Your best/worst experiences in the stands

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Double header League Semi in Croke park a few years back, think it was Kildare V Donegal in the first game and Galway Mayo in the 2nd.

Pretty sure the Mayo V Galway game was on first that day.

[EC Unique]

1993 Ulster Club Final. We beat Downpatrick to win our first Ulster Championship. Unreal.

[Jinxy]

Best experience was been on Hill 16 when Brian Murphy scored that goal against Meath in the Leinster Final in 98, the place just went mental.

Most interesting was in the Meath Westmeath match in 2001 I think it was the one in which Dessie that free. I had to physically separate a Meath and a Westmeath supporter both in their late 50s swinging windmills at each other while both sets of supporters cheered them on.

I think this says more about me and my big mouth but I've had verbal run ins with supporters from Louth*2, Fermanagh, Cavan, Kerry and Down but the single most annoying was a female supporter from Sligo in 2005 in the qualifier who sitting directly behind me insisted on calling every Kildare player 'A Fairy' ad nauseam.

I nearly fell off the top deck of the Canal End when he missed.

[Jinxy]

Double header League Semi in Croke park a few years back, think it was Kildare V Donegal in the first game and Galway Mayo in the 2nd.

After the final whistle in the first game, a fairly rotund (putting it mildly) Kildare supporter stood up 3 rows from the front of the Cusack and started shouting back up the stand as loud as he could...."Paddy.....Paddy....Paddy Hara"

This went on for what seemed an inordinate period of time, probably the guts of a minute. The whole stand went quiet with anticipation as to where this was going.....

Eventually, the Paddy in question stood up and went...."WHA???"

To which our Kildare lad replied....."You've a head like a chicken" and sat down with a delighted head on him.

Everybody then broke their shits laughing. Hilarious

Kildare folk are always roaring at each other.
"Sean..... SEAN...... SEAN BRADY!"
"WHA???"
"What d'ya think Sean?!"

[laoislad]

Best without a doubt is the Leinster Final 2003 Laois v Kildare, it will be hard to top that for me.

Always find my worst experiences are when I'm at games involving Tyrone,Armagh or Dubs games.

[Hardy]

clarified how a mass of people can be an uncontrollable force and put me firmly in the pro ultra safety camp when it comes to crowd control, pitch invasions, etc.

You would be one of those against outdoor concerts?

What?

A concert is a mass of people on a pitch or field, uncontrollable force.

I said "a mass of people can be an uncontrollable force".  There's no problem with properly controlled crowds, whether they're  at a concert or on a pitch.

[Hardy]

However I can't understand how you can equate scenes like that with post-match crowd celebrations, mistakenly labelled by vested interests as 'pitch invasions'.

I refer you to my answer to Captain Obvious. A pitch "invasion" by definition is uncontrolled.

[SLIGONIAN]

Best was Sligo v Galway 2007 hugging my dad for about 5 mins waited along time for that and then loads of stranger embracing us was amazing, ros stewards coming up to us beaming aswell, 2010 Galway replay i remember running around markievicz park  high fiving loads of other sligofans after embracing my dad, Mayo u21 1999 for the last 15 mins i remember all the sligofans just standing in the seated standing roaring on the lads as we were hammering mayo 3-14 to 1-5....

Probably the most humbling was Kildare fans shaking my hand as they left after being kinda robbed in the qualifiers in markievicz in 06. I wish i could show as much class in defeat. That was the same day my dad at heart attack, and lots of sligo people were coming up to me asking me how he was, word had spread around the county, some of my mates didnt even know, not one person who knew asked me why i was there considering becuase they knew (my dad said to me to go, and i didnt want to cause any more stress so i went reluctantly) i think the kildare fans next to me had overheard some of the content...

I remember when we beat Kildare in 01 in Croke park, galway played armagh in curtain rasier and all the galway players were sitting watching our game with us, i was going bananas roaring on Sligo and i remember all the galway players who left about 10 mins before the end of our game all came over and shook my hand as they were leaving..

[Captain Obvious]

clarified how a mass of people can be an uncontrollable force and put me firmly in the pro ultra safety camp when it comes to crowd control, pitch invasions, etc.

You would be one of those against outdoor concerts?

What?

A concert is a mass of people on a pitch or field, uncontrollable force.

I said "a mass of people can be an uncontrollable force".  There's no problem with properly controlled crowds, whether they're  at a concert or on a pitch.

No matter how controlled a outdoor concerts seems they can still become uncontrollable. I'd say there has been more tragedies at concerts than with a pitch invasion.

[mup]

Double header League Semi in Croke park a few years back, it was Galway Mayo and Kildare V Donegal. 
After the final whistle in the first game, a fairly rotund (putting it mildly) Kildare supporter stood up 3 rows from the front of the Cusack and started shouting back up the stand as loud as he could...."Paddy.....Paddy....Paddy Hara"

This went on for what seemed an inordinate period of time, probably the guts of a minute. The whole stand went quiet with anticipation as to where this was going.....

Eventually, the Paddy in question stood up and went...."WHA???"

To which our Kildare lad replied....."You've a head like a chicken" and sat down with a delighted head on him.

Everybody then broke their shits laughing. Hilarious

Just getting up off the floor. Funniest I've heard in a long long time. Post of the year.

[panc56]

I had a grumpy auld fella from Laois in front of me gloating the whole way through the first half. I reminded him after we took the lead that they had won the same amount as Leinster Championships as we had over the last 50 years. Always gets them!

[Wildweasel74]

Worst experience - Playing Monaghan in the championship back in 2008 at Casement, in the bar across the road for a quick drink before the game, as usual few derry ones about, a bus load of monaghan lads early 20`s doing plenty of mouthing, we dont take the queen shilling etc or pay taxes to the queen, same old crap, which got the few derry supporters in the bar myself including quite annoyed that bar staff had to step in,think we were outnumbered 20 to 4, think our standard response at the time was didnt you bunch of cowards leave us behind which got the place fair and lively,as we headed for the exits lol, 4 yrs down the line and they had to take the queens shilling to bale Ireland out, oh the irony!!!

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Worst experience - Playing Monaghan in the championship back in 2008 at Casement, in the bar across the road for a quick drink before the game, as usual few derry ones about, a bus load of monaghan lads early 20`s doing plenty of mouthing, we dont take the queen shilling etc or pay taxes to the queen, same old crap, which got the few derry supporters in the bar myself including quite annoyed that bar staff had to step in,think we were outnumbered 20 to 4, think our standard response at the time was didnt you bunch of cowards leave us behind which got the place fair and lively,as we headed for the exits lol, 4 yrs down the line and they had to take the queens shilling to bale Ireland out, oh the irony!!!

From my experience this usually comes first and uninvited, then the lads from the North try and retrospectively change the story around when retelling.

[Ard-Rí]

Worst experience - Playing Monaghan in the championship back in 2008 at Casement, in the bar across the road for a quick drink before the game, as usual few derry ones about, a bus load of monaghan lads early 20`s doing plenty of mouthing, we dont take the queen shilling etc or pay taxes to the queen, same old crap, which got the few derry supporters in the bar myself including quite annoyed that bar staff had to step in,think we were outnumbered 20 to 4, think our standard response at the time was didnt you bunch of cowards leave us behind which got the place fair and lively,as we headed for the exits lol, 4 yrs down the line and they had to take the queens shilling to bale Ireland out, oh the irony!!!

Stop that now, you sound like an Englishman.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Always find my worst experiences are when I'm at games involving Tyrone,Armagh or Dubs games.

In the stands, not on the pitch!