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Ran into Babs once, just after the 91 replay against Cork in Thurles.
For some reason he was hanging about the train station, and I ended up running into him like  hundreds of other Cork fans on their
way back to the train home. Like the sporting fans that we are, we all came over to congratulate him.

I had bought a t-shirt an hour before the match from this lad with reference to the previous years match that Cork had won
after Babs had made the infamous statement about donkeys not winning derbies
This shirt had the slogan "Cork kicked Babs ass on Thurles grass" with a cartoonish picture of Babs being kicked by a donkey.


The look of perplexion on the poor mans face as I shook his hand was priceless!
Hated him at the time after finishing Cork's reign in Munster, but now realize it was the best think that could have happened.
Was a fantastic time for hurling with the whole Cork-Tipp and Galway-Tipp battles. Thanks for the memories Babs

 
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Stop moan for the love of god i mean if the game threw in at 2 you'd be home 2 hours earlier at 10 , big f**king deal . And then you no doubt be complaining about having to get up at 6 in the morning instead of 8 . No matter how you look at the GAA represents great value for what you get 45 euro each's you 2 top class games. show me where you can beat that!.

Right you are mate - 45 Euro for 2 top class matches - instead of forking out your 1.20 for the bus from your pad to Croker, try maybe contemplating the Dubs playing a championship match down in Limerick  and the logistics that go into it.

The GAA have figured out that there are a lot of 1st and 2nd generational supporters living and working  (in professional jobs) in the Greater Dublin area who still maintain their ties with their county of birth and the are the ones that the GAA seems to be targeting. To hell with the fans back in the mother county that have to fork out for trains and hotel rooms and matches that don't start till 4pm, meaning that they won't get back home till near midnight.

What you are both saying regarding premium ticket holders and trying to maximize profits is fine but this is a replay, so it was never intended as part of the income projections for Croke Park at the start of the season.

After what has gone on this week with the rescheduling of the Cork - Waterford match, I have a few gripes to get of my chest


To me the GAA seems obsessed with the maximizing of profits:
Three issues stand out for me:


(1) Scheduling of Dublin matches on their own and in Croke Park.

Let's say Dublin play Kerry in the All-Ireland semi. Why should the game be played in Croke Park? Its not an All-Ireland final.

People will trot out the argument that Croke Park holds over 80000 and thus is the only stadium that could cater for this game - that's great but is it fair when you have 80000 Dubs and only 2000
from Kerry (who most set out from their homes at 6am that morning to catch the train up. Try telling a man down in Waterville who has two young lads onto him about going to the match in Dublin - that's a 7 hour trip to Dublin (not much change from 500 euro from the day out)
 

(2) Regarding the Cork -Waterford match next Sunday, the obvious choice would have been Thurles, but realizing that due to the recent history of Kilkenny - Wexford matches, they
would be lucky to get 30000 in the gates; put the Cork/Waterford game on after it, that will add 50000 more (and it is all pure profit, they get a nice tidy profit with the inflated ticket prices
at Croker without having to worry about opening Thurles as well.
(3)Does it really make sense to have a situation like last Sunday with 4 Munster counties converging on the Naas dual carriageway - it took me 7 hours to get back home to Cork.
  On top of that (here's the beauty), they are charging an extra 10 Euro (tickets are 45 Euro because it is a semi-final day) for the match next Sunday!.
I know a lad who took the wife and two kids to the match last Sunday (cost him well over 500 by the time the day was finished and now he is being asked by his kids to go again next Saturday to see the Sligo match, stay over night to attend the Waterford match the next day. Was it beyond them to maybe reschedule the matches (i.e move the Meath/Tyrone to Sunday or Kilkenny/Wexford to Saturday to allow a doubling up of the Cork games) and before anyone says anything about rescheduling, it has already happened this summer :
The Leinster Council also decided last night to put the Wexford v Kildare/Offaly football semi-final back by a week to Sunday, July 2 when it will be played as part of the doubleheader with the Kilkenny v
Wexford Leinster hurling final. That leaves the Dublin v Laois football semi-final as a stand-alone fixture on Sunday week. It will have a 2.0 throw-in which is good news for TV fans as it can now be shown
'live'.

The GAA should not forget where it has come from and  start realizing that the organization was built from the ground up by generations giving their free time to their communities to develop pitches and community halls and not asking for anything in return. When they start going down the road of catering for the corporate fan, then they deserve what they will get.

If the GAA had some vision, they would redevelop Thurles and move more of the matches there. Then again, they finished the redevelopment of the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick over 3 years ago
and it has yet to see a major final
Cork should get rid of Frank, he is obviously not doing his job!

I think Kerry should win - set up a semi against the Dubs - where will that game be on -  Thurles?