Being a neutral supporter for All-Ireland finals

[Onion Bag]

I have been to a few Finals in both codes as a neutral and never felt bad about getting a ticket and attending. as someone has already said half of the counties supporters are band wagon jumpers and any good loyal supporter will always get a ticket from somewhere

[Aristo 60]

So why go then, aristo?? You deprived someone from either county a ticket.

Good man Benny ! I hadn't thought of that - my day did have purpose after all!!

A more serious answer is that I was a club officer so automatically got a ticket. After a year's voluntary service why would I give a ticket away to Armagh or Tyrone.

[johnneycool]

I've been to many's an All Ireland hurling final as a neutral. Being from Armagh there's hardly any other way I could have done it. I never felt like I deprived anybody of a seat, in fact the first time I went I was in the Nally Stand with my dad, and with my brother squeezed into the same seat as me in the old lift-over-the-turnstiles tradition.   The way I see it if you're passionate enough about the game and if you put in enough work to promote it where it's not as widely played then you've as much right to be there as anybody else. My conscience is clear.

Rings a little hollow to be honest. You know you are denying someone from one of the competing counties a seat. If that's your decision then fair enough but don't try to present it as something other than that.

Crazy stuff. AI final day is the biggest neutral day of the year. This idea that if it wasn't was neutrals Croke Park would be filled with 82,000 supporters of the teams involved is ridiculous in almost every case. If there was no neutral interest it wouldn't be the All-Ireland final. Trying to play that guilt card is the softest-boiled crap I've ever heard.

Right, so Mayo and Donegal couldn't bring 82k between them? Soft-boiled crap indeed.

And a good chunk of those would be the fair weathered variety of fan irrespective of whatever county boundary they were born within.

I'm with Eamon on this one, if you are involved in your club and doing your bit then you've nothing to be embarrassed about. The real fans from both Donegal and Mayo will get tickets if they're members of their local clubs and should have nothing to worry about.

[stephenite]

2003 was the last final I attended as a neutral. I tried for about 2 hours to offload my ticket to anyone from Tyrone or Armagh that needed it, I seriously could not find one. Went along to the game and thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

Was in the pub half hour after the final whistle and found a Tyrone man who missed the game because he couldn't get a ticket - bought him a pint, and then he bought me a pint, I bought him one back..... this went on for a while.

[BennyCake]

In 02 and 03, I seen countless numbers of people failing to get tickets. People who support club and county all year round. Then to see the people who did get tickets, some of them couldn't spell fotball. But it's the same in every club in every county. The committee will always sort themselves, family and friends with tickets first, before throwing the scraps to the rest of the peasants.

Every club member in Donegal and Mayo should be able to get a ticket for this years final. But we all know that won't happen.

[Tony Baloney]

In 02 and 03, I seen countless numbers of people failing to get tickets. People who support club and county all year round. Then to see the people who did get tickets, some of them couldn't spell fotball. But it's the same in every club in every county. The committee will always sort themselves, family and friends with tickets first, before throwing the scraps to the rest of the peasants.

Every club member in Donegal and Mayo should be able to get a ticket for this years final. But we all know that won't happen.

I would reckon there has been a thread on this every year since the gaaboard started -  Do you suggest only the 4 counties in the final(s) are allocated tickets to be dished out as they see fit (tickets on presentation of league and championship ticket stubs etc.) in the first instance and then any returns are distributed to the rest of the counties?

[Aristo 60]

In 02 and 03, I seen countless numbers of people failing to get tickets. People who support club and county all year round. Then to see the people who did get tickets, some of them couldn't spell fotball. But it's the same in every club in every county. The committee will always sort themselves, family and friends with tickets first, before throwing the scraps to the rest of the peasants.

Every club member in Donegal and Mayo should be able to get a ticket for this years final. But we all know that won't happen.

I would reckon there has been a thread on this every year since the gaaboard started -  Do you suggest only the 4 counties in the final(s) are allocated tickets to be dished out as they see fit (tickets on presentation of league and championship ticket stubs etc.) in the first instance and then any returns are distributed to the rest of the counties?

[Croí na hÉireann]

I used to be in the feeling guilty on AI final day until a Galway supporter in 05 asked me for directions to Croke Park. He was on Mountjoy square.  Ticket secured for the hurling this year, neutral in name only.

[seanog]

This is my first All-Ireland final that I'll be watching as a neutral since 1998, since then I've shouted for Meath, Kerry, Galway, Kerry, Tyrone, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Down and Kerry.
What's your last neutral final where you genuinely had no inclination one way or the other in your support?

On a separate issue I'd never attend an All-Ireland final as a neutral supporter as I feel it'd be wrong to take the seat of someone from one of the 2 (or 4) counties involved, especially when I've gotten to see almost 20 All-Ireland finals involving my own county (Kerry), but then I think if that was the way everyone did things then someone from let's say Laois would go their whole life without witnessing an All-Ireland final.

to be honest i wouldnt feel one bit bad about going to an allireland final as a neutral, half the couty supporters from both teams will be just people that have just jumped on the bandwagon now they are in the final.(i dont mean just dionegal & mayo, the same applies every year to every county)
most of them would niether go to a national league game or even a club game.
Anyone who is a 'true' supporter, usually has no bother getting a ticket.

I'm not sure that is true about all true supporters getting tickets and how do you define 'true supporter"  anyway?

I have not missed a championship game since i was seven years old ,1984(lon/new york exc) , i admit i don't go to all league games does that make me not a true supporter? . There was 3k Mayo supporters approx at the q/f game, i do wonder where all these supporters come out from but just as an example the aul fella was on the phone to me this morning from down home , " a woman was looking for four tickets for her and her three kids who are under 12 , never been to a game in their lives,mother included" she will get them , no doubt about it , high standing/plenty of mulla etc. 

It makes me vomit but it is the reality of it all, people are very quick to say, you should of got your season ticket , yeah yeah, maybe some of us are unemployed at present and couldn't fork out at the time. I had accepted i will not get a ticket this time in my head before we even got there and i swore it wouldn't ruin the build up but already it's starting to wind me up

[Bingo]

I'd much prefer to see the vast majority of tickets going to the competing counties, sure you'll have a bucket load of bandwagoners at it. I just think that an awful lot of tickets end up been raffled by clubs and they'll end up with people who juts take them cause they are there to be taken.

You'd like to think that the regulars get sorted but no doubt some will miss out.

I've had a few calls looking tickets including a man looking tickets for his Mayo born wife and her old fella, she'd not know if it was football and hurling but could well get a ticket. She'll shout and roar like the best of them, but come 6 weeks, she'll not be talking too much about it.

Another one was from a donegal man. Lives in Monaghan now, I was onto him about taking his young fella up for the semi final, be a great day out, plenty of tickets etc, no he wasn't pushed, too much traffic and dragging the young fella about for the day, he's 8 by the way, would love to be dragged about for the day and meet his uncles. A few hours after the semi he text me looking a ticket for the final.

[deiseach]

I'm not sure that is true about all true supporters getting tickets and how do you define 'true supporter"  anyway?

I have not missed a championship game since i was seven years old ,1984(lon/new york exc) , i admit i don't go to all league games does that make me not a true supporter? . There was 3k Mayo supporters approx at the q/f game, i do wonder where all these supporters come out from but just as an example the aul fella was on the phone to me this morning from down home , " a woman was looking for four tickets for her and her three kids who are under 12 , never been to a game in their lives,mother included" she will get them , no doubt about it , high standing/plenty of mulla etc. 

It makes me vomit but it is the reality of it all, people are very quick to say, you should of got your season ticket , yeah yeah, maybe some of us are unemployed at present and couldn't fork out at the time. I had accepted i will not get a ticket this time in my head before we even got there and i swore it wouldn't ruin the build up but already it's starting to wind me up

Just reading that story is winding me up. Usually the system (such as it is) works fine, but usually you have at least one county in the final for whom successful September hurling/football is second nature which takes the pressure off demand. A few slaps need to be dished out

[blanketattack]

I used to be in the feeling guilty on AI final day until a Galway supporter in 05 asked me for directions to Croke Park. He was on Mountjoy square.  Ticket secured for the hurling this year, neutral in name only.

Even worse is I've seen Kerry in Croke Park over 30 times since 2000 and yet still on the first visit every year I forget if it's the Hogan Stand or the Cusack stand that you enter through the entrance across from Jurys for. 

[Jell 0 Biafra]

There's plenty of counties that are most unlikely to contest a final in either code.  Does that mean people from those counties should never get to see a final? 

[seanog]

My lovely Dublin neigbour just pulled me aside to tell me, i'll have a ticket for ya, no problem. I swear to god, never been as delighted in a long time.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

I used to be in the feeling guilty on AI final day until a Galway supporter in 05 asked me for directions to Croke Park. He was on Mountjoy square.  Ticket secured for the hurling this year, neutral in name only.

Even worse is I've seen Kerry in Croke Park over 30 times since 2000 and yet still on the first visit every year I forget if it's the Hogan Stand or the Cusack stand that you enter through the entrance across from Jurys for. 

Quit taking that litre of the Kingdom's finest poitin into that hotel with you each time, would ya (or at least leave with a full bottle too)!