Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Euro Irish banter are you bored of it yet?
Options
Comments
-
Well you won't see me cleaning up the streets in a foreign country anytime soon, unlike some of the soccer lads, whilst probably littering their home country. But hey, anything for a few facebook likes. We need facebook likes or the craic wouldn't be as good.
A few facebook likes?
I'm just back from a week in Bordeaux and Lille.
Almost every tv station across Europe ran either news or sports-news pieces on the positivity, colour, vibrancy the Irish brought to the streets of France (thus far).
French tv, and probably France itself, were loving it.
Put this into some context - the nation of France has suffered 2 horrible atrocities between Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan night.
Tension, fear, depression in that country was (and is) at an all time high.
Then to kick off the Euros they have Russian thugs, domestic thugs and the English all winding each other up, kicking off, resulting in dozens of arrests and yet more violence on their streets.
"Here we go....more of this ****"
And the french public weren't at that stage embracing the tournament much.
Enter the Irish.
What have we brought to France this euros?
Colour. Laughter. Banter. Friendship.
In both Bordeaux and Lille, it didn't really matter if you were Irish, French, Belgian or Italian.
The irish tried to speak French, the French tried to speak English, the Belgians and Italians likewise. Where language was impossible, efforts were made in other ways - drink and a smile.
We brought a lot of positivity to France.
As for the "few facebook likes" comment.....
Those videos of Irish fans singing a lullaby to a baby (after a 3-0 loss by the way), changing a car tyre for an elderly couple, serenading nuns on trains, serenading a girl in a good natured way, chanting support for the French police.....
Those videos have been viewed dozens of millions of times around Europe, between tv, youtube etc and have done more for tourism in Ireland, and the image of our country, than any Bord Failte campaign could do.
The image being of the irish as drinkers who enjoy a good time and are a friendly people. Not a bad image to re-enforce around Europe, even if it is a clichéd, stereotypical, Simpsons-esque view of the Irish.
On top of all that, you throw in a magical moment when Robbie Brady scores that goal....
More magical because of the stifling heat inside the stadium with the roof closed. I was sweating buckets just standing watching it. For him to keep going, to find that energy for a 70 yard run, it all added up to a moment of a lifetime.
If people are sick of the videos, don't watch them.
But to my mind, at least, the behaviour of the Green Army in France has been a huge positive mark on Euro 2016.
Win, lose or draw against France i'm happy to watch as many more videos that come out and remember that in a time of division, unrest and fear across France and Europe, the Irish went there to drink, laugh, party, make friends and enjoy life.
I don't have many stories of high jinks in my time in France but just to show how appreciated we were - i was wearing a hoody while it was milling down with rain in Lille the day before the match, and had got off at the wrong stop on the subway.
I approached a french man to ask for directions to try walk the difference and he initially shook his head with the "dont speak english mate" look on his face.
I zipped down the top slightly as i walked off and he walked back and basically after seeing the green tried in very, very basic broken english to point me in the right way.
That's what i'll remember most from euro2016. That our fans left such a good impression on the people of Europe, and France, that they in turn tried their best to show we're appreciated.
In Flanders station after the match, the one with the video of the Irish at the escalators singing the Fields of Athenry.......
Just 2 minutes before that started, a group of maybe 25 French girls came up the escalators singing Les Marseillais and got a standing ovation from the irish who responded with Fields of Athenry.
There were a dozen armored cops with guns at the opposite end of that escalator....
And i counted 7 of them with their cameras out videoing it and all with smiles on their faces
National pride, patriotism etc isn't a popular concept anymore but i was/am proud to be Irish over there and will continue to be.
COYBIG.0 -
Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »Your fella knows less about football than he's leading you to believe.
Well, what can I say, I disagree. He's very knowledgeable, IMO. Of course, this will turn into a dick-measuring contest, but we're all biased on what we think we and people close to us know, yourself included. I think he's probably analysing it more objectively than any of you are. Nobody wants to consider that it's anything less than a great goal.
And I've seen the goal many times myself and tend to agree with him. But what would I know?0 -
wonderfullife wrote: »A few facebook likes?
I'm just back from a week in Bordeaux and Lille.
Almost every tv station across Europe ran either news or sports-news pieces on the positivity, colour, vibrancy the Irish brought to the streets of France (thus far).
French tv, and probably France itself, were loving it.
Put this into some context - the nation of France has suffered 2 horrible atrocities between Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan night.
Tension, fear, depression in that country was (and is) at an all time high.
Then to kick off the Euros they have Russian thugs, domestic thugs and the English all winding each other up, kicking off, resulting in dozens of arrests and yet more violence on their streets.
"Here we go....more of this ****"
And the french public weren't at that stage embracing the tournament much.
Enter the Irish.
What have we brought to France this euros?
Colour. Laughter. Banter. Friendship.
In both Bordeaux and Lille, it didn't really matter if you were Irish, French, Belgian or Italian.
The irish tried to speak French, the French tried to speak English, the Belgians and Italians likewise. Where language was impossible, efforts were made in other ways - drink and a smile.
We brought a lot of positivity to France.
As for the "few facebook likes" comment.....
Those videos of Irish fans singing a lullaby to a baby (after a 3-0 loss by the way), changing a car tyre for an elderly couple, serenading nuns on trains, serenading a girl in a good natured way, chanting support for the French police.....
Those videos have been viewed dozens of millions of times around Europe, between tv, youtube etc and have done more for tourism in Ireland, and the image of our country, than any Bord Failte campaign could do.
The image being of the irish as drinkers who enjoy a good time and are a friendly people. Not a bad image to re-enforce around Europe, even if it is a clichéd, stereotypical, Simpsons-esque view of the Irish.
On top of all that, you throw in a magical moment when Robbie Brady scores that goal....
More magical because of the stifling heat inside the stadium with the roof closed. I was sweating buckets just standing watching it. For him to keep going, to find that energy for a 70 yard run, it all added up to a moment of a lifetime.
If people are sick of the videos, don't watch them.
But to my mind, at least, the behaviour of the Green Army in France has been a huge positive mark on Euro 2016.
Win, lose or draw against France i'm happy to watch as many more videos that come out and remember that in a time of division, unrest and fear across France and Europe, the Irish went there to drink, laugh, party, make friends and enjoy life.
I don't have many stories of high jinks in my time in France but just to show how appreciated we were - i was wearing a hoody while it was milling down with rain in Lille the day before the match, and had got off at the wrong stop on the subway.
I approached a french man to ask for directions to try walk the difference and he initially shook his head with the "dont speak english mate" look on his face.
I zipped down the top slightly as i walked off and he walked back and basically after seeing the green tried in very, very basic broken english to point me in the right way.
That's what i'll remember most from euro2016. That our fans left such a good impression on the people of Europe, and France, that they in turn tried their best to show we're appreciated.
In Flanders station after the match, the one with the video of the Irish at the escalators singing the Fields of Athenry.......
Just 2 minutes before that started, a group of maybe 25 French girls came up the escalators singing Les Marseillais and got a standing ovation from the irish who responded with Fields of Athenry.
There were a dozen armored cops with guns at the opposite end of that escalator....
And i counted 7 of them with their cameras out videoing it and all with smiles on their faces
National pride, patriotism etc isn't a popular concept anymore but i was/am proud to be Irish over there and will continue to be.
COYBIG.
WOW.0 -
Well, what can I say, I disagree. He's very knowledgeable, IMO. Of course, this will turn into a dick-measuring contest, but we're all biased on what we think we and people close to us know, yourself included. I think he's probably analysing it more objectively than any of you are. Nobody wants to consider that it's anything less than a great goal.
And I've seen the goal many times myself and tend to agree with him. But what would I know?
Sure we may as well look at Exhibit A:
Subjective Opinion: Ole. Ole. Ole. Ray! You little Scottish magician! What a goal!! What a goal!!
Attempted Objective Opinion: There was undoubtedly the touch of good fortune about it - The ball sat up nicely for him, the keeper was poorly positioned.
But there was plenty of good play in it too - He was alive to the ball far quicker than the Italian defence, good anticipation. And he had the presence of mind to spot that the keeper was off his line, good awareness. And, considering that he was slightly off balance when he struck the ball, the fact that he was able to lift it over the keeper with exactly the right mix of power and precision was actually pretty impressive.
A good goal.
Ronnie Whelan hit it with his shin.0 -
Sure we may as well look at Exhibit A:
Subjective Opinion: Ole. Ole. Ole. Ray! You little Scottish magician! What a goal!! What a goal!!
Attempted Objective Opinion: There was undoubtedly the touch of good fortune about it - The ball sat up nicely for him, the keeper was poorly positioned.
But there was plenty of good play in it too - He was alive to the ball far quicker than the Italian defence, good anticipation. And he had the presence of mind to spot that the keeper was off his line, good awareness. And, considering that he was slightly off balance when he struck the ball, the fact that he was able to lift it over the keeper with exactly the right mix of power and precision was actually pretty impressive.
A good goal.
Ronnie Whelan hit it with his shin.
Tommy Coyne rattled the cross bar in the second half of that game if im not mistaken? Or was it John Sheridan?0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
Subjective Opinion: Ole. Ole. Ole. Ray! You little Scottish magician! What a goal!! What a goal!!
Attempted Objective Opinion: There was undoubtedly the touch of good fortune about it - The ball sat up nicely for him, the keeper was poorly positioned.
But there was plenty of good play in it too - He was alive to the ball far quicker than the Italian defence, good anticipation. And he had the presence of mind to spot that the keeper was off his line, good awareness. And, considering that he was slightly off balance when he struck the ball, the fact that he was able to lift it over the keeper with exactly the right mix of power and precision was actually pretty impressive.
A good goal.
Thank you, Arghus, this would actually be pretty close to his view. A pretty good goal with luck involved, but not a great one or close to it. His subjective view would also match yours. I was expecting another put down of my post so it's nice to see an actual fair analysis of it! Thank you. And no denigrating of a guy you don't know unlike others. Fair play. 0 -
Thank you, Arghus, this would actually be pretty close to his view. A pretty good goal with luck involved, but not a great one or close to it. His subjective view would also match yours. I was expecting another put down of my post so it's nice to see an actual fair analysis of it! Thank you. And no denigrating of a guy you don't know unlike others. Fair play.
Fairness is always best.
But just to be clear: Ronnie Whelan scored a goal of his shin: he shinned it, it was a fluke. It was a great moment in Irish football history, but a lucky strike nonetheless.
Ray Houghton did not score a goal of his shin. He totally meant to score that goal, his execution of it was perfect.
I'm not trying to slag your fella off, but if he thinks the Houghton goal was a flukey shinned goal: he is wrong.0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
enya kenny wrote: »Unless your there you won't know what the atmosphere was like. The celebrations is like nothing you will ever experience unless your there. Having the craic with the locals and the Italians was excellent.
We are the best fans in the world. No Doubt. Now back to working from Monday which is depressing the crap out of me.
What about the Icelandic? Have made as much noise as us and brought the colour like nobody else. Check this video of them out. Unreal scenes. What's the 'no doubt' part about like, screams of backslapping?
On a side note, it's so easy for us to go over anywhere and speak English to everyone and expect it spoken back. When I was at the last Euros in Poland, a few lads tried to make a show of me because I ordered my food and beer in Polish. We have it very handy. By the way, I'm not trying to take away from your experience, because it is deadly to do an away trip, and even moreso to do a tournament away trip. I'm glad you had a ball and would encourage anyone to go if they have the chance, it's great.0 -
What about the Icelandic? Have made as much noise as us and brought the colour like nobody else. Check this video of them out. Unreal scenes. What's the 'no doubt' part about like, screams of backslapping?
On a side note, it's so easy for us to go over anywhere and speak English to everyone and expect it spoken back. When I was at the last Euros in Poland, a few lads tried to make a show of me because I ordered my food and beer in Polish. We have it very handy. By the way, I'm not trying to take away from your experience, because it is deadly to do an away trip, and even moreso to do a tournament away trip. I'm glad you had a ball and would encourage anyone to go if they have the chance, it's great.
If you were German you would speak English and expect it spoken back. Same if you were Hungarian, Icelandic, or Spanish. It's the lingua franca. If we spoke Irish we'd all have enough English to get a beer and a bit of grub in English anyway. Not saying this to make a big point or start an argument, just that as handy as we have it, it's not a big hassle for any other country going abroad to speak a bit of English.0 -
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Thank you, Arghus, this would actually be pretty close to his view. A pretty good goal with luck involved, but not a great one or close to it. His subjective view would also match yours. I was expecting another put down of my post so it's nice to see an actual fair analysis of it! Thank you. And no denigrating of a guy you don't know unlike others. Fair play.
Where was the denigrating? People have said that calling Houghton's goal a shinner was incorrect. I can't see anything stronger than that.0 -
-
-
-
-
-
The BBC commentator (J Pearce) during the NI v Germany game said he is commentating since 1998 and it was the best performance from a set of fans (the NI ones) he had ever heard.
I think they sang non-stop up until the 70min mark in the game, and then began to take the odd break.
Wales fans are very uplifting in the stadium too.
Irish fans just need to broaden the repertoire. 0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXauYVy_dws![[Deleted User]](/applications/dashboard/design/images/defaulticon.png)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bs0nIn7BFQ
Advertisement