What can the GAA do to resurrect an interest in Intercounty Football?

[Jinxy]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

[Captain Obvious]

Could somebody who reckons a tiered championship wouldn't work please explain to me how it could possibly be worse than the status quo?

The status quo is effectively tiered. It's a broken system.

Average 13 point wins in 4 provincial finals. Competition is very unwell.
Why would anyone bother going to a provincial final? It's exciting beforehand of course with all the talk in Laois and Fermanagh but watching the county get its arse on a plate is not good for inspiring kids.

The Super 8 reminds me of a quote by HL Mencken

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

You two lads are like Colm O Rourke and Joe Brolly having a conversation.

High praise indeed.
I'm assuming Seafóid is Brolly.

No offense but I would rather listen in on the conversation of two drunken farmers in a bar.

Could somebody who reckons a tiered championship wouldn't work please explain to me how it could possibly be worse than the status quo?

It would become self-fulfilling, it would erode what little interest their is in my counties, which will affect ticket sales, sponsorship etc etc That is turn will affect team prep and the gap will just grow bigger and bigger.

It might be showed on TG4 but for how long and it certainly won't seep into a county's consciousness never made a national consciousness.

The country is not big enough for a tiered championship. The Christy Ring final was shown on YouTube, even TG4 didn't consider worthy to broadcast properly.

The majority of people calling for it, Jinxy aside, are from footballing elite counties.

Well said.

[westbound]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

This is exactly the problem!

We should be designing structures/coaching/financial structures or whatever to CLOSE the gap between the strong and the weak. Not to make it bigger.

[Dinny Breen]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

[Rossfan]

The biggest crowd at club football games in Roscommon us usually the Intermediate Final.
Emlyn Mulligan will never play in Croke Park.
Leitrim are sponsored by a small family run hotel.
There are no concrete proposals - just people giving out about "a B Championship" or "a tiered Championship ".
And the prophets of doom tell us it would be the end of everything.

[Jinxy]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

This is exactly the problem!

We should be designing structures/coaching/financial structures or whatever to CLOSE the gap between the strong and the weak. Not to make it bigger.

That's not the problem.
That's modern sport.
There is no amount of money that you can throw at Leitrim that will make them competitive with Dublin in the modern era.
We need to get away from this well-intentioned but misguided idea.
Anyway, the concept of competitiveness is all relative.
Leitrim are competitive in the league, they are not competitive in the championship (unless they are playing teams from their league division).

[Jinxy]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

[trailer]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

The provincials are badly skewed. Leinster is a joke. Munster is a joke. Connacht and Ulster are the only relatively competitive provinces. And even at that you have Roscommon, Galway and Mayo, 3 teams and in Ulster it is Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan.
Leitrim should be playing a team at their level. These hammerings do nothing for either team. Look at the turnover of players for god sake.
People who are calling for a tiered championship are doing it with the weaker counties in mind. It suits Dublin to rack up Leinster titles and medals. They don't care.

[Dinny Breen]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

I am sure he will, but it should be a story on the National consciousness, elevating it above sport, imagine if he was playing Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, sharing a field with those warriors after a near death experience. That's a movie right there....

[Jinxy]

If you look at the provincial championships and how they would stack up with a potential tiered championship where you condense the 4 divisions for 2019 into three tiers, you get the following (some creative license has been applied:
Galway, Mayo & Roscommon would be in the same championship.
Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal & Cavan would be in the same championship.
Meath, Kildare & Longford would be in the same championship.
Cork, Tipperary & Clare would be in the same championship.
Plenty of local rivalry there and plenty of competition.

[Dinny Breen]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

The provincials are badly skewed. Leinster is a joke. Munster is a joke. Connacht and Ulster are the only relatively competitive provinces. And even at that you have Roscommon, Galway and Mayo, 3 teams and in Ulster it is Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan.
Leitrim should be playing a team at their level. These hammerings do nothing for either team. Look at the turnover of players for god sake.
People who are calling for a tiered championship are doing it with the weaker counties in mind. It suits Dublin to rack up Leinster titles and medals. They don't care.

If you cared then listen to what they say, they know their own culture and I have yet to hear Carlow, Laois, Ferrmanagh or Meath bar Jinxy call for a tiered championship. On the other the elites from Kerry Dublin etc would love it all to be ring-fenced.

The only evidence of a tiered championship structure is in hurling, and that is a f**king joke below the McCathy level. Teams aren't getting better they are getting worse.

[Jinxy]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

I am sure he will, but it should be a story on the National consciousness, elevating it above sport, imagine if he was playing Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, sharing a field with those warriors after a near death experience. That's a movie right there....

Would he rather lose by 50 points to Kilkenny or win a Christy Ring Cup in Croke Park?
We've no way of knowing, but I know which I would prefer.

[trailer]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

I am sure he will, but it should be a story on the National consciousness, elevating it above sport, imagine if he was playing Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, sharing a field with those warriors after a near death experience. That's a movie right there....

Would he rather lose by 50 points to Kilkenny or win a Christy Ring Cup in Croke Park?
We've no way of knowing, but I know which I would prefer.

A 50 point loss no doubt. But at least it might be on TV and the back page of some newspaper. Fully embarrass themselves to a national audience.

[Dinny Breen]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

I am sure he will, but it should be a story on the National consciousness, elevating it above sport, imagine if he was playing Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, sharing a field with those warriors after a near death experience. That's a movie right there....

Would he rather lose by 50 points to Kilkenny or win a Christy Ring Cup in Croke Park?
We've no way of knowing, but I know which I would prefer.

A 50 point loss no doubt. But at least it might be on TV and the back page of some newspaper. Fully embarrass themselves to a national audience.

yea cause that's all the matter's, the result. The kid was nearly dead you gobshite. What a f*cking arsehole you are.

[trailer]

Weaker counties are trying to compete in an arms race that they have no hope of winning, Dinny.
The purpose of a tiered championship is not to bring a Division 4 team up to a Division 1 standard.
A three-tiered championship, with a one-up, one-down rule would give teams a realistic aspiration.
You have to win your division or you stay there.
That is the definition of meaningful competition.

The TV rights package could build in coverage of the intermediate and junior championships, and I would advocate that each championship would finish with a series of games, based on final positions in the table.
So, your goal is to make the final series, which is attainable and realistic.
I am not denying for one second that this would be a culture-shock, but the current inter-county championship structure is an anomaly.
We're basically bringing it back into line with the majority of GAA competitions.

Will it make the gap between the strong and weak bigger?
Probably, but the strong won't be playing the weak.

Weaker teams use the league to improve standards, that is a sustainable and realistic competition for all counties. The Championship is just an opportunity, a moment of hope. The fact that it's rarely taken should not be be the story, the story is the romance and for those 70 mins you are the same as Kerry or Dublin. An equal.

In the Christy Ring Cup, one of Kildare's star's on Saturday was James Burke. He was in a coma suffering meningitis in April. These are the kind of stories that get suppressed in Tiered competitions.

That story should have been the lead on the Sunday Game, barely got a comment.

I saw that story, but the only reason I did is social media, which is another important consideration.
How would you say James felt after winning the cup, given the year he has had?
Now contrast that with Kildare playing Kilkenny, Galway and Wexford etc. in a hypothetical Leinster hurling championship.
James got his day in the sun, and he'll remember that for the rest of his life.

I am sure he will, but it should be a story on the National consciousness, elevating it above sport, imagine if he was playing Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, sharing a field with those warriors after a near death experience. That's a movie right there....

Would he rather lose by 50 points to Kilkenny or win a Christy Ring Cup in Croke Park?
We've no way of knowing, but I know which I would prefer.

A 50 point loss no doubt. But at least it might be on TV and the back page of some newspaper. Fully embarrass themselves to a national audience.

yea cause that's all the matter's, the result. The kid was nearly dead you gobshite. What a f*cking arsehole you are.

Take it whatever way you want. My comment is in relation to the topic of a tiered championship and nothing to do with the lad. But you want to take it in that context. That's fine. Says more about you than it does me.