Gaelic football and the media

[Jinxy]

I have never been more convinced of the utter irrelevance of the GAA media than I am right now.
I'd only ever get a paper at the weekend and it's largely just to read the sports section.
I was reading Vincent Hogans article in the Indo this morning when I came across the following in the context of the Donegal v Mayo spat.
'All wonderful stuff if you're looking to put bums on seats in Croke Park tomorrow. Because right now, Gaelic football is a difficult sell. Maybe Dublin apart, the focus of its big guns seems to be on systematic fouling and the subjugation of attacking flair. The game has become graceless and, largely, ugly.'
On Championship Matters during the week they had a VT piece by some tabloid Gaa reporter along the lines of 'we need a two-tier championship, attendances will fall, gaelic football is doomed'.
I have reached a couple of conclusions, which I'd be interested to get other peoples perspective on.

a) The empirical evidence would seem to completely contradict the view that supporters are falling out of love with the game. Viewing figures are up and attendances are up.
b) There are a number of 'hurling men' in the media who never miss an opportunity to put the boot into football.
c) There are a number of journalists who are increasingly frustrated at their lack of access to the players. This seems to be more of an issue in football than hurling. Is there some lingering resentment as a result of this?
d) Football is quite simply an easy target. Its defenders lack the zeal of the hurling die-hards who feel genuinely threatened by the popularity of football, moreso than any other sport including soccer and rugby.

Every football fan I know is hugely excited about the extravaganza of football we have this weekend and the potential semi-final and final match-ups to come.
At work this week I've spent about 50% of my 'productive' time locked in deep conversation with Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Mayo and Cavan folk, both male and female; discussing tactics, line-ups, managerial rows etc.
And yet there is no sense of celebration or occasion in the media reportage.
Contrast this with the hurling coverage where every game is described with breathless adoration, regardless of how mediocre the contest has actually been.

There are obvious exceptions but I do feel there are too many journalists with their own agendas, who are trying to fit the facts to suit them.
Or, the alternative question is, 'Is Gaelic Football a difficult sell?'

[Itchy]

Well said.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

'Utter irrelevance' would be the correct term, nail on head Jinxy.

GAA journalism (in respect, particularly, of football), is the most difficult sell of the whole lot, and couldn't be arsed generally to cast even a cursory eye on the rot.

[Syferus]

Something addressing cynical fouling - who knows if the black card is the answer - is needed but the game is hardy broken.

[Zulu]

Interesting topic. I do know that a lot of the older generation seem to be falling out of love with football, or at least that's my experience, and this is perhaps being reflected in the print and TV media who are populated by many from that generation.

I do think football has some issues, cynical fouling, being a major one but it's still producing great games, drama, talking points and breathtaking skill. I think a lot of hurling folk feel obliged to speak positively about their game while many football people don't, this is perhaps a reflection of the spread of both games. Hurling is confined to a fairly small group and thus many feel very protective of the game and this is reflected in their attitude.

I always find plenty of positives in most games of football and would be hugely passionate about the game. I think it's a wonderful balance of the best aspects in teams sports and at it's best has no equal. However, the one thing I would say is we don't promote flair enough at any level and this is a mistake IMO. There is so much potential in football and I would like to see less lauding of 'work rate',  'endeavour' (though that's probably confined to Martin Carney) and the collective. We are probably squeezing the joy out of the game a bit and I hope we address this soon.

[Declan]

Nothing like a good old rant Jinxy

There are a number of journalists who are increasingly frustrated at their lack of access to the players. This seems to be more of an issue in football than hurling. Is there some lingering resentment as a result of this?

This is definitely true though when they do get access they can produce some nice articles like this one in today's Indo
http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/paul-flynn-i-know-how-privileged-i-am-to-play-for-dublin-29469602.html

[Onlooker]

You are 100% correct jinxy.  Like yourself, I am also looking forward to a great weekend's football with more to come later in the month.  I don't understand why hurling journalists need to knock football at every opportunity, but in fairness, Vincent Hogan would know very little about football anyway.

[Jinxy]

I just think the GAA print media have an over-inflated sense of their own importance.
They cloak their self-interest by saying 'If players don't do interviews, the kids won't have any heroes, blah blah blah.'
I don't think I ever read an interview with Mick Lyons in my entire life.
Kids watch their heroes, they don't read about them in the paper.
The game doesn't need to be sold to the masses via newspapers.
For the majority of people that will be in Croke Park this weekend, the GAA is something they actively participate in and interact with on a regular basis.
They're appreciation of, and interest in the sport is completely independent of the media and marketing.
That said, given the age we live in, the GAA should be more proactive in pushing weekends like this, without going down the sky sports route.
But again, that is nothing to do with the print media in particular and more to do with TV/radio coverage.

[Lone Shark]

Speaking as somebody whose career has meandered into the freelance journalism area, there are a few things I'll throw out there. First of all, rightly or wrongly, the national papers want copy which is based around players' interviews. I don't quite understand it myself - I've little or no interest in reading quotes from players who are just going through the motions with lines about how the last game was tough, we expected it to be tough, the next one will be tougher, hard work, commitment, yada yada. It's not interesting. Equally I've no interest in Martin Breheny's opinion about how Carlow should just enter the Dublin championship and stop bothering us and the big teams should play each other in a champions league format for six months in succession, just as I'm well sure he'd have no interest in my views on anything.

I enjoy analytical pieces and I do enjoy stories that are fleshed out by interviews, but they have to be based around a real tale of interest. That can be Féile football, Junior hurling in Mayo or club camogie, but there are tales of interest everywhere, the kind of yarns you'd happily relate in the pub. They're great, but rare.

The problem is that papers don't want these, presumably because their readership doesn't want these. For whatever reason, an intercounty player from Tyrone saying he expects Monaghan to tackle him hard is news, but the breakdown on how Tyrone have conceded possession with forward foot passes and how Monaghan might exploit that is not. I can't understand this, but it's how it is. Possibly Des Cahill and Pat Spillane were right when they said that the GAA punter doesn't want analysis, he wants entertainment.

Yes, access to players is a huge issue - however I won't say it's terrible because I've no wish to engage in all that messing, so it's a world I bypass. I don't enjoy it and I'd prefer to leave it to lads that don't mind that approach. Also, I understand the double edged sword aspect, as evidenced by the whole Canning/Shefflin thing last year. Players used to talk to the media a lot more, but journalists aren't very quick to point out that their community played a big part in the deterioration of the relationship too. Any time I do talk to a player or manager in a phone interview, I always send them a copy of what I've written for email verification that this is what they meant to say. It means I've had good stuff that I've had to redact even though it was said, and it means that certain editors have got very annoyed at me when they heard about this - but if a player/manager is going to do me a favour and give me an interview, as far as I'm concerned, my loyalty is to him/her.     

I'd agree with Jinxy's point that I get my GAA news by going to games, by being part of my club, by chatting over the phone with people who are involved in other parts of Ireland. I love the GAA as much as ever, but whoever the nationals are talking to with the stuff they write, it's not me. I suspect it's not many people on here.

[Bud Wiser]

Ah lads, come on, don't overcook the eulogising just because Vincent Hogan told  a few truths that hit the reactive nerves of the 'real' GAA supporters who week after week travel hundreds of miles to see what is essentially a game of handball interspersed with 100 meter sprints. Then if anyone say's anything about it we are demonised.

Yesterday morning I convenienced what was a friend of mine by playing golf very early because he wanted to go to Croke Park. He said he was in Clondalkin taxing his car on Friday and a publican had a sign outside his pub saying "Free Pint for everyone if Bernard Brogan scores a goal" and I just said to him that he should have got a stick of chalk and added underneath " in the next five years" whereupon he took the hump. No disrespect to B.B. but this is typical of how football supporters try to, (in their own minds) turn players into Wayne Ruiney's. Not possible.  Look at yesterday's game. Here we have a team who are fancied to win the All-Ireland and 14 of them are not able to put the ball down on the sod and kick it between the posts from 40 meters. Apart from the Cork full forward catching a few high balls there is little to remember about yesterday.

Simply put, it is not football but rather resembles a crowd of escaped lunatics running up and down the field at breakneck speed without any ball at all. It was when I was explaining this to my Tiger Woods wannabe that he walked off the course in a huff. And that is what is wrong,  as soon as someone like Vincent Hogan expresses a genuine concern about what was once a great game in terms of attracting 'bums on seats'  he is ostracised.  I am sure if the lad in front of me in the pub yesterday who kept complaining about the amount of 'turnovers' Cork were getting reads Vincent's article there will be an EGM in Kiely's in Donnybrook.

[T Fearon]

70,018 there yesterday,so the bums on seats attraction is still prevalent.Also I have never heard the word "Jaysus" uttered as frequently in70 minutes,accruing from a plethora of missed goal opportunities by the boys in blue!

I don't think the average punter (and in summer there's mostly fair-weather fans anyway) cares about tactics,turnovers,the lack oF basic skills,ugly tactics etc.At the end of the day they want a big day out,a cause to support ( their county) and are more than happy just to see their county outscore the opposition with scant regard for how this is achieved.

[Itchy]

Who gets to decide what is and what is not football. I was watching the Dublin Armagh AI final on TG4 and it was tripe, lads  couldn't pass the ball 20m. I'd like some changes for sure and I don't like the overuse of hand pass but Its not an easy thing to legislate for.

[Jinxy]

Ah lads, come on, don't overcook the eulogising just because Vincent Hogan told  a few truths that hit the reactive nerves of the 'real' GAA supporters who week after week travel hundreds of miles to see what is essentially a game of handball interspersed with 100 meter sprints. Then if anyone say's anything about it we are demonised.

Yesterday morning I convenienced what was a friend of mine by playing golf very early because he wanted to go to Croke Park. He said he was in Clondalkin taxing his car on Friday and a publican had a sign outside his pub saying "Free Pint for everyone if Bernard Brogan scores a goal" and I just said to him that he should have got a stick of chalk and added underneath " in the next five years" whereupon he took the hump. No disrespect to B.B. but this is typical of how football supporters try to, (in their own minds) turn players into Wayne Ruiney's. Not possible.  Look at yesterday's game. Here we have a team who are fancied to win the All-Ireland and 14 of them are not able to put the ball down on the sod and kick it between the posts from 40 meters. Apart from the Cork full forward catching a few high balls there is little to remember about yesterday.

Simply put, it is not football but rather resembles a crowd of escaped lunatics running up and down the field at breakneck speed without any ball at all. It was when I was explaining this to my Tiger Woods wannabe that he walked off the course in a huff. And that is what is wrong,  as soon as someone like Vincent Hogan expresses a genuine concern about what was once a great game in terms of attracting 'bums on seats'  he is ostracised.  I am sure if the lad in front of me in the pub yesterday who kept complaining about the amount of 'turnovers' Cork were getting reads Vincent's article there will be an EGM in Kiely's in Donnybrook.

Yeah....... I don't think I'm going to bother with this one.

[rrhf]

I have said for years that the so called great bastions of Ireland were under attack. The banks the government the church and now the venom is being directed at the gaa. Whether you are a joe brolly spillane or a Vincent hogan it is time to attack , can the gaa withstand the damage. I'm not so sure that whilst people are prepared to listen with half an open mind that half can be manipulated. Makes for interesting times 

[armaghniac]

I have said for years that the so called great bastions of Ireland were under attack. The banks the government the church and now the venom is being directed at the gaa. Whether you are a joe brolly spillane or a Vincent hogan it is time to attack , can the gaa withstand the damage. I'm not so sure that whilst people are prepared to listen with half an open mind that half can be manipulated. Makes for interesting times

The banks, the government and the church behaved abysmally and deserved criticism and continue to deserve criticsm to the extent that they haven't changed. There is a problem in the GAA with unsporting play getting rewarded and they need to address this. The black card is an effort, it remains to be seen if it is enough.