Notre Dame Fighting Irish

[stiffler]

this is derogatory???






Do you think the same about the Lucky Charms fella?

I have nearly the same tatoo on my arm...
Classy or what?

Have you got Achaidh Gaillian below it pat??

[thejuice]

Yeah the Steelers Vs the Bears was in Croker in 1997. I wasnt at any of those games sadly.

Though I think because of the last Notre Dame game a Meath game had to be brought forward 1 day which meant that Graham Geraghty wouldnt be able to play as he was suspended and it would have been up if it had been played as scheduled. But I dont hold any grudges.

[behind the wire]

Thanks for the links lads.

has anyone here ever been to a notre dame game? sounds like great craic, hard to get tickets for though.

[AZOffaly]

I was two Notre Dame games, one in Croker and 1 in Sun Devil Stadium Arizona against ASU. It was amazing in Arizona how many fans were for Notre Dame, the equivalent of Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees.

I was never at a game in South Bend, but I was up in Chicago playing football and took a spin out to South Bend. Lovely Campus, and I saw Touchdown Jesus, the Golden Dome and all that craic. The College Football Hall of Fame was there as well. Well worth a visit.

[magpie seanie]

I was there in 1996, and was the other game in Lansdowne Road, between Pitt and Rutgers? I also seem to remember watching a game from Croker when I was in Arizona. I think it was the Bears against the Steelers or something in pre-season. Would have been 97 or 98 I'd say.

I was at the game in Lansdowne (East Stand) and was in bed for a week with the 'flu after it. The smog around that time in Dublin was cat. Was that game not a good bit before 1996?

Ah yes, American football in Croke Park. The favourite straw to grasp for the idiots of the open up brigade.

[WeAreBlueWeAreWhite]

I was there in 1996, and was the other game in Lansdowne Road, between Pitt and Rutgers? I also seem to remember watching a game from Croker when I was in Arizona. I think it was the Bears against the Steelers or something in pre-season. Would have been 97 or 98 I'd say.

I was at the game in Lansdowne (East Stand) and was in bed for a week with the 'flu after it. The smog around that time in Dublin was cat. Was that game not a good bit before 1996?

Ah yes, American football in Croke Park. The favourite straw to grasp for the idiots of the open up brigade.

Rather than call everyone who has a different view than you idiots,which in my opinon is not only childish but comes across as being very bitter,can you explain why you have no problem with a bunch of Americans playing a foreign sport in Croke Park but do have a problem with your own country men playing foreign sports in Croke Park.
I am of course assuming you have no problem with American Football as you were at the game

[AZOffaly]

I'm assuming it's to do with the whole competition between sports argument, which we are not going to get back into please God. For what it's worth, I understand completely.

[magpie seanie]

I was there in 1996, and was the other game in Lansdowne Road, between Pitt and Rutgers? I also seem to remember watching a game from Croker when I was in Arizona. I think it was the Bears against the Steelers or something in pre-season. Would have been 97 or 98 I'd say.

I was at the game in Lansdowne (East Stand) and was in bed for a week with the 'flu after it. The smog around that time in Dublin was cat. Was that game not a good bit before 1996?

Ah yes, American football in Croke Park. The favourite straw to grasp for the idiots of the open up brigade.

Rather than call everyone who has a different view than you idiots,which in my opinon is not only childish but comes across as being very bitter,can you explain why you have no problem with a bunch of Americans playing a foreign sport in Croke Park but do have a problem with your own country men playing foreign sports in Croke Park.
I am of course assuming you have no problem with American Football as you were at the game

I mean the idiot subsection of the open up brigade in case it wasn't clear.

I'm not getting into the argument again but I will say I'd view and American football game as similar to a concert - not as a competing sport.

[WeAreBlueWeAreWhite]

I was there in 1996, and was the other game in Lansdowne Road, between Pitt and Rutgers? I also seem to remember watching a game from Croker when I was in Arizona. I think it was the Bears against the Steelers or something in pre-season. Would have been 97 or 98 I'd say.

I was at the game in Lansdowne (East Stand) and was in bed for a week with the 'flu after it. The smog around that time in Dublin was cat. Was that game not a good bit before 1996?

Ah yes, American football in Croke Park. The favourite straw to grasp for the idiots of the open up brigade.

Rather than call everyone who has a different view than you idiots,which in my opinion is not only childish but comes across as being very bitter,can you explain why you have no problem with a bunch of Americans playing a foreign sport in Croke Park but do have a problem with your own country men playing foreign sports in Croke Park.
I am of course assuming you have no problem with American Football as you were at the game

I mean the idiot subsection of the open up brigade in case it wasn't clear.

I'm not getting into the argument again but I will say I'd view and American football game as similar to a concert - not as a competing sport.

Don't want to get into anything either as I have no love for soccer or rugby though I did think it was the right thing to let them into Croke Park,but your above argument is flawed and a bit hypocritical if you ask me but your entitled to your opinion the same as everyone else
I could never see how letting soccer or rugby into Croke Park was going to take away from youngsters playing Gaa,the Gaa world as far as I know hasn't collapsed since it opened up to rugby or soccer I don't see any change in terms of numbers playing or going to matches,so it looks to me that all the people in the NO camp were wrong in their concerns.
If a younglad wants to play Gaa he will play it ,If he wants to play soccer or rugby he will,Having these games in Croke Park won't or haven't made a slightest bit of difference imho,In fact it has probably helped the Gaa attract more youglads with the revenue the have earned from opening up the stadium allowing them to invest more in the clubs.
That is all....

[magpie seanie]

In fact it has probably helped the Gaa attract more youglads with the revenue the have earned from opening up the stadium allowing them to invest more in the clubs.

Oh right. And the FAI and IRFU just put their extra money in the bank and didn't use it to do the same. Thanks for ironing out my flawed logic.

[WeAreBlueWeAreWhite]

In fact it has probably helped the Gaa attract more youglads with the revenue the have earned from opening up the stadium allowing them to invest more in the clubs.

Oh right. And the FAI and IRFU just put their extra money in the bank and didn't use it to do the same. Thanks for ironing out my flawed logic.

I thought we weren't getting into this 
And eh no not really....If they all do it sure it will just cancel each other out..
I really think you need to start looking at the facts.Croke Park has been opened to other sports for almost two years now, as far as i can see in my county and village in Waterford I have seen no adverse affects on the Gaa because of soccer and rugby being in Croke Park..
I think its time to move on magpie and get over this chip you have
Also I'm surprised by a man who so often posts on a Manchester United Thread and rugby threads among others to be so against soccer and rugby being played in Croke Park...I find that strange to be honest but I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation.
Anyways I don't post here often I prefer to read the threads because it seems anyone with a differing opinion to someone else is either a idiot or is talking bullshit there doesn't seem to be any place for agreeing to dis agree or normal debate/chat that you have with your mates in the pub,i have no desire in getting dragged down to a slagging match so I will just leave you to your own opinions

[magpie seanie]

Look - I've had this discussion 100's of times so we'll park it for now. It would take too long to rehash where I'm coming from again and most people know anyway.

Anyways I don't post here often I prefer to read the threads because it seems anyone with a differing opinion to someone else is either a idiot or is talking bullshit there doesn't seem to be any place for agreeing to dis agree or normal debate/chat that you have with your mates in the pub,i have no desire in getting dragged down to a slagging match so I will just leave you to your own opinions

Perhaps you should take a leaf from your own book. I didn't abuse you so there's no need for telling me that my logic is flawed, I'm hypocritical or that I need to move on or get rid of the chip from my shoulder.

[baoithe]

God, why am I responding to this thread!

Ok here goes:

To be perfectly honest I've just glanced at the last page of this thread and from what I can see (perhaps mistakenly) essentially what Seanie is contending is that the opening up of Croke Park has generated such vast sums of revenue for the IRFU and the FAI so as to enable those organisations to put in place systems and infrastructures to maximise the number of young people that will commit to playing those sports at the expense of playing GAA. I knew this is what you were alluding to yesterday Seanie on the "Ireland V Poland" thread but I didn't want to get into a debate.

First of all the revenue generated from approximately 4 to 6 games per year for each code is just about enough for them to get Lansdowne redeveloped and will have no impact on the GAA. Its just nonsense to suggest otherwise.

We (Seanie and I) have had jousts before within the confines of this forum on the issue of soccer versus GAA and the impact the League of Ireland has on participation in the GAA. Seanie has argued that the likes of Sligo Rovers are a direct threat to Sligo GAA as both are competing for a small pool of players. I've always argued that those players that choose Soccer over Gaelic in Ireland would choose to do so even if Sligo were winning All-Irelands on a regular basis. The specious argument that is often employed to the contrary is that the reason the likes of Conor O'Grady play soccer is that they get paid a weekly wage to play for the club: Yes it is plausible to assume that playing football within a professional code would be more lucrative than playing an amateur sport but the reality of these circumstances counter this viewpoint. Lets not pretend that intercounty GAA players dont do reasonably well out of playing for their county over a number of years. A club like Sligo Rovers would not be able to remunerate players in excess or in some cases to the extent that county boards do. When all benefits are factored in I would say that intercounty players are in fact better off than their soccer counterparts. So from my perspective any contention that the reason players choose Soccer over Gaelic because of the potential for monetary gain alone is completely baseless. That said, a number of factors may combine to drive players to the other sport. One example of this is Michael McNamara. Its fairly widely known that he was just fed up of the county set up a number of years ago and chose to go back to playing with Rovers at a time when they were looking to be promoted to the premier division. However, once Brehony took over he was back in a flash.

There is one statistic or trend that it seems will never alter. As is evidenced around the country there are certain players from certain backgrounds that will inevitably lean towards soccer. Unfortunately within lower socio-economic groups located in large urban centres there is an acidic attitude towards the GAA. It is precisely because of the fact that the league of Ireland is supported and underpinned by supporters from those socio-economic groups that the league will never be able to sustain itself in a completely full time capacity. Investors and advertisers see no real benefit from getting involved with the league as the majority of its supporters have the lowest level of disposable income in the country. This has been indirectly admitted to by the FAI themselves. Thus there is not a strong enough domestic soccer product in place to impact on GAA participation. It should also be remembered that one of the primary reasons Rugby is so successful in Munster is because it is a working class game in the likes of Limerick.

Of course, there is one type of player that will choose soccer over Gaelic and he is the exceptionally talented young fella who can forge a career for himself over in the UK playing the game professionally. The glamour that is the English premiership has permeated all corners of the globe and has (with the help of Sky Sports)  played a huge part in the rise in interest of soccer in this country. I think its phenomenal how popular the English league has become in the last 17-20 years (Jesus hadnt realised its around that long!). Even in counties such as Mayo there has been a strong rise in the number of junior soccer clubs. The town of Tullamore in a county with such a strong GAA tradition is on the verge of having a soccer club enter the "A" Division of the League of Ireland. Dont for one minute try to suggest to me that this has been down to the massive success of the FAI's marketing department - you wont hear fellas asking you are you going to watch Sligo Rovers v Galway United at 1 pm on a Saturday! No I am utterly convinced that this is down to the fact we are bombarded with premiership and champions league soccer for nigh on 7 days a week. I dont buy into any theories that the upturn in the Irish soccer teams fortunes has had anything to do with the rise in the participation in soccer. Lets face it, there hasn't been alot to shout about in that regard over the last ten years. I dont blame people for watching the premiership because its a damn fine product but I personally draw the line at buying merchandise for clubs from the UK.

Irrespective of all these arguments I think the insular attitude that elements within the GAA have towards competing with the other codes is misguided at best. There is plenty of things that need fixing within the organisation rather than worrying about Soccer and Rugby. Are we really an all-inclusive sport? Do we have efficient administrative structures in place? Are we over-bureaucratic? Are we open to learning from other codes and organisations so as to improve our games and also how we market and govern our organisation? Apart from the northern counties, are we doing all we can to maintain and develop the strong cultural aspect of the GAA?
I'm sick to the teeth and cringe with embarrassment of the gushing of our media at the wonder of Croke Park every time Rugby or Soccer is played there. Yes its a fine stadium but Jesus Christ it is so Irish to spend twenty years patting ourselves on the back about it. Has no one noticed the level of dilapidation of the Cusack Stand? Already we should be looking to put plans in place to build a new stadium in 10 to 15 years time.

We can never rest on our laurels. To be successful all we need to do is run our organisation as effectively as is possible. If we do that I guarantee we need not worry about other codes.

[Hardy]

I agree with every sentence of that, baoithe and with your opinion on where we should be directing our energies.

(And about the cringe-inducing continual seeking of approval for the magnificence of Croke Park. And about the failure to notice that it needs a lot of improvement work, not to mention a complete change of attitude from its management  towards its paying customers and GAA members. And about the fact that nobody seems to be planning for the future).

[The Real Laoislad]

Well said baoithe,and i would agree with almost everything you said,hope your not referred to as a idiot now for having a opinion different to others