The BBC should be ashamed

[GweylTah]

Hmmm, I am just surprised that the crowd didnt fawn all over him to get their picture taken with him so that everyone involved can show how inclusive the ni fans are a la Chicago, it was sickening to see that going on when I went last year, they just tried too hard and it felt akward, of course none of the photos were used on any pro north websites for publicity purposes.

As for you wearing a ni top at casement, I doubt  that anyone would give a damn, I certainly wouldnt.

Stew, that hardly tallies with the comments bellow!
"What I found surprised the life out of me, the fans were for the most part fantastic in my opinion, they partied and although I would say the numbered at the most 500 they sang songs from start to finish and danced their way through the whole game, they even broke out the conga which was hilarious as the security men had to follow them wherever they went. I have never enjoyed a game of football as much as this one in my life, the atmosphere was fantastic and I have to say I was mightily impressed with them all."

"Stew in telling revisionist tall stories" senation.   Truth Will Out 1  Stew's Credibility 0.

[Armaghtothebone]

In fairness to the BBC, Eamon Coleman's death was the lead and highlighted topic on BBC Ceefax Regional news (ie p160 teletext) and also on the Regional Sports News (P390) on Monday night, which is how I learned about it. The BBC does now give in my opinion fair and adequate coverage to GAA and indeed FAI Affairs, reflecting proportionately the interest and [preferences of its licence holders.

Once again I feel you're all missing the target here. Consider the dearth of GAA Coverage (also I can find no mention of the death on their website) given by the Belfast Telegraph, which styles itself arrogantly as "Northern Ireland's National Newspaper". I have yet to see GAA being allocated headline coverage on the backpage. Consider also that this paper is owned by that great Irish man, Anthony O'Reilly, and its recently appointed Managing Director is allegedly a gaelic fanatic from Dublin. I wrote to this person nearly three months ago complaining about its GAA coverage. I still await a response or acknowledgement.

Also their former Sports Editor (shunted recently into the oblivion of editing the failing morning edition of the Telegraph, is a catholic from Ballymena, and far from giving GAA its due coverage, he was actually critical of the GAA in his banal column on numerous occasions

It is to Royal Avenue, not Ormeau Avenue, you should be directing your ire.

I have to disagree with you Tony, and say once again that on the main evening radio news programme to have no mention of the death of such a high profile sports personality was a scandal.
With reference to the Belfast Telegraph the answer is much more simple..I dont buy it. It's not a coincidence that the newspaper with the fastest growing circulation in the Uk is The Irish News.

[Uladh]

BBC have announced they are covering the Monaghan v derry semi live, so credit where its due.

These tv rights mut not be that difficult to get around after all...

[bloody mary]

UTV Sport last night had a report from the Coleman funeral

BBC Sport led their bulletin with Lawrie Sanchez at a school in Ballymena

the whole debate here is the usual stuff but here's the bottom line.... the BBC has too many people making decisions who don't understand or respect the GAA. Therefore, they consistently insult GAA people at times like this and try to hide behind other coverage as an excuse when they get criticised. That's not the point. The GAA is as entitled as any other sport to coverage, but it's the treatment of it that is often the problem (see above example). It's a similar thing with the Telegraph, they give GAA coverage alright, inside the paper and badly written, but they steadfastly refuse to treat it as a major sport. Not one of you can tell me when the Telegraph has ever had GAA as it's lead story on the back page. If they really respected GAA they would have good GAA reporters churning out good stories, but they don't.   

[GweylTah]

Perhaps the Telegraph is concerned that their cross-community readership isn't compromised by excessive coverage of something that is, unfortunately, of no appeal whatsoever to over half the population?

Good newspaper as it is, the Irish News doesn't have that concern.

[bloody mary]

And why should that practice/policy apply to the GAA but not to something like the Irish League? it certainly does not appeal to the vast majority of the population, going by attendances. I hear what you are saying but it just doesn't bare up and sounds like a lame excuse.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Perhaps the Telegraph is concerned that their cross-community readership isn't compromised by excessive coverage of something that is, unfortunately, of no appeal whatsoever to over half the population?

Good newspaper as it is, the Irish News doesn't have that concern.

As usual absolute rubbish coming out of your trap Gwel.

The Irish News is read by a majority of "Nationalists" but also by a sizeable number of "Unionists".

Please do stop coming out with such crap - it's getting tiresome.

[T Fearon]

Gweltah, if the Telegraph (which is Irish owned and with a GAA Fanatic as its Managing Director) employed the principal of not covering things "excessively" which don't appeal to half the population, it would not give

a) half its current coverage to the IFA International team

b) 1/20th of its current coverage tp poxy Irish league soccer

[bloody mary]

done, I wouldn't want to ruin a tribute to the great man even if one person thought that. I'll leave the comment on here though I wouldn't describe this as 'sectarian slanging'. It doesn't need to be that.

By the way forget the O'Reilly bit, it obviously isn't relevant if the people calling the shots have the attitudes and policies they do.

[stew]

Hmmm, I am just surprised that the crowd didnt fawn all over him to get their picture taken with him so that everyone involved can show how inclusive the ni fans are a la Chicago, it was sickening to see that going on when I went last year, they just tried too hard and it felt akward, of course none of the photos were used on any pro north websites for publicity purposes.

As for you wearing a ni top at casement, I doubt  that anyone would give a damn, I certainly wouldnt.

Stew, that hardly tallies with the comments bellow!
"What I found surprised the life out of me, the fans were for the most part fantastic in my opinion, they partied and although I would say the numbered at the most 500 they sang songs from start to finish and danced their way through the whole game, they even broke out the conga which was hilarious as the security men had to follow them wherever they went. I have never enjoyed a game of football as much as this one in my life, the atmosphere was fantastic and I have to say I was mightily impressed with them all."

"Stew in telling revisionist tall stories" senation.   Truth Will Out 1  Stew's Credibility 0.

Er show me what is revisionist gweyltah, I stand by what I said about the crowd in Chicago, they were great but they did fawn over the boys that were wearing gaelic tops and i should know I was there, they did post the photos on the website and it did feel akward at the time, they were trying too hard, again I know because I was there but that is not a knock on the atmosphere at the game, it was powerful altogether and a far cry from what I had experienced before and they are to be commended for that.

[SammyG]

Er show me what is revisionist gweyltah, I stand by what I said about the crowd in Chicago, they were great but they did fawn over the boys that were wearing gaelic tops and i should know I was there, they did post the photos on the website and it did feel akward at the time, they were trying too hard, again I know because I was there but that is not a knock on the atmosphere at the game, it was powerful altogether and a far cry from what I had experienced before and they are to be commended for that.

You're alright stew, you weren't being singled out. There are 'tour photos' from every match NI have played in the last 20 years, not just the US tour, on various sites.

[stew]

Er show me what is revisionist gweyltah, I stand by what I said about the crowd in Chicago, they were great but they did fawn over the boys that were wearing gaelic tops and i should know I was there, they did post the photos on the website and it did feel akward at the time, they were trying too hard, again I know because I was there but that is not a knock on the atmosphere at the game, it was powerful altogether and a far cry from what I had experienced before and they are to be commended for that.

You're alright stew, you weren't being singled out. There are 'tour photos' from every match NI have played in the last 20 years, not just the US tour, on various sites.

I know there are Sammy, I have seen the pictures myself but that does not change the fact that the GAA top wearing men at the game were the most popular people at the game because the pictures are good publicity! are you going to deny that is the case or the reason why they were so popular?

[SammyG]

Er show me what is revisionist gweyltah, I stand by what I said about the crowd in Chicago, they were great but they did fawn over the boys that were wearing gaelic tops and i should know I was there, they did post the photos on the website and it did feel akward at the time, they were trying too hard, again I know because I was there but that is not a knock on the atmosphere at the game, it was powerful altogether and a far cry from what I had experienced before and they are to be commended for that.

You're alright stew, you weren't being singled out. There are 'tour photos' from every match NI have played in the last 20 years, not just the US tour, on various sites.

I know there are Sammy, I have seen the pictures myself but that does not change the fact that the GAA top wearing men at the game were the most popular people at the game because the pictures are good publicity! are you going to deny that is the case or the reason why they were so popular?

The only GAA top photie, I've seen, was a blonde women with a large chest and I think the photographer was more interested in that, than her GAA top.

[T Fearon]

Sammy, thats sounfs more like OBC (ie One Big Cleavage!) rather than OWC!

Tits the way I tell em!! Boom Boom

[Evil Genius]

I know there are Sammy, I have seen the pictures myself but that does not change the fact that the GAA top wearing men at the game were the most popular people at the game because the pictures are good publicity! are you going to deny that is the case or the reason why they were so popular?

Do you really believe that a group of (pissed-up?) football fans, on the lash 4,000 miles from home, could be so organised and insightful as to "fake" a friendly greeting to some other spectators, merely in order to supply a Photo Opportunity for propaganda purposes?

By that token, are NI soccer fans to assume that when the Chicago GAA invited the team along to a Reception in their city, that that gesture was a mere token, similarly insincere and predicated on equally underhand motives?

Good Grief! Has it never occurred to you that perhaps the OWC crowd were just a bit intrigued, tickled even, that some GAA fans had made the effort to come along, and in the spirit of sportsmanship, decided to reciprocate? After all, more than one member of the NI team they had travelled to support has a solid GAA background.

Not everyone has a hidden motive, you know - even "themmuns from OWC".

P.S. I wasn't there, but from knowing several who were, I have no doubt the Blonde with the Cleavage was more of a factor than anything else!