass media hysteria.
*Iâd bet a large amount of money that France will roll Ireland over fairly easily in October 2015.
[QUOTE=âchewy louie, post: 919241, member: 1137â]Maybe, but I think some people are trying too hard to be offended by rugby all the same. While we can debate the merits of it and the fact that fuck all teams/countries play it, we have been competitive/relatively successful at in between the provinces and international side since the turn of the millenium and that will always draw in your casual fans.
I used to play a bit in my early teen and atteneded a lot of games in my late teens and early twentys but am fairly indifferent to it these days. But some lads on here are almost falling over themselves to have a go at rugby and are as bad as the casual fans who lap up all the media stuff[/QUOTE]
I take your point chewy. One clown I know had a status update on Facebook on Saturday morning listing all the French things he was buying (croissants etc) to show his solidarity against Ireland.
But I think Rockoâs article was pretty well reasoned out.
[QUOTE=âchewy louie, post: 919241, member: 1137â]Maybe, but I think some people are trying too hard to be offended by rugby all the same. While we can debate the merits of it and the fact that fuck all teams/countries play it, we have been competitive/relatively successful at in between the provinces and international side since the turn of the millenium and that will always draw in your casual fans.
I used to play a bit in my early teen and atteneded a lot of games in my late teens and early twentys but am fairly indifferent to it these days. But some lads on here are almost falling over themselves to have a go at rugby and are as bad as the casual fans who lap up all the media stuff[/QUOTE]
I totally agree with @chewy louie.
The thing I donât understand is why people who donât like rugby care so much about the fact that people do like it. @Rocko, why do you give a shit here? 1300+ words.
All sports have flaws. If you donât like it, donât watch it, donât read it. Cut it out of your life.
I donât think this would be an issue if there were Premier League teams based out of Dublin, Cork and Galway. But a sports mad, event junkie ridden country wants to go to something and rugby was first up and best dressed when peopleâs wages started inflating. The fact that the majority of the unwashed masses are utterly clueless about the sport is irrelevant. Itâs not like the nation is full to the brim with footballing connoisseurs either. The general public are thick as shit, follow big events and try to align themselves with winners. So why be surprised when it happens? Bandwagoners in jumping on bandwagon shocker.
If there was a 6 Nations in soccer, involving the same 6 nations, how many times would we have beaten everyone? More than twice?
Thatâs the point of the article. Itâs very difficult to avoid it if you donât like it.
Iâm indifferent enough to rugby myself. cant say I hate it with a passion, nor do I love it, but I would watch it and on occasion would enjoy it. I think anyone who watches sport would. It can be goddamn awful to watch too. Its probably not the cool thing on here to admit, but I was genuinely happy to see Ireland beat France on Saturday.
one of the phenomenons I do see with rugby though is that it seems to have taken up a lot of people who generally used to have no interest in sport at all. They werenât into soccer, or GAA, or whatever, but now this was a ânewâ game, and they could seamlessly start following it with a passion and look like they are the biggest fan. Its a strange sort of band wagoning. Some lads I see following it now, never had any interest in sport at all when I was in school and younger, and definitely not rugby in its previous format, but now have themselves adorned in their provincial jersey and Irish jersey and are huge fans.
the over emphasis by the media though and the constant referencing of it as the big game, and even more so, the huge interest it generates for women for whatever reason, and now showing their putrid games on TV would grate on me. Some of the fawning over the âskillsâ players do would make you wonder had the person going on about it ever been on a sports field in their life.
Its almost like it is the new cool thing to be âinâ and conversely now the cool thing for the hipsters to be against.
[QUOTE=âchewy louie, post: 919246, member: 1137â]For arguements sake, if Wimbledon had relocated to Dublin that time in the late 90s and were an established EPL side you can be guarenteed you would have a very similar bandwagon about them as there is about Irish rugby. I donât really blame rugby, it has done a very good job in marketing its game and other sports could learn from it.
The issue here is the follow the flock mentality of your average Irish sportsfan who is very easily led, âsure Iâll go along for the craicâ mentality and not rugby football.Rugby football has meerly exploited[/QUOTE]
Thatâs a valid point, Chewy, and I have often said that the GAA could learn a thing or two from how rugby markets itself, but then, you are forgetting the media frenzy that lends its arm to this marketing regardless of how the team are actually doing. The players rarely get slated or abused in the same way their soccer counterparts, or other sports participants, do. Itâs a constant dialogue of âcapturing the imagination of the nationâ and itâs no coincidence that this tripe is being spouted by a certain class. And therein lies the problem with rugby, it has always been associated with a certain section of society and another group aspiring to be part of this class. Itâs not a sport as such, but a mentality, and one that our national broadcaster and media adhere to unfortunatley.
[QUOTE=âGman, post: 919254, member: 112â]Iâm indifferent enough to rugby myself. cant say I hate it with a passion, nor do I love it, but I would watch it and on occasion would enjoy it. I think anyone who watches sport would. It can be goddamn awful to watch too. Its probably not the cool thing on here to admit, but I was genuinely happy to see Ireland beat France on Saturday.
one of the phenomenons I do see with rugby though is that it seems to have taken up a lot of people who generally used to have no interest in sport at all. They werenât into soccer, or GAA, or whatever, but now this was a ânewâ game, and they could seamlessly start following it with a passion and look like they are the biggest fan. Its a strange sort of band wagoning. Some lads I see following it now, never had any interest in sport at all when I was in school and younger, and definitely not rugby in its previous format, but now have themselves adorned in their provincial jersey and Irish jersey and are huge fans.
the over emphasis by the media though and the constant referencing of it as the big game, and even more so, the huge interest it generates for women for whatever reason, and now showing their putrid games on TV would grate on me. Some of the fawning over the âskillsâ players do would make you wonder had the person going on about it ever been on a sports field in their life.
Its almost like it is the new cool thing to be âinâ and conversely now the cool thing for the hipsters to be against.[/QUOTE]
Members of TFK have always been against it- @Rocko and @Bandage* might be hipsters, but donât brand us all, mate.
- @Bandage is the embodiment of a hipster.
I donât think itâs that difficult if you actually want to do it as opposed to wanting to be offended by rugby.
There is a big difference.
International rugby is a social occasion rather than a real sport. No other sporting event generates the amount of social media commentary by women as rugby.
Very few people are depressed if their team loses. Lads waving to the camera in Twickenham as Ireland loses donât care enough.
It is not acceptable to rock along to most events wearing a GAA jersey or a soccer jersey but rugby is regarded as a âcut aboveâ so people feel like they can wear Munster jerseys and wind breakers in polite society.
[QUOTE=âcluaindiuic, post: 919257, member: 258â]I donât think itâs that difficult if you actually want to do it as opposed to wanting to be offended by rugby.
There is a big difference.[/QUOTE]
You canât even run two separate fantasy football teams without getting in a tiz⌠get out of here you fraud.
Again, huh?
This is bang on. I would know of a few proper techie nerds through work who would fall into this category. Once, one particular guy actually said to me âin comparison to rugby, how could I actually find football exciting?â In reality though, I think these types of nerds just donât have an appreciation for the skills of football as theyâve never given more than 5 minutes attention to the game in thier whole lifetime. Hence when they do see it in brief snapshots, they donât find it compelling. I assume many geeks fell for rugby as is both fashionable and you can use complicated lingo, which is right up their street.
I remember myself and @Mark Renton were at a freindâs party a few years ago and we had a debate with this girl about football being more skilful than rugby. She was one of these ultra posh private school girls who spoke in an english accent (even though she was born and bred in Ireland). She was actually perplexed and annoyed with myself and Mark that we could even suggest football was a more skilful game than rugby. Again, youâd wonder how much exposure to football she has had in her lifetime and therefore there is a pure ignorance. FFS, even most rugby people who donât like football will admit that football is a more skilful game.
[QUOTE=âTheUlteriorMotive, post: 919258, member: 2272â]International rugby is a social occasion rather than a real sport. No other sporting event generates the amount of social media commentary by women as rugby.
Very few people are depressed if their team loses. Lads waving to the camera in Twickenham as Ireland loses donât care enough.
It is not acceptable to rock along to most events wearing a GAA jersey or a soccer jersey but rugby is regarded as a âcut aboveâ so people feel like they can wear Munster jerseys and wind breakers in polite society.[/QUOTE]
As Jonathan Sexton was carried off on a stretcher on Saturday. two buffoons in Ireland jerseys spotted themselves on the big screen and spent the next five seconds jumping up and down and waving gormlessly at themselves.
If rugby was a radio programme, it would be the Colm and Jim Jim Breakfast Show.
[QUOTE=âSidney, post: 919262, member: 183â]
If rugby was a radio programme, it would be the Colm and Jim Jim Breakfast Show.[/QUOTE]
Brilliant 
[QUOTE=âPhil Leotardo, post: 919261, member: 197â]This is bang on. I would know of a few proper techie nerds through work who would fall into this category. Once, one particular guy actually said to me âin comparison to rugby, how could I actually find football exciting?â In reality though, I think these types of nerds just donât have an appreciation for the skills of football as theyâve never given more than 5 minutes attention to the game. Hence when they do see it in brief snapshots, they donât find it compelling. I assume, many nerds fell for rugby as is both fashionable and you can use complicated lingo, which is right up their street.
I remember myself and @Mark Renton were at a freindâs party a few years ago and we had a debate with this girl about football being more skilful than rugby. She was one of these ultra posh private school girls who spoke in an english accent (even though she was born and bred in Ireland). She was actually perplexed and annoyed with myself and Mark that we could even suggest football was a more skilful game than rugby. Again, youâd wonder how much exposure to football she has had in her lifetime and therefore there is a pure ignorance. FFS, even most rugby people who donât like football will admit that football is a more skilful game.[/QUOTE]
Tom McGurk and other panellists on Sundayâs Marian Finucaneâs South Dublin Coffee Morning just couldnât help having a go at association football.
[QUOTE=âGman, post: 919254, member: 112â]Iâm indifferent enough to rugby myself. cant say I hate it with a passion, nor do I love it, but I would watch it and on occasion would enjoy it. I think anyone who watches sport would. It can be goddamn awful to watch too. Its probably not the cool thing on here to admit, but I was genuinely happy to see Ireland beat France on Saturday.
one of the phenomenons I do see with rugby though is that it seems to have taken up a lot of people who generally used to have no interest in sport at all. They werenât into soccer, or GAA, or whatever, but now this was a ânewâ game, and they could seamlessly start following it with a passion and look like they are the biggest fan. Its a strange sort of band wagoning. Some lads I see following it now, never had any interest in sport at all when I was in school and younger, and definitely not rugby in its previous format, but now have themselves adorned in their provincial jersey and Irish jersey and are huge fans.
the over emphasis by the media though and the constant referencing of it as the big game, and even more so, the huge interest it generates for women for whatever reason, and now showing their putrid games on TV would grate on me. Some of the fawning over the âskillsâ players do would make you wonder had the person going on about it ever been on a sports field in their life.
Its almost like it is the new cool thing to be âinâ and conversely now the cool thing for the hipsters to be against.[/QUOTE]
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of that post are excellent.