GAA runs my life!!

[5 Sams]

After just posting on the Meath v Limerick thread I realised how much GAA runs my life, esp from May to September. every Sunday is taken with games which I cannot miss and then trying to organise a holiday around games is immmpossible!

Only Sundays? It doesnt really run your life then....just a pastime once a week.

[highking]

No - GAA isnt running your life if you are just a supporter. Try being a coach/manager or a club officer. Then it runs your life.

Take an example of a father of three boys aged 9, 12 and 14. He is secretary of the Bord na nOg in the club so everything goes through him. He coaches at the football nursery on Saturday morning and the hurling nursery on Sunday after Mass. He is also a selector for the club U12 & U14 teams, both football and hurling. At lunchtime during work, he spends 30 mins on the phone texting parents about what is happening every evening, and is also involved in fundraising for the club.

His oldest son is on the county U14 hurling and football panels so he goes along to that also. The only time he gets a break from working within the GAA is when he bundles the kids into the car and heads off to a county game.

GAA is controling his life - but not yours.

[stevecw]

After just posting on the Meath v Limerick thread I realised how much GAA runs my life, esp from May to September. every Sunday is taken with games which I cannot miss and then trying to organise a holiday around games is immmpossible! esp when we go into the qualifiers. for example I was all set to go away from the 2nd to the 9th August, (have to take that week off in work) until Meath hit the quaifiers. now I wasnt that stupid to book as you never know with the GAA but I had said that was the date we'd go and now I dont have a clue!! If Meath win on 19th we've the next game on the 26th and if we win that then we may be playing on the 2nd 3rd or even 4th August. If we win that then we could be playing on the 9th or 10th, its just so hard to know! my holiday could be 9 days long or 6 days!! of course we could get beaten on the 19th and none of this will matter. anyone else have problems like this?!!!!! Im not really complaining though    I think its madness having the quarter finals a week after the last of the qualifiers, 7 days for one team, its unfair anyway just thought Id get more opinions on this...

Being from Carlow I'd love to have that complaint! Our football season ends last week of May or 1st week of June each year!
Ok TM cup is on in July, but who cares about that.
Only thing that keeps our summer going are the hurlers, but as im not as into that as the football i wouldnt re-schedule holidays to see hurlers play.

[magpie seanie]

For someone with little interest in the GAA my missus is fairly sound about things. Weddings and family dos during the football season do cause trouble though. I see her point but its a feckin balls altogether. Got married in February myself and got a beautiful day. In this country you can't use the weather as a reason to schedule your wedding for a certain time of the year - look outside now and its pissing down.

[stephenite]

I have at least one dark moment every day, usually within an hour of waking up where I think of Mayo's All Ireland defeats and then I daydream about the day we might win one! It has to be unhealthy

How often would you run 1996 replay through your head Barney - I reckon I'd think about it about 6 times a week still, times a great healer my hole

[RedandGreenSniper]

I have at least one dark moment every day, usually within an hour of waking up where I think of Mayo's All Ireland defeats and then I daydream about the day we might win one! It has to be unhealthy

How often would you run 1996 replay through your head Barney - I reckon I'd think about it about 6 times a week still, times a great healer my hole

Time makes it worse if anything because you felt there was an All-Ireland in that team in the following couple of years. Now that they're consigned to history (with one glorious exception) you really appreciate how wonderful an opportunity that was.
It haunts me most days too, still haven't been able to sit thru a video of it or watch it when it was on All-Ireland Gold

I think Brady sums it up perfectly in Keith Duggan's book. He says he felt nothing after 04 and 06 because Mayo didn't turn up. The same, not quite to the same extent with 97. But he says 1996 will haunt him til the day he dies. He wonders what if he managed to block down Coyle's clearance.
If, I mean when, Mayo win an All-Ireland it will be great for fans like us. But for anyone that actually played in 1996 I don't think that'll provide much solice. And the same for John Maughan. God you'd have to feel for them

[RedandGreenSniper]

No - GAA isnt running your life if you are just a supporter. Try being a coach/manager or a club officer. Then it runs your life.

Take an example of a father of three boys aged 9, 12 and 14. He is secretary of the Bord na nOg in the club so everything goes through him. He coaches at the football nursery on Saturday morning and the hurling nursery on Sunday after Mass. He is also a selector for the club U12 & U14 teams, both football and hurling. At lunchtime during work, he spends 30 mins on the phone texting parents about what is happening every evening, and is also involved in fundraising for the club.

His oldest son is on the county U14 hurling and football panels so he goes along to that also. The only time he gets a break from working within the GAA is when he bundles the kids into the car and heads off to a county game.

GAA is controling his life - but not yours.

Great post.
These people are what are keeping our organisation together. We'd have five or six people putting in an effort approaching this in our club and we'd be nowhere without them. The potential for inter-county players getting paid at the expense of such great people like these sickens and saddens me

[Barney]

How often would you run 1996 replay through your head Barney - I reckon I'd think about it about 6 times a week still, times a great healer my hole

I'd say I'm in the 5 - 10 category Stephenite. Like RnG I haven't been able to watch replays of that, I even turned on the TV the other evening and just caught Reeling in the Years from 1996 - only saw one bit - that Brendan Reilly point. I think only winning Sam will heal this cut.

[AZOffaly]

I'm afraid it won't Barney. I still can't watch the Offaly Clare 1995 hurling all Ireland all the way through. I can't really picture many of our 'winning' scores as clearly as I can picture Eamon Taffe's jammy goal in the last couple of minutes that day.

[Norf Tyrone]

No - GAA isnt running your life if you are just a supporter. Try being a coach/manager or a club officer. Then it runs your life.

Take an example of a father of three boys aged 9, 12 and 14. He is secretary of the Bord na nOg in the club so everything goes through him. He coaches at the football nursery on Saturday morning and the hurling nursery on Sunday after Mass. He is also a selector for the club U12 & U14 teams, both football and hurling. At lunchtime during work, he spends 30 mins on the phone texting parents about what is happening every evening, and is also involved in fundraising for the club.

His oldest son is on the county U14 hurling and football panels so he goes along to that also. The only time he gets a break from working within the GAA is when he bundles the kids into the car and heads off to a county game.

GAA is controling his life - but not yours.

Great post.
These people are what are keeping our organisation together. We'd have five or six people putting in an effort approaching this in our club and we'd be nowhere without them. The potential for inter-county players getting paid at the expense of such great people like these sickens and saddens me

Every club I'm sure has a few of these. I don't know how they do it, and what sickens me is the amount of people in clubs that do not realise or appreciate them.

[THEREALGRASSROOTS]

I haven't missed a senior club game since I started playing for them four years ago, meaning having to take days off work, reorganise shifts, work nights, et al.  I don't take summer holidays (prefer the winter anyway, me tells the wife  )...I was adult club secretary from I was 16 until I was 19, then work meant I had to drop it, I'm now the underage secretary and PRO. I go to all county football and hurling matches.  It pished out of the heavens last night and I was one of about ten people standing watching a match.  Then I went to training.  Even my ma washes the jerseys  but I love it.  People complain about playing too much but when I'm 40, I know it'll break my heart to stand behind the wire (or inside it, whatever) and watch.  Nothing beats the feeling of pride when you're on the pitch at the final whistle in a championship final.

And to the man whose sister is getting married - football first, family second 

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Fly home for every Dublin championship match (nigtmare organsing flights as have to pray don't end up in qualifiers) but go with my auld lad, brother in law and uncle (all 3 who's wives hate Gaelic and think Sunday should be spent with family) and I get blamed every time for dragging them to the match......Its so bad now my mother/sister/aunt now tell me i amn't allowed back to Dublin during the summer....