Hurling Quarter Finals - Going?

Norinoco

This forum has been awful quite lately! :rolleyes:

So any of ye going to take to the road for the Quater Finals Sunday week for the Kilkenny match?

Got my tickets so will be there in the lower hogan stand.

Nightwish

Yep I'll be there. Its my birthday so I managed to get the day off work

EKRIUQ

Whats the point in going, may as well wait till the Final.

Hmm_Messiah

Hurling ? can some one explain (I'm new to boards hehe)

Maharet

Yep I'm heading, in lower Cusack. Hopefully I'll be travelling to the semi-finals too! Up the Cats

Flukey

I'll be there, like I was last Saturday and Sunday and will be the following weekend. There is more discussion of this over in the GAA forum. Have a peek in there.

daithi

Cant go family event on.
Ill kill someone if im not allowed watch it though. Ive waited all year for this, sweet revenge.... hopefully

Flukey

If you are talking about Cork, you are two matches away from that. Hopefully neither of you will make it, and Tipperary either.

Nightwish

26 quid for train ticket!!! :mad:

WTF????????

daithi

I am heading to cork tomorrow, so i was thinking of it while typing the message :rolleyes:

Flukey

Whats the point in going, may as well wait till the Final.

BingoBongo, if you are not going to bother going at this stage, is it fair for you to have or even expect a final ticket over those of us that go to matches regularly? I'll be there tomorrow and I intend to be at both semi-finals, no matter who is in them, as many others will be. I was at the Leinster Semi-Finals and Finals. I intend to be at the All-Ireland Final too, no matter who is in it. So if you are genuinely interested in seeing them in the final, and expect a ticket, you should be going to all the games and not just be a sunshine supporter. So the point in going tomorrow is to see the game and support your team and show some interest in it. If you don't, you obviously haven't really got an interest, so you don't deserve to be at the final. It is a place for genuine supporters, not sunshine ones. See you in Croke Park, or will I?

daithi

You have a very good point flukey, im afraid im one of those championship only attenders too im afraid, but i would still like to see some sort of situation where regular supporters are guaranteed a ticket for the finals, I suppose small clubs do guarantee that in some ways, but at the same time it is often left to draws and that. There are a few problems with this in kilkenny, some people do not want to attend as a form of protest because of the price, others dont bother because they are more or less guaranteed that kilkenny will get into the championship, there is a definite feeling in kilkenny that i have witnessed that the hurling does not start until the championship. Im not saying that people do not support kilkenny, the level of support is overwhelming, but a lot of it is from the armchairs.
Luckily im fairly sure that this is understood by the team.
Hope your not stuck for a ticket, hate them touts.
I found it particularly bad last year, it appeared as if cork had purchased every spare ticket in the country.

Flukey

The Hurling Chapmpionship starts in June, sometimes even May, not September as some people seem to think. If people really want to go to the final, then they should be there from the beginning. The first round is just as important in winning the Championship as the final is, even though the qualifiers have lessened that to an extent. I go from the beginning right through to the end. In theory, seeing the crowd at the final, they should be there from the beginning, but as we all know they are not. Then they are either whingeing that they can't get a final ticket, or they get one at the expense of someone who has being going all summer, and maybe all winter too!

What Kilkenny should also do is get their footballers going. Oh, and before you go telling me that there is no interest and Kilkenny have no tradition in football, check your facts. Which county won the first ever Leinster Senior Football Championship? Yes, believe it or not, Kilkenny. It wasn't the last time they won it either. In fact out of the 32 counties there are 10 counties that have won their respective Senior Football Provincial championship less than Kilkenny. Kilkenny have 3: 1888, 1900 and 1911. 10 counties have less than that. Westmeath only won their first Leinster last year and Fermanagh, last year's All-Ireland semi-finalists, have never won the Ulster senior football championship. They both play every year in the championship, so so should Kilkenny. So you see, Kilkenny do have a football tradition.

If they put half the effort into football as they do into hurling, they'd have a good team. There's no interest you say. Well let me put this way, if you asked each member of the Kilkenny football team, and you do have one, if they would like to win an All-Ireland or even a Leinster medal, how many do you think would say "No"? Also, do you think that the streets would be deserted if a Kilkenny football team came home with a trophy, or would there be people there to meet them? Of course there would. Ok some would be sunshine supporters, but they would be there.

Kilkenny have great hurlers, but many of them would not have a hope of getting on the team. A lot of them would probably be good footballers though. So there would be a way for them to represent the county. In fact, they say DJ is actually a handy footballer, as are a few other members of the senior hurling panel, so the talent is there. If the county board won't put in the effort to support football then they should be got rid of it and get in a county board that will. Who knows, we might even get BingoBongo to go to a match more than once a year!

Stephen

Nightwish wrote:

26 quid for train ticket!!! :mad:

WTF????????

Unfortunately its been that way for quite a while. Irish Rail are wayyy overpriced (I guess this is how they pay for those shiney new carriages they got delivered last week). The bus is a fraction of the price. Naturally its not as comfortable but you generally don't get ticket-dodgers and muppets getting rat arsed drunk and rowdy on the bus and you save some money.

Flukey

Well BingoBongo, there is another match in 3 weeks for you not to go to!

daithi

Ill give a stab at a some possible explanations why
Football is not at all popular in schools, girlies are not imressed at all by it :P however it has been getting more popular over the last few years, for example my primary school started a team just as i was leaving. There is major competition between schools in hurling, similarly in the clubs. So maybe in a few years the level of skill and caliber of player my improve. To get any support, they would have to start winning, I keep the odd eye on them, but the majority of the time, they are getting their arses handed to them, Its not nice, but nobody is going to be interested in a team that is not going any where, it would break your heart to try and support them. The obvious counter argument that they would probably do better if they got better support is a very valid one, but people are just not concerned.
There is also the problem that nobody has a clue of the rules, etc, and having no experience of playing football, have no appreciation for the skill. Looks pretty boring to me. Ive watched plenty of games, and id watch a bit of the championship, etc, but i would have no great appreciation.
The fact that hurling is so massive in kilkenny would completely overshadow most other sports, maybe you would have to be from here to get it.

Interesting facts about the history of kilkenny football, appreciate those few nuggets, but if kilkenny foorballers were ever good, it was probably because everybody else was absolutely desperate :P
I dont know exactly why people are not interested in football, never really bother me much, Maybe its just not exciting enough.
The real confusing one is that i do enjoy watching rugby, but not football, and I dont mind the odd bit of soccer (prefer playing it to watching), And the kilkenny soccer team is another topic entirely.
Thats my rough take on it..... UP THE CATS!

EKRIUQ

Flukey wrote:

Well BingoBongo, there is another match in 3 weeks for you not to go to!

Correct I won't waste €26 on a train ticket for a bad game against Galway, and another €35 or what ever it will be, I'm already sourcing my All Ireland ticket because its people like me who don't bother there arse going to mickey mouse games who all ways get the tickets for the All ireland.

What Kilkenny should also do is get their footballers going.

Your having a laugh aren't, really you must be.!!!

Senior Football Provincial championship less than Kilkenny. Kilkenny have 3: 1888, 1900 and 1911.

Thats more than 100 years ago hardly relevant to todays games, OUR DAY WILL COME KILKENNY FOOTBALL FOREVER. :rolleyes:

daithi

There are more favours called in for all ireland sunday than any other time of the year, its comical, large financial deals can be secured based on the addition of a few tickets into the deal Grandmothers traded, first born sold,

brettmirl

I really think Flukey should spend his time worrying about the state of BOTH hurling and football in Dublin!

Such a large pool of talent to pull from and they are still ****e!

And dont quote the fact that the minor dublin hurling team won the leinster final. The press were all over that like a rash! One leinster final doesn't make a team!

Flukey

Football is going fairly well in Dublin at present MickIrl and hurling is on the up. BingoBongo, in relation to football in Kilkenny, no I wasn't having a laugh. As I pointed out, there are counties out there with less success than Kilkenny that still enter the championship every year, and so they should. OK, Kilkenny aren't going to win the Sam Maguire or even the Delaney cup any time soon, but they could easily put out a competitive team if they wanted to and if the county board didn't stop undermining it, like they did by taking players away after that win earlier this year.

Hurling is very strong there and putting a bit of effort into football is not going to damage that one bit. As I said it could be a way for a lot of the talent in the county that still can't get onto the hurling team - even though they'd walk onto any other county team - and would be lost completely to the GAA, to get to wear the black and amber. It would also keep them match fit and some might then get to play for the hurlers too.

1911 is less than 100 years ago actually, and they appeared in the final since that and played in the Leinster Championship up to at least 1979 if not even 1982. The other 31 counties, along with London and New York compete in the football championship, so there is no reason they shouldn't. As I said if the county board won't do it, get rid of them and get one that will. There is interest there and with a little effort and then some success, that interest would grow. All Tvs and Radios are not off in Kilkenny on All-Ireland Football Final day and I've often seen Kilkenny people at football matches in Croke Park. Other sports survive alongside hurling in Kilkenny and Kilkenny is a GAA mad county, so Gaelic Football has its place. As I said, how many of their footballers would say they wouldn't want to win something? That is your base to start from. Now that he is gone from Westmeath, the Kilkenny county board should be on to Páidí O Sé or some other available manager to get things going. If they don't, sack them!

Stephen

I wonder would Nickey Brennan, in his soon-to-be new post as GAA president be willing to give the Kilkenny county board a good kick up the hole about this?

Flukey

He should. Though maybe he should use a hurley. They'd understand that better!

Maharet

Flukey wrote:

The Hurling Chapmpionship starts in June, sometimes even May, not September as some people seem to think. If people really want to go to the final, then they should be there from the beginning. The first round is just as important in winning the Championship as the final is, even though the qualifiers have lessened that to an extent. I go from the beginning right through to the end. In theory, seeing the crowd at the final, they should be there from the beginning, but as we all know they are not. Then they are either whingeing that they can't get a final ticket, or they get one at the expense of someone who has being going all summer, and maybe all winter too!

Indeed, I love going to the matches from the start of the championship, have been there at every Kilkenny match this year, unfortunately I can't afford to be going to every hurling match of the championship, much as I'd like to.

Flukey wrote:

What Kilkenny should also do is get their footballers going. Oh, and before you go telling me that there is no interest and Kilkenny have no tradition in football, check your facts. Which county won the first ever Leinster Senior Football Championship? Yes, believe it or not, Kilkenny.

Cool, I see they had a team for the Tommy Murphy cup, they got beaten by London, but they seem to be making a great effort to bring on football in Kilkenny, it's hard because there is only one club in the county with enough interest in football to field a team out of, if they could get a couple more, things could improve greatly, there was an article in the Kilkenny People a few weeks back, up here for those who are interest.
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Newspaper/Article&pid=1103301676896&cid=1120740615836

Tis early days but would be cool to see Kilkenny competing in football in the future, never going to be as interesting a sport, but it would shut the people who take the piss up a bit.

Flukey wrote:

In fact, they say DJ is actually a handy footballer, as are a few other members of the senior hurling panel, so the talent is there.

Yeah I heard that before too, read somewhere that he had wanted to play football but then realised there probably wasn't much of a future in it in Kilkenny, so changed over to the hurling.

Flukey

Exactly Maharet, the interest is there, if only it would be encouraged. I'd say the same of other counties in relation to hurling. All counties have teams and in the same way as the Kilkenny footballer, if you asked a Longford county Hurler or a Donegal county hurler if they'd like to win medals for the county, they'd say yes too. Kilkenny could help. They could do something like arrangement coaching of hurling in other counties and they could help football in Kilkenny. Tournaments could be arranged where the county teams of weak counties could play club teams from stronger counties, in both hurling and football.

The football qualifiers have helped things in the other counties and made things more interesting in the championship. The new structure for Hurling will have benefits but I think there are flaws in it. Having a county relegated from the championship, in this case Antrim, is wrong. The championship should be open to any county that wants to enter it. The Ring and Rackard cups should be run more on the basis of the Tommy Murphy Cup, with teams going out of the championship as well as weaker counties being allowed to choose to compete.

Maharet

That's not a bad idea alright, be great to see more counties getting more involved in hurling. A guy I went to college with from Leitrim was very into hurling, he loved the Kilkenny team, especially our Henry.

brettmirl

So are we gonna beat Galway?

Our performance against Limerick was far from an All Ireland winning performance :-(

Norinoco

mick_irl wrote:

So are we gonna beat Galway?

Our performance against Limerick was far from an All Ireland winning performance :-(

IMO If we play like we did against Limerick we havent a hope

Still, i reckon we will beat galway. Hopefully the lads will have learned a few lessons against Limerick.

I'll be there shouting them on anyway

brettmirl

OK so Clare deserved to win today, but if we beat Galway we will be playing Cork AGAIN.

Will the KK support be mobilised this Sunday against Galway?

The opening game will not ensure a packed Croke park at all!

Flukey

So BingoBongo, what was it you were saying about waiting for the final?:p
G'wan the Cats, out of the championship!
Kilkenny for the Rackard Cup 2006!:rolleyes:

angry_fox

Why did they have a Tipp ref??

Flukey

Oh come on, don't start that old chestnut. Galway won, with no more assistance from the ref than Kilkenny had. There were, as there always are, bad decisions on both sides, but they balanced out. Kilkenny have had the benefit of bad decisions too. I can remember Kilkenny getting goals where the scorer took more steps than the Artane Band, but they were given. There were no real bad decisions today. Peter Barry got a free, but then decided to mouth off at the referee and the right decision was made, to throw the ball in. Galway got a goal from that, with the assistance of Peter Barry, not the referee.

Galway were the better team. Kilkenny played great stuff too, which made it a great match. Kilkenny gave everything they had. They have nothing to be ashamed of. They have no one to blame, not the referee, not even themselves. At least twice they came back from a big deficit and ran Galway to the wire. They put up a great performance. Hurling was a winner.