TrueGrit

You say the GAA cant go pro or semi pro - the other 2 organisations are semi or professional on this island(FAI & IRFU). The FAI leagues have a fraction of the interest the GAA has yet they pay players who have freedom of movement between clubs for contracts.
It will happen -and the championships will have to change to reflect this reality - look at Wales in Rugby -the Clubs were marginalized and regionalised rugby was brought into the welsh public same as in Scotland when they went pro- net results of this will be amalgamations of ~Teams ie you will have midlands team based on Offaly/Laois/Carlow etc who will contract players from any county as they see fit.
We were fed this bullshit Excuse when got the leagues -Never happen in championship only a few league games whats your problem.
Now it is the championship but sure its only 14 games what are you winging about -well the next step is its 26 games etc etc. till all that will be left free to air is the finals
if thats what we want in 10-15 years time fine but let it be decided at congress not by the money men in croke park


= One big scaremongering post, just please, for the love of jaysus relax lad.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 02/04/2014 13:30:56    1569234

Htaem,
once you pay players in any form you cant stop them moving between teams due to European employment & contract laws -they will be free to play with whatever county or team format that is in place ie God Forbid Kerry men playing for Dublin ill hand back my membership there and then

TrueGrit (Dublin) - Posts: 42 - 02/04/2014 13:39:56    1569239

Htaem
County: Meath
Posts: 5034

You asked why people fear professionalism. I responded with my I think people fear it.

It's a legitimate fear in fairness as it is very hard to see how professionalism would work without the break up of the inter-county championships. Also I'd imagine people would have major concerns over the lack of money that would then be available to clubs etc too.

If it can be done without the break up of the inter-county championships and ability to fund clubs up and done the country then I doubt there'd be much fear of professionalism at all.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13710 - 02/04/2014 13:40:52    1569240

They hyped those competitions by securing exclusive rights, do you think they work by showing small % of matches. The money the have intensifies competition so that full time professional players are inevitable. So sure send the kids to the pub to watch the matches is the solution!? And people wonder why 16 year olds stop turning up on a Sunday morning. I wonder is it a coincidence that Witherspoons announced so many pubs here. Undercut the local publicans who can't afford the outrageous pub subscription fees and get paddy into the pub to watch his GAA. Murdoch is no fool, he manipulates EVERY sport he owns so it suits his channel and paying viewers regardless of actual members of the sport. The GAA have made a big error in getting involved with him.

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4624 - 02/04/2014 13:41:05    1569241

There is no way professionalism would work in the current structures especially with an even payment structure. Even if it was limited to 12 teams in hurling and 31 in football and an pay of €50k per player then the total costs would be 64.5 million per annum assuming squads of 30 players.

ExiledinDublin (Mayo) - Posts: 131 - 02/04/2014 13:59:03    1569253

ormondbannerman
Ridicluous (!) your favourite word.

GAA money doesn't go directly to any club and after reading the following before you destroy yourself just take it all with a large dose of salt!
Distribution to units totalled €12m (thats county boards and the provincial councils), Games Development Investment €10m (thats advertising and GPOs), Player Welfare €3.5m, Capital Expenditure and grants €9m. All go to County Boards, GPOs, Schools, Busaries, Ladies Football, Camogie, Handball, Cumann na Bunschoil, second and third level
AND
ZILCH to the club - so keep selling the lotto's.

As for McKenna and Co's ridiculous (your word) salaries - just tweet (you even have a sense of humour)!!

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 02/04/2014 13:59:54    1569254

aint it ironice that the gaa the protector of Ireland from the evils of of british sports...sorry other codes, taking money from the oppressor!!

just kidding personally i think its good that sky covering gaa games -i watched highlights of clare v tipp all ireland final 1997 on SKY sports in wales) - their coverage is very good and unlike rte the match is the main feature not the expert panel. money earned will do the association a lot of good as will the international tv coverage, As eugene mcGee said on primetime there will be teething problems e.g. some people who cannot afford/can access sky and the fact that some kids will be brought to pubs to watch games which has its downsides in itself. Maybe there is an opportunity to give discounted sky deals to gaa clubs.

PErsonally i would prefer sky to have all provincial finals, and All Ireland Quarter finals in both hurling and football but put them free to air together with rte. Think it portrays better image of the GAA showing these games rather than qualifiers in empty stadiums. Would also love if the money was used to reduce admission prices.

The midweek highlights show will be most welcome, would love to see ex Gaa players who are well known in Britain e.g. martin oneill, gerry armstrong , kevin moran, rob kearney, neil lennon etc doing work as guest analysis as i think it wuold promote the games better. I cant see the Gaa letting the majority of the games go away from free to air tv.

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 02/04/2014 14:22:17    1569285

Fiveways
County: Mayo
Posts: 10

The sight of 60 year old's in suits standing for the anthem amongst young second generation lads togged out in O'neills gear is a wonderful memory.
My 17 year old son stands for the anthem whilst wearing the latest Galway jersey. It always causes a bit of a stir amongst the newly arrived Irish. They cannot understand why would London born people would stand for it , but its the way we were brought up I guess.

CocknyTribesman (UK) - Posts: 194 - 02/04/2014 14:35:35    1569302

theres a precednt here.setanta,a pay channel have been showing gaa games for 10 years..the world dint stop..there wasnt a rise in depression because some people couldnt see it at home even tho they knew it was on tv somewhere!!

kavvie (Clare) - Posts: 505 - 02/04/2014 14:41:01    1569306

Htaem
County: Meath
Posts: 5034

1569214
hill16no1man

why not enjoy it for what it is and something that is ours
I mean we all think our wives are great but do you feel the need to share them with other men?

Haha, I don't think we're talking about the same thing here, you seem to have an extremely possessive attitude towards our sports hill, we're talking about sharing our sports not our spouses!!!

well its kind of similiar look at it like this
im sure your wife has some film or muscian star she fancies would you really risk him going on a date wth her
the gaa have now through open their games and if there is sufficent interest from abroad they will lose them over time
do you really think if the gaa caught on abroad that Ireland would still be running the organisation
when other big financial countries would have far more money to invest

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 02/04/2014 14:49:24    1569313

kavvie
County: Clare
Posts: 149

1569306
theres a precednt here.setanta,a pay channel have been showing gaa games for 10 years..the world dint stop..there wasnt a rise in depression because some people couldnt see it at home even tho they knew it was on tv somewhere!!

theres abig differance in setanta and sky
setanta had been showing matches abroad in spain and portugal and other countries long before they got rights to the league
setanta are an irish company
setanat is available on upc and others on the basic packages
sky sports is on the highest priced packages on all upc and the likes

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 02/04/2014 14:56:22    1569324

THEY may have secured the rights to GAA matches, but fans will be hoping Sky Sports have brushed up on their facts by the time the championship comes around.
Announcing details of the 20 games to be aired by the pay-per-view broadcaster, one Sky announcer was left red-faced after he claimed Mayo were the reigning All-Ireland football champions.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 02/04/2014 14:57:55    1569327

All for the good of the game and the diaspora. Yeah right. If that's the case make it free to view for all those abroad. Just a sell out to the Murdoch Empire at the expense of promoting the games as widely as possible. Does anyone believe that this will not be extended to more games in years to come or that it isn't about money. This is just sky dipping their toe in the water. A meaningful message has to be sent to the lads who think this is the right approach for games built on volunteering and amateurism. Empty stadiums for a couple of high profile games might give them a wake up call.

RoverTin (Derry) - Posts: 226 - 02/04/2014 15:18:43    1569348

Let me clarify a few things, Sky Sports only have the rights to show 14 games in Ireland and to broadcast all the games in the UK. RTE will still be showing ALL the games live for free on-line in Ireland and it will also be available on I-Pads, Mobiles etc. for free in Ireland. Channel 7 in Australia will show the games on TV, I don't know if Sky owns them or not??
In the rest of the world, Europe, US, Canada, outer Mongolia etc. we will have to subscribe to an online service to watch the games which will be set up and provided by RTE. We do not yet know how much that will cost people living outside Ireland, the UK and Australia, or what % the GAA will get from RTE for allowing them to provide that service. I can pretty much guarantee you that RTE/GAA will try to get as much money or more than what Setanta/Premium Sports were milking us all for.
This whole debate of why is the GAA selling out to Sky just for the Diaspora and expats is being presented very wrong. RTE now gets to milk the Diaspora.

Dubfan Abroad (Dublin) - Posts: 282 - 02/04/2014 15:37:03    1569369

Spot on RoverTin this is the thin end of the wedge. If the GAA were so concerned with ensuring the Irish abroad had access to watch games why not just work with RTE to improve streaming of the games abroad through RTEs platform. Calling a spade a spade Sky are getting involved to position themselves to take exclusive rights for Dublin games down the line if they can manage it - thats the big market they will want to target. On a related point I have no issue with Setanta showing sat nite league games on pay per view as I doubt these games would be getting any coverage at all on TV but for Setanta. Another poor decision from the GAA hierarchy.

blacknamber (Kerry) - Posts: 267 - 02/04/2014 15:37:33    1569370

What are the main fears of Sky Sports coming in? Is it that they will pollute our games? That our whiter than white GAA players will be involved in tabloid scandals like our friends across the water? Please. I know many, many GAA players (quite a few at underage level even) who get up to carry on that would make soccer players blush. We just hear more about Soccer players because it's a more established sport. A few of you are all happy to put players up on pedestals. I love these sports, but I'm not ignortant. Were the soccer players of the 70's and 80's scorned when at the top? Yes, they were. I notice that players from the early 00's are now being eulogised, they were chastised as muppets every bit as the current crowd are. Wait till you see John Terry & Luis Suarez are seen as 'characters' as opposed to people who should be scorned, within a few years.

The main gripe I have is that this marginalises many of our older GAA patrons. Other than that, I do not have a problem with this. Sky put their heart and soul into every sport they show. FACT. Do you think soccer was always cool? It was on its knees in Britain until Sky came in and turned it into the hottest ticket in town from 1993 onwards. For flip sake, look at DARTS! The most unfashionable game in the world is now an event that generates genuine excitement. I love the World Championship over Christmas. Don't tell me soccer and darts have not benefited hugely from Sky's involvements.

Let's not cloud ourselves with wide eyed pandering, or sit on our high horses. Sky is here. It will be a positive.

Treaty_Exile (Limerick) - Posts: 386 - 02/04/2014 15:39:16    1569374

kavvie
County: Clare
Posts: 149

1569306
theres a precednt here.setanta,a pay channel have been showing gaa games for 10 years..the world dint stop..there wasnt a rise in depression because some people couldnt see it at home even tho they knew it was on tv somewhere!!


True but you are missing the point. Setanta show league games that no other channel would be showing and have never shown, Sky are taking games off tv3 and/or RTE (a free to air channel). So free to air tv users are losing out on 14 games and they previously had.

tyrooney (Tyrone) - Posts: 18 - 02/04/2014 15:46:27    1569376

Hill there is no point arguing with the pro sky posters , they are obviously blinded by the glittering light, it's funny that we now have to pay a British company to watch an Irish sport, our forefathers must be spinning in there graves, also can I ask why wasn't this brought up at congress and put to the vote?

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 02/04/2014 15:56:26    1569385

Hill there is no point arguing with the pro sky posters , they are obviously blinded by the glittering light, it's funny that we now have to pay a British company to watch an Irish sport, our forefathers must be spinning in there graves, also can I ask why wasn't this brought up at congress and put to the vote?

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 02/04/2014 15:57:14    1569387

Just wondering is there TV3 coverage in the north? And if not how were those games viewed?

Floops (Dublin) - Posts: 1623 - 02/04/2014 15:58:08    1569389