All Ireland Final tickets

[Armaghtothebone]

Any club who overlooks dedicated fans in the name of a silly draw needs to reconsider.

& also, season tickets are no good for concessions.

Take this hypothetical situation;

Club Member A: Been involved with the club for decades, played for the seniors for 15 years and the reserves for another few years after that. He has a family membership for the club, attends every club senior match, pays in and buys a ticket for the club lotto at half-time. He isn't on the committee as he's not a big man for meetings but if there's a bit of work needing to be done around the club you can ask Club Member A and be guaranteed a positive response rather than an array of excuses. He has 4 or 5 sons and daughters playing for the club and ferrys them to and from matches and training. He isn't the biggest Down supporter in the world but he went to the semi-final and would like to go to the final.

Club Member B: From the area and played for the club for a while but an all too brief underage career has ended recently. He has a fair interest in the GAA and pays his membership alright but generally wouldn't darken the door of the club from one year to the next. To be fair to him, he's a big Down supporter though doesn't like the cold evenings. He was at a couple of the NFL matches and went to Croke Park for the Division 2 final defeat to Armagh. He travelled to Ballbofey and has been to every match since except for the Longford game as it was a shockin bad evening. He would like a ticket from the club for the All Ireland final.


If it came down to a straight choice, should the local club be giving a ticket to Member A or Member B?

B  every time

[down6061689194]

Any club who overlooks dedicated fans in the name of a silly draw needs to reconsider.

& also, season tickets are no good for concessions.

Take this hypothetical situation;

Club Member A: Been involved with the club for decades, played for the seniors for 15 years and the reserves for another few years after that. He has a family membership for the club, attends every club senior match, pays in and buys a ticket for the club lotto at half-time. He isn't on the committee as he's not a big man for meetings but if there's a bit of work needing to be done around the club you can ask Club Member A and be guaranteed a positive response rather than an array of excuses. He has 4 or 5 sons and daughters playing for the club and ferrys them to and from matches and training. He isn't the biggest Down supporter in the world but he went to the semi-final and would like to go to the final.

Club Member B: From the area and played for the club for a while but an all too brief underage career has ended recently. He has a fair interest in the GAA and pays his membership alright but generally wouldn't darken the door of the club from one year to the next. To be fair to him, he's a big Down supporter though doesn't like the cold evenings. He was at a couple of the NFL matches and went to Croke Park for the Division 2 final defeat to Armagh. He travelled to Ballbofey and has been to every match since except for the Longford game as it was a shockin bad evening. He would like a ticket from the club for the All Ireland final.


If it came down to a straight choice, should the local club be giving a ticket to Member A or Member B?

I'd go member A, because although he isnt the biggest down fan, he's a good GAA fan. I wouldn't regard member B as an extraordinary down fan.

In my view anyone who was at the Longford game, Kildare away, Offaly and the McKenna cup should be first on any list for tickets.

It was the core 2,000 or so there on them days.

I've heard around a dozen people so far looking or tickets that havent been to a match in their life or since '94, I make no excuses in saying they should be very last on the list for tickets and told them that any spares I have, I will actively seek out true Down fans before going near them.

[pintsofguinness]

member A

[Doohicky]

member A

I've already got an emais asking if I can get tickets for a fella becuase his wife wants one due to being from down. She's not been to any matches since I have known them.  Really annoys me, thing is a lot of these people do end up with tickets because they 'know' people.

[clarshack]

member A every time

[el_cuervo_fc]

Member A.  Who gives more to the club after all?

[Redhand Santa]

Not sure. Member A had the opportunity to go and watch Down all year but didn't bother because he wasn't that interested in them. Now for the 1st time this year there's a game were there isnt tickets for everyone and he has suddenly become a Down fan. Think it would be a bit unfair if it was a straight choice for A to take B's ticket.

Obviously the club should reward A as he has supported them all year but maybe this is why the allocation can be slightly unfair. Though any big county supporter can't have many complaints with the season ticket scheme in place.

[snoopdog]

member A

I've already got an emais asking if I can get tickets for a fella becuase his wife wants one due to being from down. She's not been to any matches since I have known them.  Really annoys me, thing is a lot of these people do end up with tickets because they 'know' people.

yep its a major problem, but one that would be easily solved. If a ticket was given out on the turnstiles for every game attended and somehow used when a final comes along to guarantee the real supporters tickets.
I was lucky to get tickets for both 91 and 94 but im not so confident this year. i no longer live in the county but have been in newbridge, mulllingar,Donegal,casement,tullamore,cavan and croker thrice along with the home league games bar Laois  missed longford game due to work. the price of success i suppose.
Those who slag you off for going and supporting the team through the tough times are the first on the bus for an All Ireland semi final.
I have a mate who never goes to games but is always in Croke park when we get there. Gets premium or exec tickets. Enough to sicken ye. a lot of real Down men and women will miss out on the biggest day for 16 years because of poor prep by he GAA

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

member A

I've already got an emais asking if I can get tickets for a fella becuase his wife wants one due to being from down. She's not been to any matches since I have known them.  Really annoys me, thing is a lot of these people do end up with tickets because they 'know' people.

yep its a major problem, but one that would be easily solved. If a ticket was given out on the turnstiles for every game attended and somehow used when a final comes along to guarantee the real supporters tickets.
I was lucky to get tickets for both 91 and 94 but im not so confident this year. i no longer live in the county but have been in newbridge, mulllingar,Donegal,casement,tullamore,cavan and croker thrice along with the home league games bar Laois  missed longford game due to work. the price of success i suppose.
Those who slag you off for going and supporting the team through the tough times are the first on the bus for an All Ireland semi final.
I have a mate who never goes to games but is always in Croke park when we get there. Gets premium or exec tickets. Enough to sicken ye. a lot of real Down men and women will miss out on the biggest day for 16 years because of poor prep by he GAA

Surely a season ticket would have been ideal for you?

[snoopdog]

member A

I've already got an emais asking if I can get tickets for a fella becuase his wife wants one due to being from down. She's not been to any matches since I have known them.  Really annoys me, thing is a lot of these people do end up with tickets because they 'know' people.

yep its a major problem, but one that would be easily solved. If a ticket was given out on the turnstiles for every game attended and somehow used when a final comes along to guarantee the real supporters tickets.
I was lucky to get tickets for both 91 and 94 but im not so confident this year. i no longer live in the county but have been in newbridge, mulllingar,Donegal,casement,tullamore,cavan and croker thrice along with the home league games bar Laois  missed longford game due to work. the price of success i suppose.
Those who slag you off for going and supporting the team through the tough times are the first on the bus for an All Ireland semi final.
I have a mate who never goes to games but is always in Croke park when we get there. Gets premium or exec tickets. Enough to sicken ye. a lot of real Down men and women will miss out on the biggest day for 16 years because of poor prep by he GAA

Surely a season ticket would have been ideal for you?

yep your probably right, but to be honest at the start of the year i never thought we would have needed to get AI final tickets. Prob in hindsight i should have gone for a ST.

[down6061689194]

ST aint much use for a student or OAP. And now we are left in the cold.

[Dougal Maguire]

I'd be inclined to go for member B. Member A would be there with the family, taking a flask and sandwiches and eating them by the boot of the car and rushing to Croke Park to be there in time for the minor teams coming out. He'd also probably be one of those who'd boast about the fact that he made it home by 6 o'clock.

Member B, on the other hand, seems good craic. He'd be up for a few pints in the Big Tree before the match, will most likely give the minor match a miss as he gets a couple more in before running down to Croker (crosslegged as he didn't want to break the seal in the Big Tree) to take his seat five minutes after the senior match started, forcing loads of member A type people to have to get up out of their seat to let him past. He'd probably boast that he slept in the foyer of the Burlington/City West (delete as appropriate) and made it home just in time to get a couple more in before the team arrives at the Carrickdale. His work won't see him for a week if they win.

[armaghniac]

The point is that there should be enough tickets for both Member A and Member B if the tickets do not end up with people's brother in law who never went to a game, club or county.

There is always this type of club v county dichotomy put forward at this time of year, but both deserve a ticket ahead of many who do get them.

[winsamsoon]

Same happened in our club 2002.

what we did was got a structure of important roles in the club, ie footballers, lottos sellers, committee members etc

we tried to sort these people out as much as possible and this left us approx 40 tickets between about 60 people. Every member was entitled to enter the draw and it was difficult handing tickets out to folk that you knew hadn't been at a game all year and leaving someone there that had been at them all and followed Armagh through thick and thin. The draw was held in the clubrooms anyway and all open and above board. But of course we were never going to satisfy everyone but that's the dilema you will face .

I think if i got a ticket for this one and i meet a genuine down fan that couldn't get one i would pass it on face value (anyone who makes a profit selling of their own bat  is exploiting common folk and if caught should be banned for life)

[bcarrier]

Tickets arent as difficult to get as they were in 90s when work to the stadium was going on...the last time Down got to final there were 58k in attendance. There are almost 25K more seats now.  Of course some end up in corporate hands but Down/Cork people should get a share of these too. 

Both A & B could get tickets and probably would if they kept looking/asking. In a lot of instances people create there own obstacle by being too proud to ask and/or refusing to travel if they dont have a ticket in their pocket.  It is fierce begging but has to be done.