The Ubiquity of Rugby

markesmith

I know a lot of people with scant interest in GAA, and derisive attitudes towards 'soccer', but they wet themselves when the rugby is on.

A lot of women seem to be mad into it especially, despite having zero interest in any other sport.

The players themselves are lauded as gentlemen and warriors, and the epitome of manliness.

tl;dr version: Am I the only person that finds it puzzling that rugby is so popular?

prinz

People like different things shocker! It's a bit like the way everyone becomes interested in the horses when Cheltenham is on, myself included.

smash

It's a proper full contact sport. Soccer is shíte.

humanji

You're puzzled that people would like something you've no interest in?

Zab

eh? It's nowhere near as popular as football.

chin_grin

markesmith wrote: »

I know a lot of people with scant interest in GAA, and derisive attitudes towards 'soccer', but they wet themselves when the rugby is on.

I couldn't be ar$ed with any of them.

Sky King

It seems to be very well promoted too. (I have no interest in it though).

kfallon

markesmith wrote: »

tl;dr version: Am I the only person that finds it puzzling that rugby is so popular?

No, I think it's absolutely shite myself and it became so popular when the football team became rubbish.

I remember Brendan Mullen, Eric Elwood, Ralph Keyes and Simon Geoghegan and when winning in Twickenham was the pinnacle of Irish rugby! These days if rugby was on in my back garden I'd close the curtains

FatherLen

because it's better than watching a bunch of overpaid lady-boys diving around a pitch for 90 minutes

hatrickpatrick

I prefer rugby over soccer for two reasons: Firstly because it's a more complex and interesting game, (less linear in my opinion), and also because Irish teams, both national and international, have a very strong presence - as a soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club, which just doesn't have the same excitement (for me anyway) as supporting my own province in rubgy tournaments.
I prefer it over GAA purely because there's far more of an international element to rugby. That's not to say GAA isn't a great game, it's just that I find supporting it isn't quite as exciting. I refer to both Football and Hurling here, although given the choice I do find hurling more exciting than Gaelic football

I suppose you could say I'm a man who prefers international battles to civil war

kfallon

prinz wrote: »

People like different things shocker! It's a bit like the way everyone becomes interested in the horses when Cheltenham is on, myself included.

Can't beat the ould nags tho

chin_grin

FatherLen wrote: »

because it's better than watching a bunch of overpaid lady-boys diving around a pitch for 90 minutes

Or heino-drinking toffs fondle each other? :pac:

Dudess

It seems to have become flavour of the month all right in the past 15 years or so - the Munster Leinster thing in particular.

Eramen

I agree OP, I know a good few people with that attitude.

They say 'GAA is for scumbags and has a bad culture.'

They say 'Soccer is for whimps.'

They say 'Rugby is a real sport for the real man.'

They say all this from the bar stool, red faced in argument and guzzling a heino.

I ought to ignore them sayings/ :pac:

Mr.Biscuits

smash wrote: »

It's a proper full contact [..]

So is gay porn.

Soccer is shíte.

Football is the greatest game ever invented.

chin_grin

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Football is the greatest game ever invented.

Careful now, don't be saying things you can't take back!

prinz

kfallon wrote: »

Can't beat the ould nags tho

Not as much as you could.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/15236541

RichieC

I like football and Rugby.

smash

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

Football is the greatest game ever invented.

It's 22 over paid posers wrecking a perfectly good lawn!

FatherLen

RichieC wrote: »

I like football and Rugby.

NO! you have to pick one!

kfallon

prinz wrote: »

Not as much as you could.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/15236541[/QUOTE]


Eh where am I mentioned in that article???

hatrickpatrick

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

So is gay porn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTpXymuwxNs

Dudess

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

as a soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club

FatherLen

i am going to announce my departure from this thread before the shitstorm of rugby vs soccer really kicks off.

SEPT 23 1989

The followers of rugby seem to be more interested in the social aspect of the game its like one large networking event

Leftist

markesmith wrote: »

I know a lot of people with scant interest in GAA, and derisive attitudes towards 'soccer', but they wet themselves when the rugby is on.

A lot of women seem to be mad into it especially, despite having zero interest in any other sport.

great post and 100% true.

there are plenty around that genuinely love the sport and did so before 2000.

so many bandwagon jumpers since. It's a fashion statement. A middle class glory hunting expedition. If irish teams were to become mediocre then these people wouldn't care.

kfallon

Dudess wrote: »

I also struggled with that bit too! Tho having been a fan of an Eircom League (as it was then) team for years until I had to move to Dublin you could argue some of them aren't actual football teams! :P

As someone once said to me of LOI Football.....it's free in but you have to pay to get out :pac:

hatrickpatrick

Dudess wrote: »

Should have been more precise: As an Irish soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club, in terms of club sport. Soccer internationals are still fun but Rugby has regular club games featuring Irish clubs every year, as well as international matches.

Again, that's just me

omg a kitty

GAA is great and all but it's a bit like watching your brothers play against your cousins everyday now. As a previous poster said, it's too local.

Soccer got boring after 2 seasons with all the off pitch non sense going on. Someone must make racist comments and someone must assault the referee. And an Irish team barely ever makes it international..we're not that good at it so all you people start supporting British clubs and at the same time turn around and say you hate Britain..make up your minds

smash

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

The followers of rugby seem to be more interested in the social aspect of the game its like one large networking event

As opposed to fighting with each other over who's "team" is better...

I said "team" because it's usually never their team, just a team from somewhere in the UK.

Bodhisopha

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I prefer rugby over soccer for two reasons: Firstly because it's a more complex and interesting game, (less linear in my opinion), and also because Irish teams, both national and international, have a very strong presence - as a soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club, which just doesn't have the same excitement (for me anyway) as supporting my own province in rubgy tournaments.
I prefer it over GAA purely because there's far more of an international element to rugby. That's not to say GAA isn't a great game, it's just that I find supporting it isn't quite as exciting. I refer to both Football and Hurling here, although given the choice I do find hurling more exciting than Gaelic football

I suppose you could say I'm a man who prefers international battles to civil war

Bollocks!

prinz

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Should have been more precise: As an Irish soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club, in terms of club sport....

http://ballsoutinpublic.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/bohemian-fc-have-a-home-draw-against-sligo-rovers-in-the-2009-fai-cup-quarter-finals.png

kfallon

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Bollocks!

Rugby, the game where you can't pass forward and the crowd clap their rings off when someone kicks it out of play

Driving studs down another player's back is seen as 'good play' :eek:

Funglegunk

Ireland has a strong international team, and two of our provinces are among the best teams in Europe. It's also more often than not an exciting sport to watch.

That's why it's popular.

Mr.Biscuits

smash wrote: »

It's 22 over paid posers wrecking a perfectly good lawn!

It can be, but that doesn't define it.

Leftist

rugby supporters are indeed very lucky to have irish teams to support. Even if they had to practically disolve all local teams in order to compete internationally.

but it cannot be compare to football as a sport. One is played in every country on the planet, the other is played in a hand full of south hemisphere colonies and north west europe.

prinz

I much prefer hurling to Gaelic football... must be the networking, heino, yadda yadda...... or it could just be that I liked to play hurling, and love to watch it.

Chuck Stone

I love watching rugby.

omg a kitty

kfallon wrote: »

Rugby, the game where you can't pass forward and the crowd clap their rings off when someone kicks it out of play

Driving studs down another player's back is seen as 'good play' :eek:

You seem to look at rugby as a variation of soccer or something. It's a different game, kicking it out in Rugby is different to kicking it out in soccer.
If you could pass forward, there would be no strategy. Like soccer where you just try to kick it into the goal for 90 mins.

prinz

Leftist wrote: »

One is played in every country on the planet, the other is played in a hand full of south hemisphere colonies and north west europe.

....and where does Japan fit in as a matter of interest?

GavRedKing

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I prefer rugby over soccer for two reasons: Firstly because it's a more complex and interesting game, (less linear in my opinion),

15 guys stand in a line, one fella tries to batter his way in, gets stopped, other guy kicks it out of play, repeat for 80 minutes.

and also because Irish teams, both national and international, have a very strong presence - as a soccer supporter your only real choice is to support a foreign club, which just doesn't have the same excitement (for me anyway) as supporting my own province in rubgy tournaments.

Theres a lot of LoI supoprters around here who go up and down the country with their clubs as well as a lot fo fans travelling across Europe to support many of the European leagues.

I suppose you could say I'm a man who prefers international battles to civil war

At most there is about 8 top class Rungy Union teams across the globe, compare that with football where theres about double that number.

foxyboxer

smash wrote: »

It's 22 over paid posers wrecking a perfectly good lawn!

Football is akin to dancing i.e. dancing to find space to play. Not very 'manly' and certainly not the image promoted by the macho tribalism of supporters or the sports media. It's called the beautiful game for a reason.

I would take Messi as the current epitome of what a footballer should be. Professional, gracious in victory and defeat and a proper role model for young people and most certainly not a poser.

And fwiw, i'd rather gouge out my eyeballs with a rusty spoon than watch Rugby.

Pal

markesmith wrote: »

The players themselves are lauded as gentlemen and warriors, and the epitome of manliness.

They are in my hole. (oops did I just take the bait or was he being serious ?)

Dyr

lot of commercial backing for that ABC1 morket=success=support

welcome to the bandwagon lads, does'nt matter that you have'nt a fkin clue who simon geoghan is, you wear that popped collar with the pride.

bullvine

From what I can tell about rugby, its always predictable, the good teams beat the crap teams, there doesnt appear to be much giant killing happening in it, that you get in Football, you'd never see the likes of Romania beating New Zealand in the World Cup but in the Football it happens in every tournament.

mikemac1

I prefer Rugby League
Used to work in Yorkshire and watched lots of games

It exists in Ireland but it's not very popular at all

pajunior

I don't understand why people can't appreciate most sports. I watch just about everything if I was to put them into lists it would go.
Rugby
Hurling
Soccer
Football
Basketball
American Football

and so on, they're all pretty good Rugby is just my favourite honestly though if I saw more basketball it probably would be that.

bullvine

I find the Leinster band wagon hilarious, they were ****e about 4 years ago, now half the cars in my area have the flags on them. Must be former Fianna Fail supporters or something!

dodderangler

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smash

I actually have a friend who's gone big into American football. He used to be a big soccer fan but he says these days it's just crap.

dodderangler

mikemac1 wrote: »

I prefer Rugby League
Used to work in Yorkshire and watched lots of games

It exists in Ireland but it's not very popular at all

I play the league during summer it seems to be only time it's played which is good to keep fit it's very fast game I actually prefer it to union