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Could A Professional Hurling/Football League Survive In Ireland?

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Replying To lionofludesch: "Contract for how long ? Who pays your mortgage ? What player with a decent day-job will leave it for a risky career in a professional sport with no real prospect of success ? What grounds do you have in mind ? I'm still not convinced that a bit longer training a week will make the game better as a spectacle." Contracts would vary of course. 4-5 years would be reasonable. But this is not a new concept. Sports contracts are an old concept. Nobody would leave a GREAT situation for a risky sports career but many are not in a GREAT situation if you were to add all the unemployed to all that left the country to try their luck somewhere else. Many many potential players. Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 1082 - 17/05/2020 15:34:58 2278497 Link
Replying To Rolo2010: "You can't compare Waterford to London. Hurling was an established sport in Waterford with a long history. The Irish community in London gets smaller by the year. The sports market is saturated. London GAA doesn't have the facilities to support a professional team." I have being to most Waterford game for the last 30 years , at the start of the revival in hurling half the supports had no idea of the rules or knowledge of the game . County supporter and traditional club and county supporters are a differend species . You must sit beside guy at county game that go to 3 games a year , the day on the piss brigade you get at all sport.. My point being people will follow almost anything sucessful . jfk21 (Dublin) - Posts: 51 - 17/05/2020 15:35:40 2278498 Link
"Thats not really an argument for me its just Iove my county syndrome . I'm not in favour of a profesional gaa and maybe I am wrong but i think its inevitable ." I can see it becoming part time and run by the GAA. The GAA doesn't have the massive cash reserves that everyone assumes they have. That much was clear as soon as they started to lay off their staff. I don't think the game can afford full time professionalism and maybe not even part time. I think the players will be less enthusiastic than you think. I think the idea of a world wide - or even British Isles wide - competition is a non starter. And I don't see the product being significantly better than it is now - certainly in terms of attracting more spectators. More sponsorship ? Hmmm, well ...... would you attract more sponsorship because the players are full time ? Doubt it. I don't really follow that argument. You'd probably be better off appointing a decent commercioal manager. Much cheaper too. lionofludesch (Down) - Posts: 369 - 17/05/2020 15:51:32 2278500 Link
Replying To Trump2020: "Contracts would vary of course. 4-5 years would be reasonable. But this is not a new concept. Sports contracts are an old concept. Nobody would leave a GREAT situation for a risky sports career but many are not in a GREAT situation if you were to add all the unemployed to all that left the country to try their luck somewhere else. Many many potential players." OK - I bow to your superior knowledge. I'm just surprised that there's a correlation between being a decent GAA player and being unemployed. lionofludesch (Down) - Posts: 369 - 17/05/2020 15:53:27 2278501 Link
When all is said and done I would not advise any young lad to sacrifice their professional or vocational career in their twenties to play GAA full time. Even if the GAA could find a workable model to support full time players the salaries on offer will never be on par with other sports meaning lads would retire from GAA in their thirties and then what? They'll have no experience doing anything else and they can't all go in to TV analysis and coaching. I still maintain that the existing player grant scheme is the way to compensate players for the opportunity cost of playing GAA at a high level. The interview below with Chris Barrett of Mayo is a good microcosm of the issue some top level GAA players are facing and it simply isn't fair to ask them to do it imo link GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 1957 - 17/05/2020 16:02:18 2278503 Link
Replying To jfk21: "I have being to most Waterford game for the last 30 years , at the start of the revival in hurling half the supports had no idea of the rules or knowledge of the game . County supporter and traditional club and county supporters are a differend species . You must sit beside guy at county game that go to 3 games a year , the day on the piss brigade you get at all sport.. My point being people will follow almost anything sucessful ." That's very true. But few teams are successful. lionofludesch (Down) - Posts: 369 - 17/05/2020 16:05:34 2278504 Link
Replying To jfk21: "I have being to most Waterford game for the last 30 years , at the start of the revival in hurling half the supports had no idea of the rules or knowledge of the game . County supporter and traditional club and county supporters are a differend species . You must sit beside guy at county game that go to 3 games a year , the day on the piss brigade you get at all sport.. My point being people will follow almost anything sucessful ." You sure go to a lot of games sham, club and county and now Waterford for last 30years Mmmm. I bet you'd say mass too. catch22 (USA) - Posts: 1647 - 17/05/2020 16:15:21 2278506 Link
Replying To catch22: "You sure go to a lot of games sham, club and county and now Waterford for last 30years Mmmm. I bet you'd say mass too." Yes its hard unbelievable I to club and county game for 30 years What an amazing and unbelievable story ! You will make a good dective you cought me lying! I go fishing every sunday .... jfk21 (Dublin) - Posts: 51 - 17/05/2020 17:00:29 2278510 Link
I don't think it'd work. To have any hope I think it'd need to be players employed at a central level. Players would be then part of regional teams. East Ulster: Antrim, Down, Derry South Ulster: Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan West Ulster: Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh North Leinster: Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford East Leinster: Dublin, Wicklow South Leinster: Kildare, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wexford East Munster: Waterford, Tipperary, Cork West Munster: Kerry, Limerick, Clare South Connacht: Galway, Roscommon North Connacht: Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim They'd be 10 potentially strong teams Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 3111 - 17/05/2020 17:18:54 2278513 Link
Last time I was in vilnius , basketball was on tv not soccer . Dont know how the random lover for baseball evolved . They have a 10 team pro league in basketball and 6 soccer teams . The population is 2.5 million ! thats room for 32 pro / minimum semi pro teams in ireland by my maths ! To be one of the wealthy countrys in the world and not be able support a pro league does not stack up at all.. jfk21 (Dublin) - Posts: 51 - 17/05/2020 17:52:12 2278515 Link
Replying To jfk21: "Yes its hard unbelievable I to club and county game for 30 years What an amazing and unbelievable story ! You will make a good dective you cought me lying! I go fishing every sunday ...." Ha ,I'd need to be a good detective to decipher that lot. Are you Spanish by any chance ? catch22 (USA) - Posts: 1647 - 17/05/2020 17:53:17 2278516 Link
Replying To Whammo86: "I don't think it'd work. To have any hope I think it'd need to be players employed at a central level. Players would be then part of regional teams. East Ulster: Antrim, Down, Derry South Ulster: Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan West Ulster: Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh North Leinster: Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford East Leinster: Dublin, Wicklow South Leinster: Kildare, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wexford East Munster: Waterford, Tipperary, Cork West Munster: Kerry, Limerick, Clare South Connacht: Galway, Roscommon North Connacht: Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim They'd be 10 potentially strong teams" Munster would have about 4 teams if we are taking hurling Wammo. If its Gaelic football.. probably 2 max. And maybe only 1. bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1323 - 17/05/2020 18:01:21 2278517 Link
Replying To lionofludesch: "OK - I bow to your superior knowledge. I'm just surprised that there's a correlation between being a decent GAA player and being unemployed." One CAN be a decent player and be unemployed. Are you saying they don't exist? Many have left Ireland because of it. And keep in mind I'm just answering points you or others bring up. Nothing superior about me. Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 1082 - 17/05/2020 18:02:56 2278518 Link
Replying To Whammo86: "I don't think it'd work. To have any hope I think it'd need to be players employed at a central level. Players would be then part of regional teams. East Ulster: Antrim, Down, Derry South Ulster: Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan West Ulster: Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh North Leinster: Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford East Leinster: Dublin, Wicklow South Leinster: Kildare, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wexford East Munster: Waterford, Tipperary, Cork West Munster: Kerry, Limerick, Clare South Connacht: Galway, Roscommon North Connacht: Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim They'd be 10 potentially strong teams" I'd forget the counties and just call them after the towns and cities where they're based. Limerick, Thurles, Dublin, Cork, Derry, Kilkenny - whatever. Pigeonholing them just makes the job of making it a success much harder. If Cork sign a fella from Dublin, he goes to live in Cork. He doesn't stop at home. That's what happens when you've got a proper job. There's plusses and minusses - which is one of the many reasons it won't work. People don't like change. lionofludesch (Down) - Posts: 369 - 17/05/2020 18:17:42 2278519 Link
Replying To Trump2020: "One CAN be a decent player and be unemployed. Are you saying they don't exist? Many have left Ireland because of it. And keep in mind I'm just answering points you or others bring up. Nothing superior about me." Of course they can. Or they can be useless. Or the players you really want in your team might be happy to play amateur. I asked about correlation. How many current county players are unemployed ? lionofludesch (Down) - Posts: 369 - 17/05/2020 18:29:45 2278521 Link
Replying To catch22: "Ha ,I'd need to be a good detective to decipher that lot. Are you Spanish by any chance ?" Not Spanish ! That last text is fair messy alright .. Lithuania has a 10 team pro basketball league and a 6 team pro soceer league . Thats good going for a country of 2.5 million . jfk21 (Dublin) - Posts: 51 - 17/05/2020 18:39:23 2278522 Link
Replying To lionofludesch: "Of course they can. Or they can be useless. Or the players you really want in your team might be happy to play amateur. I asked about correlation. How many current county players are unemployed ?" I have no idea the situation of each county player. If you're "useless" then you wouldn't be in the GAA anyway so that's a moot point. By the way I respect all the points you're making as they would have to be made if anything like this was ever suggested. A lot of the "green thumbs" you're getting are from me. Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 1082 - 17/05/2020 18:42:08 2278524 Link
Replying To bloodyban: "Munster would have about 4 teams if we are taking hurling Wammo. If its Gaelic football.. probably 2 max. And maybe only 1." Yeah I was talking football. I really don't think it'd work in practice at all. I was just playing around with how the teams may look. There's going to be challenges for the GAA in the years ahead as Dublin only continue to get stronger. I don't really see professionalism as being an answer to it though. Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 3111 - 17/05/2020 18:59:50 2278525 Link
Replying To lionofludesch: "Contract for how long ? Who pays your mortgage ? What player with a decent day-job will leave it for a risky career in a professional sport with no real prospect of success ? What grounds do you have in mind ? I'm still not convinced that a bit longer training a week will make the game better as a spectacle." Plenty players do ot year in year out with other sports the players would still be going to college and like rugby and nearly all sports bar the top guys in soccer, golf where they earn millions be going to work again in a new career when finished playing pro sport More training and more importantly more rest and recovery time will certainly help improve the game as a spectacle. Players wouldnt have to do all their training in evenings after a full days work and worrying about recovery etc and thinking about having to get up to go into office etc the following day KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 17/05/2020 19:43:23 2278529 Link
Replying To bloodyban: "Munster would have about 4 teams if we are taking hurling Wammo. If its Gaelic football.. probably 2 max. And maybe only 1." In hurling most of the 10 would be existing teams at first at least. I would see it as a 12 team game The 5 Munster sides Dubs, KK, Wex and Leinster Galway and Connaught Ulster. Football: Kerry, Cork, Munster Galway, Mayo Connaught Dublin, West Leinster (LD WH OY LS KK CW), East Leinster ( LH MH KE WW WX) God knows what to do with Ulster as there are plenty of counties that could claim to be good enough to keep going alone and making 3 amalgamated sides would be a risk with fans And who knows how many of the new teams would be taken up by the fans. Just look at Welsh and Scottish rugbys attempts to make new teams like the Provs in Ireland. Breezy (Limerick) - Posts: 1106 - 17/05/2020 21:49:34 2278535 Link