The Croke Park Experience

Started by Dinny Breen, September 12, 2017, 10:38:36 AM

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Do you still enjoy the "Croke Park Eperience"

Yes
24 (60%)
No
12 (30%)
Don't go anymore
4 (10%)
My county/club has never played there.
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 40

Voting closed: September 19, 2017, 10:38:36 AM

heffo

Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 03:05:55 PM
Quote from: heffo on September 12, 2017, 02:46:59 PM
Quote from: Syferus on September 12, 2017, 01:23:49 PM
Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 01:22:05 PM
I had a chuckle at this line in the linked balls.ie article in the OP:

"Tomás Meehan is the GAA's Chief Information Officer - he also won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1998 and an All-Ireland club title with Caltra in 2004. When you step inside the doors of Croke Park, presume everyone has an All-Ireland medal, even the person asking if you'd like milk with your coffee."

I wonder what were the chances that the best person for that role would have won Sam Maguire?

Quite high?

The shortlist for the role only comprised IC or ex-IC players.

Really?  Is that even legal?  Or is that just the way the shortlist ended up having been open to all potential candidates?

It was open and advertised by one of the Senior IT recruiters and some non-IC qualified people applied - they just didn't make the shortlist.

Dinny Breen

Quote from: heffo on September 12, 2017, 05:41:31 PM
Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 03:05:55 PM
Quote from: heffo on September 12, 2017, 02:46:59 PM
Quote from: Syferus on September 12, 2017, 01:23:49 PM
Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 01:22:05 PM
I had a chuckle at this line in the linked balls.ie article in the OP:

"Tomás Meehan is the GAA's Chief Information Officer - he also won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1998 and an All-Ireland club title with Caltra in 2004. When you step inside the doors of Croke Park, presume everyone has an All-Ireland medal, even the person asking if you'd like milk with your coffee."

I wonder what were the chances that the best person for that role would have won Sam Maguire?

Quite high?

The shortlist for the role only comprised IC or ex-IC players.

Really?  Is that even legal?  Or is that just the way the shortlist ended up having been open to all potential candidates?

It was open and advertised by one of the Senior IT recruiters and some non-IC qualified people applied - they just didn't make the shortlist.

The GAA pay significantly below the market rate but they do emphasize a requirement that candidates have a background in the GAA.
#newbridgeornowhere

Rossfan

The "Croke Park experience" does nothing for me.
Only go there now when I have to (Ros teams playing).
Arriving 15 minutes into the Galway/Kerry Qtr Final and seeing more people milling around out the back drinking eating talking than were in seats watching the game just sums it up for me.
An earlier poster referred to it a a good night out.
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

Redhand Santa

Quote from: Rossfan on September 13, 2017, 03:31:01 PM
The "Croke Park experience" does nothing for me.
Only go there now when I have to (Ros teams playing).
Arriving 15 minutes into the Galway/Kerry Qtr Final and seeing more people milling around out the back drinking eating talking than were in seats watching the game just sums it up for me.
An earlier poster referred to it a a good night out.

And would you rather it is a bad night out? It was me said it and I would be at club and county games all year long. I wouldn't miss a minute of the games when there but enjoy the experience of going down early and having a few drinks after for the early season league games when we play there.

johnneycool

Club takes a load of kids to the AI hurling semi-finals and for the last few years they've been fantastic games.

Everything else is immaterial IMO.

Rossfan

I only go to grounds for the match not the peripheral stuff.
At least when you go to a club game or County games outside of Croker you don't feel like a consumer who just happens to also take in the match as an optional extra.
Each to our own though.
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

johnneycool

Quote from: Rossfan on September 13, 2017, 03:52:27 PM
I only go to grounds for the match not the peripheral stuff.
At least when you go to a club game or County games outside of Croker you don't feel like a consumer who just happens to also take in the match as an optional extra.
Each to our own though.

You don't have to partake in the other crap if you don't want to.

Redhand Santa

Quote from: Rossfan on September 13, 2017, 03:52:27 PM
I only go to grounds for the match not the peripheral stuff.
At least when you go to a club game or County games outside of Croker you don't feel like a consumer who just happens to also take in the match as an optional extra.
Each to our own though.

What exactly is your issue with it? There's a pitch with a game on and a seat to sit in to watch it. What is so different to other grounds that you dislike? The fact that there's stalls out the back that sell food and beer that are expensive? If that bothered me I just wouldn't buy anything there.

As I said earlier there was a good buzz out the back the day of Tyrone Dublin, I went out between games. I'm sure there was people out there during the minor match. The people out the back during the game don't spoil the match for me as I'm inside watching it. The only bad experience I had was at a big Dublin game were I was seated among their supporters (this is not a dig at Dublin supporters just the experience). For the 3/4's of the match people going in and out to their seat and standing up restricting my view. I can certainly see why that would annoy someone but that's the only time it was a huge issue in croke park and happens at other games outside croke park too.

At club double header games I regularly see people coming in or leaving depending on whichever game they aren't interested in. I assume that would annoy you too?

Keyser soze

Its the loud pop music and recorded piffle about smoking etc that gets my goat. They will soon be getn to the stage where the patrons aren't allowed to clap or cheer so that canned applause can be boomed out over the state of the art speakers.

Rossfan

Dear Redhand Santa I don't like the whole Croke Park "experience".

OK?
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

heffo

Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 13, 2017, 01:05:14 PM
Quote from: heffo on September 12, 2017, 05:41:31 PM
Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 03:05:55 PM
Quote from: heffo on September 12, 2017, 02:46:59 PM
Quote from: Syferus on September 12, 2017, 01:23:49 PM
Quote from: Smokin Joe on September 12, 2017, 01:22:05 PM
I had a chuckle at this line in the linked balls.ie article in the OP:

"Tomás Meehan is the GAA's Chief Information Officer - he also won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1998 and an All-Ireland club title with Caltra in 2004. When you step inside the doors of Croke Park, presume everyone has an All-Ireland medal, even the person asking if you'd like milk with your coffee."

I wonder what were the chances that the best person for that role would have won Sam Maguire?

Quite high?

The shortlist for the role only comprised IC or ex-IC players.

Really?  Is that even legal?  Or is that just the way the shortlist ended up having been open to all potential candidates?

It was open and advertised by one of the Senior IT recruiters and some non-IC qualified people applied - they just didn't make the shortlist.

The GAA pay significantly below the market rate but they do emphasize a requirement that candidates have a background in the GAA.

This was pitched at €125k IIRC

Redhand Santa

Quote from: Rossfan on September 13, 2017, 05:00:50 PM
Dear Redhand Santa I don't like the whole Croke Park "experience".

OK?

I'm trying to work out what this 'experience' is you are talking about. You said you are only interested in the football which is fair enough. I can't work out what in the experience is stopping you from watching the game and enjoying it? Walk in, take seat, watch game, go home - what is so different in croke park to other venues? No one is asking you to stand out the back and watch people not watching the game, that was your initial issue.

Beffs

#27
Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 12, 2017, 10:38:36 AM

To me the Croke Park Experience is

1. Overpriced tickets. Nonsense. The price of tickets is very, very good, compared to other sports, especially as more often than not, you get to see more than one game on the day.

2. Crap atmosphere. A massive over generalisation. The quality of the game, the competitive aspect to it and the history of the two teams playing has a big role to play in the atmosphere on the day. The Dublin/Tyrone game was over as a contest after five minutes. Hence the crap atmosphere. The hurling final was a different ball game entirely. To say that every single game has a crap atmosphere, is ridiculous. It is not the fault of Croke Park (the stadium, not the GAA as a whole) that Kildare play so few exciting, competitive games there.

3. Expensive Parking. Croke Park doesn't have any parking. So how can you call it expensive? It is an inner city stadium. It is hard to find any of them, with multi storey car parks attached. Parking is free on many of the the surrounding roads, especially on Sundays. I have no sympathy for the GAA supporter who expects to be able to rock up to an 82,000 seater stadium, park right next door to it, have a handy get away and oh yeah, do it all for 50p.

4. Crap food at all levels. No argument there. The near constant smell of cheap, mass produced curry sauce (which is watery as fcuk when poured over your chips,) is stomach churning. And the beer ain't much better ! But show me an equivilent stadium of its size, that has decent grub.

I have serious Croke Park fatigue, Corporate GAA have sucked the joy out of the stadium. Provincial grounds so much better. My highlight of the summer was kicking a football around with my son and daughter in O'Connor Park after the Kildare/Meath game. That was an experience and a memory.

Rossfan

Red hand don't be worrying about why I don't like Croke Park.
By the way I didn't stand out the back looking at people not watching Kerry v Galway. I was trying to bate me way through the drinkers, eaters, smokers Queuers and talkers and just can't understand how thousands of people wouldn't go in to look at an AI Qtr Final.
I find the whole thing sterile and don't feel I'm part of it or belong as you would in Hyde Pk, Omagh or wherever.

That said the stewards have become more human this year - volunteers as opposed to gum chewing gum "security"people??
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

Cunny Funt

Quote from: Beffs on September 13, 2017, 06:26:16 PM
Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 12, 2017, 10:38:36 AM

To me the Croke Park Experience is

1. Overpriced tickets. Nonsense. The price of tickets is very, very good, compared to other sports, especially as more often than not, you get to see more than one game on the day.

2. Crap atmosphere. A massive over generalisation. The quality of the game, the competitive aspect to it and the history of the two teams playing has a big role to play in the atmosphere on the day. The Dublin/Tyrone game was over as a contest after five minutes. Hence the crap atmosphere. The hurling final was a different ball game entirely. To say that every single game has a crap atmosphere, is ridiculous. It is not the fault of Croke Park (the stadium, not the GAA as a whole) that Kildare play so few exciting, competitive games there.

3. Expensive Parking. Croke Park doesn't have any parking. So how can you call it expensive? It is an inner city stadium. It is hard to find any of them, with multi storey car parks attached. Parking is free on many of the the surrounding roads, especially on Sundays. I have no sympathy for the GAA supporter who expects to be able to rock up to an 82,000 seater stadium, park right next door to it, have a handy get away and oh yeah, do it all for 50p.

4. Crap food at all levels. No argument there. The near constant smell of cheap, mass produced curry sauce (which is watery as fcuk when poured over your chips,) is stomach churning. And the beer ain't much better ! But show me an equivilent stadium of its size, that has decent grub.

I have serious Croke Park fatigue, Corporate GAA have sucked the joy out of the stadium. Provincial grounds so much better. My highlight of the summer was kicking a football around with my son and daughter in O'Connor Park after the Kildare/Meath game. That was an experience and a memory.
A small bucket of about 15 chips in total for 4 euro and the curry sauce is an extra 50 cent. WTF like.