Boston College v Georgia Tech @ Aviva Stadium 2016

jack presley

csirl wrote: »

All these things happen with all the games - they are not unique to 2016.

More people coming enhances these types of non-football activities. Bigger events impress the visitors more. More Europeans adds to the tourism income.

The real question is which of the 3-4 parties who bid for this type of event is best placed to run it, as opposed to whether they should happen.

There's also the level of State support and value for money. Some bidders require a lot less State financial support to deliver more. The big question out of this event is the Departments choice of which prospective organisers to fund. Who wins the bid for these games is hugely impacted by who the Department funds. Personally I think they made the wrong choice.

I think the Department should make its funding available to whoever wins on merit rather than chosing in advance. Their modus operandi is effectively taking the choice away from the visiting teams.

Of course you think they made the wrong choice, your organisation wasn't allowed to be involved.

However yesterday was a success and the week overall was a great success so it obviously wasn't too bad a decision.

Killergreene

Fantastic day. Great to see the bitters from iafa still have a few sour lemons stuck in their mouths. Csirl's posts are littered with the salty sting of someone who wasn't invited to a party and then told everyone who would listen he didn't want to go anyway because it was sh.it. great event and great game. Dublin can really become the capital for overseas college ball.

csirl

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

IAFA before the game: "It's run by cowboys, it may not go ahead. Shills, man your forums! "

IAFA after the game: "It went ahead but it was sh!t. Shills, man your forums!"

Must be eating away at them seeing how many people had great day. It's almost as if the fact that it wasn't sanctioned by them made zero difference whatsoever - who'd have thunk it!

Unless they used an IAFA sanctioned witch doctor to summon rain for the day :pac:

IAFA doesn't have a forum.

Yes, the football Gods were p*ssing on the game 😄

csirl

jack presley wrote: »

Of course you think they made the wrong choice, your organisation wasn't allowed to be .

Sorry, IAFA decided not to be involved in spite of incredible pressure being put on it to approve the game plus, so Im told, offers of cash in the days leading up to the game.

As a National Governing Body and National Federation, IAFA cannot approve an event that doesn't meet the required standards. The insurance issue alone was enough to fail the event - IAFA's insurance company will not allow it to be involved.

The fact that the IAFA acted in accordance with Irish Sports Council advise and the decision was endorsed by the International Federation says more about the organisers than the IAFA. IAFA is accountable to both the ISC and International Federation and has to follow their respective advices, guidelines and rules.

IAFAs principaled position should be applauded particularly considering the scandals in Irish sport we're becoming accustomed to.

The poor attendance confirms that both the Irish and European football community sided with IAFA over the organisers.

JaMarcusHustle

csirl wrote: »

The poor attendance confirms that both the Irish and European football community sided with IAFA over the organisers.

You are deluded if you think that. Seriously.

TOss Sweep

Hey Csirl it doesn't surprise me in the slightest you are annoyed with the game still. As for the 20-25k come on you are wrong there. Easily over 30k in the stadium. Ask anyone who goes to Lansdowne road for rugby and soccer and they will tell you there was easily over 30k there.

But of course an IAFA board member is going to spin the whole week differently. The bitterness is strong in you.

One last thing 20k people coming from Europe is just plain wrong. Have you got numbers to back that up from previous games? Id say closer to 5-10k if even.

TOss Sweep

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

csirl wrote: »

The poor attendance confirms that both the Irish and European football community sided with IAFA over the organisers.

You are deluded if you think that. Seriously.

I love how he is spinning this. All I have to do is look at my Facebook from the few hundred IAFL and European AF players and coaches and friends of the game to know it was attended just as well as the Penn State game. The Notre Dame game was always going to sell out no matter what section of people the crowd came from. Got to love it pretending everyone in the sport in Ireland and Europe were behind them.

Adamcp898

Just as a comment on the attendance, and I wasn't at the game, but are the people that are saying it was easily over 30k taking into account the seats that were covered and the places taken up by the band etc. that ma give the perception of more people being there than there actually was? Don't really see why the event organiser would give out a false attendance figure.

TOss Sweep

Adamcp898 wrote: »

Just as a comment on the attendance, and I wasn't at the game, but are the people that are saying it was easily over 30k taking into account the seats that were covered and the places taken up by the band etc. that ma give the perception of more people being there than there actually was? Don't really see why the event organiser would give out a false attendance figure.

I stand corrected if the attendance was officially lower. Been to a lot of games in there and it looked like there was at least 30-32k in the place. And ESPN mentioned it at one point there around 30k. Then again looking on tv can be decievig. Either way the reasons provided by csirl is just nonsense bitter talk.

csirl

TOss Sweep wrote: »

I love how he is spinning this. All I have to do is look at my Facebook from the few hundred IAFL and European AF players and coaches and friends of the game to know it was attended just as well as the Penn State game. The Notre Dame game was always going to sell out no matter what section of people the crowd came from. Got to love it pretending everyone in the sport in Ireland and Europe were behind them.

I have to dissagree.

So why was the attendance so poor? Organizers claiming up to 20k Americans - which is in line with Penn State game. It was a good competitive fixture with a team with strong Irish links. Its not the weather - most tickets are advance sales - usually weeks/months in advance. So less than 5k Irish/European people attended?, In spite of every second Harvey Norman etc customer 'winning' a ticket, prices being slashed and freebies being circulated in rugby clubs etc.

Weather doesn't explain a 30-35k drop in attendance. Nor do other events in Ireland this weekend. Nor do the facilities/stadium.

The sport is growing rapidly. So can someone put forward a credible reason why the attendance dipped so much?

TOss Sweep

- 2 teams that can't even fill their own stadiums in the US
- 2 teams that don't have a massive following outside the US and the same football history as say Penn State or Notre Dame
- Definitely wasn't 20k Americans travelling over for yesterdays game probably more like 8-10k give the attendance and probably puts Irish and Europeans and Alumni living in Europe at the other 10-15k
- The price of tickets was a factor for many neutrals
- Any casual fan who thought of going probably didn't due tot he above and the weather being ****.

Same reasons for any sport grabbing a low attendance really. If you really think the IAFA not being involved didn't bring in 10-20k people you are deluded. The IAFA sympathisers certainly wouldn't make up.the difference you are claiming. The sport locally can barely get 1k at a Shamrock bowl for fook sake.

Give it a rest csirl the bitterness in you is strong and i was involved in the game long enough to know that things will never change for a hadnful of folk in the IAFA. Plenty of members were at the game yesterday and the games on Friday.

JaMarcusHustle

Add in the fact that both teams were coming off of miserable seasons - going 0-8 and 1-7 in ACC play respectively. Hardly a recipe for anticipation of the upcoming season.

The reason the Penn State and Notre Dame games did so well was because Penn State were coming off of the end of a 4 year bowl game ban, so Dublin was their Bowl Game. They travelled in their droves to it, and had an average 2015 attendance of 99k (only down 2% compared to the previous year). That means their stadium was on average 92% full.

Notre Dame have one of the wealthiest alumni networks in the US, and again average 80k fans at their games in 2015 (with no change compared to the previous year). That was an average of 99% full attendance. Add in the fact that the Navy game is seen as a rivalry too.

That's 2 teams with a strong following, the means to travel and a record of high attendance.

BC averaged 30k in 2015. Their stadium wasn't even 70% full. This wasn't a game of note, these 2 teams haven't played in about 5 years. This game was organised with an expectancy that Boston College and it's Irish links would help it sell well. I would be surprised if Georgia Tech's fans didn't outnumber BC's yesterday. They certainly outsang and outcheered them. It was poorly planned from a team selection point of view, but the execution of the event itself was very well done.

csirl

TOss Sweep wrote: »

- 2 teams that can't even fill their own stadiums in the US
- 2 teams that don't have a massive following outside the US and the same football history as say Penn State or Notre Dame
- Definitely wasn't 20k Americans travelling over for yesterdays game probably more like 8-10k give the attendance and probably puts Irish and Europeans and Alumni living in Europe at the other 10-15k
- The price of tickets was a factor for many neutrals
- Any casual fan who thought of going probably didn't due tot he above and the weather being ****.

Organizers claimed that 17k tickets had already been sold to Americans before tickets went on sale in Ireland.

In 2014, 15k is the genuine number of ticket sales generated via tapping directly into EFAFs 120,000 registered players/coaches. Most also received emails from their organisations recommending attendance. IAFA itself had 4k tickets. (Note you can trace via the codes circulated to members).

The organisers of this game were refused access to European members.

Question for the naysayers.

What would you do when faced with the IAFAs situation? Would you risk your ISC funding and International Federation membership to be involved in a non-core third party event? Would you risk uninsured claims and the possible cancellation of your own insurance? What would you do? What's an acceptable risk to take? Would you gamble with the future existence of your organisation?

How would you proceed under intense pressure from the organisers to sanction the event 'for the good of the tourism industry' and from the sporting side not to sanction due to it not complying (and having MMA fatality being mentioned at every turn).

In the end of the day IAFA is a sports organisation so its sporting relationships are more important than tourism or promoters.


Edit. P.S. I find it hard to believe that the Department didn't force compliance. I thought the organisers would allow the Department to, at the very least, resolve the indemnification issue to allow the main game comply and get sanction. This was the easiest path for all parties. But feedback suggests a lack of cooperation.

JaMarcusHustle

I don't think anyone is questioning the business side of things CS. It's the false front the IAFA put on, suggesting the game would be cancelled. And now hear you are trying to rain on the parade of people who enjoyed it.

You're so quick to clear things up now, but where were you in the weeks leading up the game when there was some confusion about whether the game was going ahead? Why weren't you clarifying then that the game was under no threat of cancelation at all? Or were you, as a high ranking IAFA member, happy to allow the confusion to simmer in the hopes it would impact the success of the event?

TOss Sweep

Why are you asking us what we would do if we were the IAFA? That is irrelevant to this whole thread and if you have to ask what you should do as a board member then you should probably think about stepping down as the answer to your questions are not on a message board.

I said in the beginning both parties carry some blame and is it any shock a promotions company marketed heavy with false numbers? After all all promotions comapnies will pad up their event to make sales. Its what they are good at.

What it boils down to here is your negative posts and throwing blame and bitterness because you werent involved. The day went well for the country whether you agree or not. And ues it could have been done better to some extent and could have involved the IAFA and both parties could have handled their sh1t better but that didn't happen so chalk it up and move on.

But answer me this if your truly nelieve your involvement would have 20k to the stadium why is it the Shamrock bowl can't get any more than 1k and more than 2k in previous years. Many other countries including some younger countries can get 5-10k and or fill their stadiums.

Deco99

Patww79 wrote: »

The Aviva was the main reason I didn't go along myself and I know a lot of people who have the same feelings (about other events). Croke Park is marginally better but it's such a pity we don't have a decent stadium with even manageable access in and, most especially, out.
Even if the college team I've followed all my adult life had been playing and I'd bought a ticket on a whim, when it came to the day it would be very hard to face that nightmare.

Nonsense. I got dart at connolly straight to ground and back straight after match no hassle.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

csirl

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

I don't think anyone is questioning the business side of things CS. It's the false front the IAFA put on, suggesting the game would be cancelled. And now hear you are trying to rain on the parade of people who enjoyed it.

You're so quick to clear things up now, but where were you in the weeks leading up the game when there was some confusion about whether the game was going ahead? Why weren't you clarifying then that the game was under no threat of cancelation at all? Or were you, as a high ranking IAFA member, happy to allow the confusion to simmer in the hopes it would impact the success of the event?

Its not for IAFA to determine whether an event will or will not proceed or to inform ticket holders. IAFA announced the game failed to get sanction and the possible implications for IAFA if it were to be involved. It was silent on the game proceeding. Its first public statements were made in response to misinformation being spread by 3rd parties in the press. Otherwise it wouldn't have gone public - it had only communicated with the various stakeholders and its own members at that stage.

Once it failed sanction, in Ireland, it legally speaking, became an unrecognised/unregulated sports event ala MMA etc. So legally speaking it became to IAFA what MMA is to the recognised Irish body for martial arts.

Unfortunately by the time the sanction decision was made, grants and other supports had already been spent/given thus reducing the leverage to force compliance. Believe me, the fact that the game proceeded without compliance is more symptomatic of the Departments lack of power than support fir the event. There were solutions to the compliance issues - by the Government taking on some responsibilities - but these obviously required the cooperation of the organisers.

I expect there to be ramifications re the decision to proceed without compliance. My personal opinion is that the organisers knew they were struggling and so were in 'survival mode' rather than worrying about whether they'll get grant money for future events. I suspect this is the last we'll hear of them re this type of event. I

Deco99

The IAFA, some people say, didnt get offered enough cash.

thomond2006

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

There's pros though. It's in a great area with a variety pubs/restaurants etc. within walking distance of any of the entrances to the stadium and is relatively close to the city centre.

OldMrBrennan83

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okidoki987

There is no way there was only 20k at the match.
I was in the South stand and could see all the other stands perfectly.
GT had most of their 3 tiers full, BC had 2 blocks empty towards the North stand and there was a few seats free in North.
Premium seemed full enough all round apart from the odd empty couple of seats/rows, Box seats were about half full.
I'd say there was around 30-32k there on the day.
Would have been more if the weather was better.

thomond2006

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Well you're never going to have a pub near a stadium that isn't busy pre/post match. Otherwise they wouldn't be in business! I go to plenty games at the Aviva and with the variety of places in Ringsend/Baggot St/Ballsbridge/Beggar's Bush there's plenty to choose from.

I definitely accept that driving to the Aviva would be a pain, unless you're driving alongside the Dart line to park. Where would be a better location to build a new ground, given the public transport currently in place?

OU812

Anyone find it online? I'd like to watch it from a TV perspective as from the highlights I posted above it seems like a very different game.

Shedite27

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Having a stadium in a central location with lots of pubs around is priceless. So many stadiums around the world are built in soulless carparks on the outskirts of cities, with bad public transport links.

We're blessed to have a stadium that you can walk to from City Centre AND have a light rail stopping 20 meters from the stadium. Can't get much better than that

Shedite27

csirl, put away the laptop and stop embarrassing yourself. Go back to whatever your usual profile is.

TOss Sweep

csirl wrote: »

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

I don't think anyone is questioning the business side of things CS. It's the false front the IAFA put on, suggesting the game would be cancelled. And now hear you are trying to rain on the parade of people who enjoyed it.

You're so quick to clear things up now, but where were you in the weeks leading up the game when there was some confusion about whether the game was going ahead? Why weren't you clarifying then that the game was under no threat of cancelation at all? Or were you, as a high ranking IAFA member, happy to allow the confusion to simmer in the hopes it would impact the success of the event?

Its not for IAFA to determine whether an event will or will not proceed or to inform ticket holders. IAFA announced the game failed to get sanction and the possible implications for IAFA if it were to be involved. It was silent on the game proceeding. Its first public statements were made in response to misinformation being spread by 3rd parties in the press. Otherwise it wouldn't have gone public - it had only communicated with the various stakeholders and its own members at that stage.

Once it failed sanction, in Ireland, it legally speaking, became an unrecognised/unregulated sports event ala MMA etc. So legally speaking it became to IAFA what MMA is to the recognised Irish body for martial arts.

Unfortunately by the time the sanction decision was made, grants and other supports had already been spent/given thus reducing the leverage to force compliance. Believe me, the fact that the game proceeded without compliance is more symptomatic of the Departments lack of power than support fir the event. There were solutions to the compliance issues - by the Government taking on some responsibilities - but these obviously required the cooperation of the organisers.

I expect there to be ramifications re the decision to proceed without compliance. My personal opinion is that the organisers knew they were struggling and so were in 'survival mode' rather than worrying about whether they'll get grant money for future events. I suspect this is the last we'll hear of them re this type of event. I

I love how all of this is your personal opinion when it smells more like an official statement. Sad part is its how you have gone on about rhe game and how bitter you sound and that is what people are responding to in here. Its clear as day you are part of the IAFA board and have clear vested interests so no one is going to take you as a neutral. You are clearly bitter with the lack of involvement by the IAFA with the game and have made some bold statements saying the game was affected by you guys not being involved which is nonsense. We all read the official statements and your stance on it no need to repeat it is as no one cares really.

Deco99

Patww79 wrote: »

Packed pubs you hardly have room to lift a pint to your gub in. And you've still to try work a way home after then.

Anyway, no big deal as we've all a choice whether to go or not. I was just making the point that I know a few people who would have interest in the game that wouldn't go near the aviva and I'd say we're not the only people. Just another factor in lower attendance buy not one anyone can solve until we've a 3rd stadium in a better location.

A third stadium?

To go with the two underused ones we already have? Packed pubs? So you want a stadium outside the city you can park right in front of and walk in, then after drive home with no traffic. Would you like a complimentary massage as well at halftime? I'll leave this nonsense alone. Game over now. Had fun. No hassle, big crowd as well.

bikeman1

I work at the Aviva. At half time there was 31,500 people in attendance. Many people turned up late. One thing to note was that all of the corporate boxes and areas were in use yesterday which appear hidden from the main levels. There was also a lot of people going to and from the shops all day unlike the soccer or rugby when you mainly have the pre match and half time rushes.

For me it seemed like a great atmosphere and all the patrons were very kind and polite.

OldMrBrennan83

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odyssey06

I think the early kick off of 1230 may have also put off some local \ casual attendees ... I think the 2012 and 2014 games were a bit later?

As for the DARTs, it was a bit annoying to have to get one DART, the "match special" only to Connolly, then switch platforms to get another one northbound. Didn't seem to make sense given that the 'special' DART just sat there in Connolly after disembarking passengers.
But I think Aviva is a much better venue given the pitch size than Croker.

salmocab

Just on the stadium location, a stadium out in the suburbs would put off more people than the amount being put off by the central location.

Blut2

"The game can't go ahead without IAFA approval"
"The game won't go ahead"
"The game was a terrible failure"

I came into this game about a month ago with no great knowledge of the IAFA and only a vague awareness of the dispute. And no loyalty to either side in the dispute. But seeing csirl's posts here and the "not csirl" poster on reddit has really left a bad impression of the IAFA in my mind. Deliberately registering throw-away accounts on forums to post blatantly untrue propaganda is just such childish behaviour. If their board members are behaving like this then to be honest I'd now be of the opinion they were probably in the wrong in the dispute too - it really doesn't say much of their character.

Dodge

I've no idea who you are csirl but your recent posts are embarrassing.

There was way closer to 40k at the game yesterday than the 20k you think went

Pretty much every body around me had a good time. There were no grumbles walking out of the ground

And loads of people used free shuttle buses as transport into the city

The only people who can have any issue with Saturday are people with extremely bitter axes to grind

I don't normally say stuff like this but your bull **** passive aggressive posts demand you either come clean about who you are, or you stop posting blatant lies

prinzeugen

20k attendance is rubbish. I work there and have the ability to check on the attendance down to how many come in each stile.

As I already posted, it was 31,500 at kick off and people were still arriving. So it could have been 33-34,000 max.

I believe circa 37,000 tickets were sold out of the 48,000 available.

helimachoptor

I did see one guy (who was hammered) come in after the 4th Q.. he looked bewildered!

Killergreene

It was a storming success
Myself and my partner went after getting tickets a few weeks ago on a whim. We have no real affiliation to either college but Said it would be something different to do for a change. A kind soul on here also gave me a 15% off code.
I was impressed from start to finish and there are two new Converts to the college ball game. I find it sickening to see someone so sour come on and try to spoil the great time everyone else had. It smacks of irish begrudgery. Csirl cannot cope that the event went off so well without a hitch. The ncaa or espn didn't seem to mind that the match hadn't been sanctioned by a mockery of an organisation in Ireland. Nor did the 30 plus thousand in attendance. Can't wait for the next one already and for the nfl season to start back. I think the iafa will be really worried now as they have seen that these spectacles can go ahead and succeed without their 2 cent stamp of approval. Hopefully they become even less relevant going forward.

prinzeugen

helimachoptor wrote: »

I did see one guy (who was hammered) come in after the 4th Q.. he looked bewildered!

I would think he got hammered inside the ground!

Was nice when everyone was leaving to have patrons from the US (mostly old) come up and thank us for hosting them and say what a great day they had.

OU812

Full game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGsBjrHl4aM

NufcNavan

Deco99 wrote: »

Nonsense. I got dart at connolly straight to ground and back straight after match no hassle.

I went to the toilet after the game. Leisurely walked to Grand Canal Dock which is easier to get to from the West Stand than the Lansdowne Road stop. Hopped on a train that wasn't even full. No problems whatsoever.

TOss Sweep

prinzeugen wrote: »

20k attendance is rubbish. I work there and have the ability to check on the attendance down to how many come in each stile.

As I already posted, it was 31,500 at kick off and people were still arriving. So it could have been 33-34,000 max.

I believe circa 37,000 tickets were sold out of the 48,000 available.

Thank you for confirming what I thought and in fact I was sure you confirmed it and remembered you worked in Lansdowne. So CSIRL is full of sh1t and extremely bitter and needs to make up information to suit their own IAFA agenda again not surprising.

Knex*

I brought three people who have little interest in American Football, and they all absolutely loved the game. Massive credit to Georgia Tech's band and fans, they put on a great show throughout the game.

You would think the weather would have put a dampener on things, but both teams really gave it their all, alongside their respective bands and cheerleaders. Really helped make the day seem like one big event, which I imagine is why it all went down so well with folks not quite into their football.

Halftime show was excellent, as well.

Overall, I thought it was well worth the money and a great occasion. If the weather had held up to allow for a proper atmosphere to build up prior to the game, and get some tailgating going, it could have been even better again. I hope that this goes ahead next year.

DrumSteve

Having never been to an an AF game before and having no idea what was going on, I have to admit I quite enjoyed it. The spectacle was pretty good.

I was sitting behind the posts in the BT end and from where I was sitting there was only one part of the ground noticeable empty (one section of sitting in the upper stand) other than that it seemed pretty full.

I'll be there again if it comes back.

jack presley

Knex. wrote: »

Halftime show was excellent, as well.

I enjoyed the bands and thought we were going to get an Ohio State type thing but I didn't get the Irish dancing at all. Irish dancing on grass with a backing track for the sounds of shoe hitting the dance floor was a bit of a joke to be fair.

helimachoptor

it looked like they got the wrong year, looked like 1976 to me

OU812

jack presley wrote: »

I enjoyed the bands and thought we were going to get an Ohio State type thing but I didn't get the Irish dancing at all. Irish dancing on grass with a backing track for the sounds of shoe hitting the dance floor was a bit of a joke to be fair.

All for the benefit of viewers on TV in the US.

jack presley

OU812 wrote: »

All for the benefit of viewers on TV in the US.

Yeah of course. I'd just never heard feet being mimed before.

thomond2006

It would be great in the future if a deal could be done with the normal college broadcaster (BT Sport?) to allow a game in Dublin be broadcast on FTA here.

helimachoptor

agree thomond, you would think Eir/BT sport or someone would cop on to this and allow it FTA

Bateman

prinzeugen wrote: »

20k attendance is rubbish. I work there and have the ability to check on the attendance down to how many come in each stile.

As I already posted, it was 31,500 at kick off and people were still arriving. So it could have been 33-34,000 max.

I believe circa 37,000 tickets were sold out of the 48,000 available.

I wouldn’t dispute the vast majority of what you say (although I think people are being slightly harsh on the IAFA lad), but does Landsdowne Road really hold 48,000 in its current setup? I thought it was closer to 45.

Even with some seats down the sides covered up and sections reserved for the bands?