Ireland's biggest sporting embarrassment?

EICVD

CrabRevolution wrote: »

I think this post shows the point in the thread where we've really started scraping the bottom of the barrel of things to be embarrassed about. Either that or you're taking the piss.

Clearly I'm taking the piss.

CrabRevolution

EICVD wrote: »

Clearly I'm taking the piss.

After seeing some of the things people claim to be "embarrassed" by in this thread. It doesn't look that out of the ordinary really.....

Grand Moff Tarkin

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Some of the 'Olympians' we've sent to games over the years. So many dreadful performances to look back on across a wide range of disciplines.

The Olympians who have represented the Tri-Colour down the years have done so with little or no funding of any sort.

SEPT 23 1989

Grand Moff Tarkin wrote: »

The Olympians who have represented the Tri-Colour down the years have done so with little or no funding of any sort.

I thought it was the opposite nowadays

serious investment with embarrasing returns

Grand Moff Tarkin

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I thought it was the opposite nowadays

serious investment with embarrasing returns

The investment is nothing next to the investments and centres of excellence which other countries have for the Olympics no matter what we spend we will always be behind the rest. It's still no reason to knock the men and women who represent us as they are all amatures.

Duck's hoop

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Some of the 'Olympians' we've sent to games over the years. So many dreadful performances to look back on across a wide range of disciplines.

Any examples?

Fwiw, people aren't simply sent to the Olympics for the craic or cos they fancy a wee spin. There's a standard which must be met or surpassed.In othe words athletes need to qualify or they don't go.

So already they're better than the huge majority within their chosen sport.

efb

Michelle Smith's Whiskey Races

chopperbyrne

Henlars67 wrote: »

McGregor isn't an embarrassment, but he isn't a sportsman either.

Hitting somebody while they're on the ground isn't sport

Henlars67 wrote: »

Since when was hitting somebody while they're down allowed in boxing?

Standing eight counts and large gloves are far more dangerous than hitting a guy on the ground and ending a fight quicker.

Podge83

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Some of the 'Olympians' we've sent to games over the years. So many dreadful performances to look back on across a wide range of disciplines.

This thread has been entertaining, but to say that athletes are embarrassing us by achieving Olympic qualifying standard is misguided and bordering on ignorant.

Being beaten in the field by another team is disappointing, but rarely embarrassing - the real embarrassments are the few clowns in high places, the King being JD!!! Another embarrassing thing is fans expecting our small country to always be World beaters, and thinking we are when we get a few results!! Hopefully our day will come!!

Having said that some things in the field of play are sometimes embarrassing:- examples... Michelle Smith, Cian the horseman, GAA players celebrations [that quare jump some of them do when they score], Hegarty's demolition job in LA.

Someone quoted Catriona McKiernan's tank emptying in the London Marathon - Surely that was a display of ultimate will to win and something that we should be proud - ok, maybe a bit embarrassing for her at the time, but definitely not embarrassing for us as a nation.

Yip, though JD the Clown takes the biscuit on this one and the clowns that leave him there are worse!!

DeanAustin

who the fug wrote: »

To be fair he the perfect corporate player , comes in says all the right things gets his bonus and ****s off before his ****e starts to stink

Paul McGrath will always put more on the gate than him

Jesus not only wept but Jesus won't stop weeping until you stop talking about something you clearly have no idea about.

twinytwo

ColeTrain wrote: »

What do you think is Ireland's most embarrassing moment on the sporting stage?

'Ireland's most successful Olympian' Michelle Smith and her doping gets my vote.

You would want to be careful what you say, Smith was never found quilty of doping, only of tampering with a drug sample.

Baggy Trousers

twinytwo wrote: »

You would want to be careful what you say, Smith was never found quilty of doping, only of tampering with a drug sample.

I know she is a barrister but it's hardly libellous. She refuses to talk about the 4 medals she won or why she had to tamper with samples.

roy rodgers

I have to say there is questions that were raised about a greyhound that pat Kenny owned called late late show. the dog was running for charity and won 18 races open class races in a row!! it was never heard off and still no dog as come near to it. the dog won over a 100k and the publicity the greyhound board got was priceless
now his trainer was caught with a load of drugs imported from Australia but none of his dogs were ever found with substances in them which made us a laughing stock of the greyhound world. unfortunately its still being kept quite by government about greyhound racing doping but one of these days it will be out in the open if mick Wallace keeps at them!!

tayto lover

roy rodgers wrote: »

I have to say there is questions that were raised about a greyhound that pat Kenny owned called late late show. the dog was running for charity and won 18 races open class races in a row!! it was never heard off and still no dog as come near to it. the dog won over a 100k and the publicity the greyhound board got was priceless
now his trainer was caught with a load of drugs imported from Australia but none of his dogs were ever found with substances in them which made us a laughing stock of the greyhound world. unfortunately its still being kept quite by government about greyhound racing doping but one of these days it will be out in the open if mick Wallace keeps at them!!

Could Mick Wallace not be described as one of our worst sporting embarrassments himself being involved with Wexford Youths and doing the country out of 2 million in fiddled taxes?
Some hypocritic boy to be attempting to highlight the wrong-doings of others imo.

martingriff

Saying that no irish person should support the Lions as 1 Irishman was picked even though there was plenty other Irishmen in the team.

The Aussie

Baggy Trousers wrote: »

I know she is a barrister but it's hardly libellous. She refuses to talk about the 4 medals she won or why she had to tamper with samples.

Or just how at her advanced age (in swimming terms) she came from a almost ran in Europe (not the best region) to wiping the floor with the best in the World, I will call her a CHEAT and be dammed with her degree, it's probably worth as much as her Olympic Gold...

Bit then again, a chick who pisses Whiskey, well...

Hermy

Given his attitude to drugs in sport Jimmy Magee is quite an embarrassment.

roy rodgers

maybe! but I don't care about his personal downfalls he is bringing up a situation about the greyhound board that could also fall the government. im not left or right wing but if he is doing the right thing for the greyhound board im with him. too many suits hiding too many secrets again

DEFTLEFTHAND

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Any examples?

Fwiw, people aren't simply sent to the Olympics for the craic or cos they fancy a wee spin. There's a standard which must be met or surpassed.In othe words athletes need to qualify or they don't go.

So already they're better than the huge majority within their chosen sport.

They are in some cases, wildcard entrants for instance.

Anyway I'm talking about athletes choking and failing to perform to their potential at games. Failing to make it out of heats etc.

CrabRevolution

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They are in some cases, wildcard entrants for instance.

Anyway I'm talking about athletes choking and failing to perform to their potential at games. Failing to make it out of heats etc.

I dont think there are any wildcards unless you manage to qualify nobody for anything. That's the reason why you see so many little island nations send some hopelessly out of their depth sprinters to the 100m. They qualify nobody through the normal route, and can only send one person to the olympics, so may as well let it be the most high profile sport there.

What incidents of failure are you talking about though?

chicorytip

Roy Keane.

Podge83

chicorytip wrote: »

Roy Keane.

I am/ was Keane's biggest fan, but must admit he is going down the embarrassing road lately.

tayto lover

roy rodgers wrote: »

maybe! but I don't care about his personal downfalls he is bringing up a situation about the greyhound board that could also fall the government. im not left or right wing but if he is doing the right thing for the greyhound board im with him. too many suits hiding too many secrets again

You don't care if someone breaks the law as long as he exposes someone else who broke the law?

Muahahaha

grazeaway wrote: »

Used to live in limerick and playing Munster rugby means a lot to people there and dare I say it more then playing for Ireland. Worked in Belfast too for while and it was the same with the ulster lads. Know a few ex Munster lads from cork and they would be the same but playing for Ireland meant more to them then some of the limerick lads. The pro contract had nothing to do it with. Not sure about the lads in Connacht or Leinster

Can I ask where does the Limerick and rugby fascination come from? Not being facetious but rugby union in Ireland seems to me to have much of its roots in fee paying schools across south Dublin, Clontarf. In Dublin it seems that rugby is largely a middle class sport whereas I get the impression in Limerick that class doesn't really matter down there and that both the working and middle classes play it and love it together. I don't know if this is as a kind of result of Dublin snobbery where those living in Clontarf, Blackrock, etc wanted to distinguish themselves from other classes or something but its hard not to get that impression. Limerick though bucks the trend, it reminds me of New Zealand as its the same there- it doesn't matter what background or race you come from, you play rugby and that its. Indeed the absence of class divisions in New Zealand rugby is arguably the single biggest reason why they're so good at it- they have a much larger talent pool to pick from when the sport is out there on its own and everyone in the nation plays it at some stage or other.

BuilderPlumber

Euro 2012 for sure!

Podge83

tayto lover wrote: »

Could Mick Wallace not be described as one of our worst sporting embarrassments himself being involved with Wexford Youths and doing the country out of 2 million in fiddled taxes?
Some hypocritic boy to be attempting to highlight the wrong-doings of others imo.

Mick Wallace is definitely not a sporting embarrassment. He put money into setting up a football club and facility that has done plenty to benefit football in Wexford.

Dirty Dingus McGee

The ridiculous hype that greets every victory the British and Irish Lions have is quiet embarrassing. 4 countries combined beating Beating Australia (where Rugby union is not massively popular relative to other sports in Australia) was nowhere near the achievement it is made out to be.Frankly they should have been ashamed of themselves had they failed to beat Australia.

Podge83

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

The ridiculous hype that greets every victory the British and Irish Lions have is quiet embarrassing. 4 countries combined beating Beating Australia (where Rugby union is not massively popular relative to other sports in Australia) was nowhere near the achievement it is made out to be.Frankly they should have been ashamed of themselves had they failed to beat Australia.

A bit like the Ryder cup when a whole continent plays one country!!

Dirty Dingus McGee

Dublins incredibly poor record in hurling and the patronising attitude the media has had to them over the last few years.They have never actually won an all Ireland with a team of players from Dublin in their entire history and the way the media have been going on about them recently you'd think it was Leitrim that had improved at hurling and become competitive not the biggest county in the country.

Dublin shouldn't be getting much praise for being good at the moment they should be one of the top hurling counties they should have been getting lambasted for the last 50 years for being so terrible in that period.

LorMal

Billy86 wrote: »

It's just as easy to turn around and say that hitting someone at all being the aim means neither "are sports" - but it doesn't make it at all true. It just makes them a sport that they don''t personally like. At the end of the day though both are, definitively, sports.

sport
spɔːt/Submit
noun
1.
an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
"team sports such as soccer and rugby"
synonyms: (competitive) game(s), physical recreation, physical activity, physical exercise; pastime
"he takes part in a variety of sports"

Why do people have to turn around before they say something?