Anyone have any comments on the fact that football threads greatly outnumber hurling ones on HS?
I'm often told that hurling is the most skillful of the codes, backed up by some incredibly skillfull and thrilling encounters, notably Wexford vs. Clare 2014, Dublin vs. Cork AI semi 2013 and the 2 AI final matches last year between Clare and Cork, to name a few. In football we are seeing an increase in defensive setups, with many comparing football viewing to that of watching pain dry, or tuning into WWF, particularly in Ulster. On the other hand the other 3 provincial championships in football are devoid of serious competition. I guess the competition criticism can be thrown at hurling too, but it has a lot going for it as well in terms of quality and skill levels. So why is football debated and analysed so much more on this site? Where are our hurling friends? Comments?

fire_in_belly (Donegal) - Posts: 59 - 11/08/2014 20:09:06    1635265

In most counties football is more popular then hurling so thats probably why?

OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 11/08/2014 20:31:17    1635283

In most counties football is more popular then hurling so thats probably why?

OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 11/08/2014 20:46:38    1635293

Hurling fans tend to be more realistic with their assessment of the game, which means there is less debate I would say. In the last few days on here there were football people confident that Monaghan would beat Dublin, and I have just seen Stephen Cluxton being described as average! If hurling people could think of things as bizarre as that to say the amount of debate would increase without a doubt.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 11/08/2014 21:07:19    1635312

Well if some counties in Ulster and Connacht actually gave a hoot about hurling then maybe there would be more debate about the game. Most footballs purely play football and neglect hurling and in some cases their county board encourages them to negelct hurling. So really you have a lot less interested parties in hurling. Tis a pity ye lads who just played football never gave the stick a lash

Fishermantom (Limerick) - Posts: 569 - 11/08/2014 21:17:34    1635318

@OLLIE - I had thought about football being the more popular code around the country, but look at Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford, Clare, Tipperary, Galway...all stronger hurling counties at the moment, with the exception of possibly Galway, and then there's the game growing steadily in the capital. Not so sure it's that cut and dry.

@Soma - Lol, yeah there are some bizarre utterances in relation to the football on here. Hurling seems to be more secure in terms of it's place within the GAA, how the game is played and how it's followers react to the game. There tends to be less dramatisation. Each match tends to be discussed on it's own merits and it's generally left at that.

fire_in_belly (Donegal) - Posts: 59 - 11/08/2014 21:33:39    1635336

the differance is hurling was so uncompetitive for the last 14 years that
now whenever a match is close its classed as epic or a classic or mighty or whatever superlative you can throw at it
but with a lot of these matches the quality is not there its just the scoreline is close
which hadnt happened a lot up until last years as a lot of games were one sided.
hurling pundits and the media are very blinkered or afraid to be honest i feel.
take yesterday there was a complete and utter cynical foul that should got a red card
yet the analyst said he had to do it!!!
contrast last year when sean cavanagh didnt have a striking offence and the media went to town on
cynical play in football.
people class hurling as more skillfull but its really a myth
as how you can class one sport more skillfull than another is rubbish
how can you measure how important a skill is in one sport to another?
its impossible when all sports have differant rules
also the gaa realised problems in football and attempt to improve them areas
where as in hurling its almost a sin to dare admit the problems or bad points.
one of the worst sights on a gaa pitch happens in hurling when you get these rugby like scrums
i think its horrible to see and its happening more and more throughout games.
you also have the madness of fist pumping every free thats one,like you just scored a goal or something
and one more thing that is strange and always hated seeing is the big thick drive it
where the full back comes out after winning a ball and just aimlessly pucks the ball 60-70 yards
down the field straight to the opposing defender
it gets a huge cheer from the crowd when actually its one of the worst things you can do
as your giving the other team time to look up and pick out their players.
both sports are brilliant and both have weak points but one gets lambasted and the other praised.
as dublin v cork semi final in the hurling was an exciting match but the credit it got
compared to the dublin v kerry football semi final which was one of the best matches I have ever seen.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 11/08/2014 21:34:20    1635337

hill16no1man

I have to say i agree with many of the points you've made, particularly the professional foul in the Kilkenny Limerick game.
It seems bizarre that it wasn't afforded equal treatment to that of what Cavanagh encountered last season - it too was completely deliberate and prevented a goal scoring opportunity. Blue Murder if that was the football. But some of the other points were very well made also, such as the rugby like scrums for possession and aimless pucks 70 yards down-field by the back line. How can a 70 yard puck up-field without as much as a glance be cheered with such gusto or viewed as a superb skill?? Personally i really enjoy watching both codes but i feel hurling as a game has points to improve on as well, and football is perhaps unfairly stigmatised in comparison.

fire_in_belly (Donegal) - Posts: 59 - 12/08/2014 09:55:37    1635403

When you have gaelic football lovers commenting on the ills of hurling, like on this thread, hurling people tend to keep their opinions to themselves and there is no surprise in that. But as a hurling lover, all I'll say is that gaelic football is a poor man's rugby. Compare rugby and gaelic football in every facet from skill to entertainment value and rugby comes out on top every time. The youngsters of Ireland know that and it will become clear to the gaa football ostriches when Ireland becomes "rugby country" permanently after the 2023 World Cup. I only hope that hurling will survive its way too close association with gaelic football (they should be 2 different organisations) but I think it will because the beauty and skill of hurling is recognised and appreciated internationally by many people who are not Irish.

PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1902 - 12/08/2014 10:43:22    1635433

I think any decent hurling match deserves all the praise it gets, the skills applied are way above any other sport I've seen. It takes more practice to dominate the basic skills in hurling because they are harder, its like the way a cabinet maker is more skillful than a carpenter (in general!) I think your way off poolsturgeon, I'd say rugby is probably the least skullfull sport I've seen (with the honorable exception of curling), it's mix of pull/push/drag/rake/gauge/trundle on to the next part couldn't be described as the better relation of any sport

flack (Dublin) - Posts: 1054 - 12/08/2014 11:30:37    1635466

when people talk about skills please tell me how you compare them?
if anything its a lot harder to kick a point or goal in football than hurling
is that not a skill?
its harder to throw a ball 20 yards directly to a mans chest in rugby than handpass a ball or sliotar two yards
is that not a skill?
the point being every sport has a differant skillset
therefore you cannot determine a skill as one sport skills are conductive to the rules of their sport alone

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 12/08/2014 11:51:59    1635483

Hill16- totally agree with your view. How in hell can they be compared , they are two completely different games which happen to be under the one organisation . Hurling is a good game however supporters seem to have elements of insecurity about it as they over hype every match .

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 12/08/2014 12:37:35    1635528

PoolSturgeon
County: Galway
Posts: 65

1635433
When you have gaelic football lovers commenting on the ills of hurling, like on this thread, hurling people tend to keep their opinions to themselves and there is no surprise in that. But as a hurling lover, all I'll say is that gaelic football is a poor man's rugby. Compare rugby and gaelic football in every facet from skill to entertainment value and rugby comes out on top every time. The youngsters of Ireland know that and it will become clear to the gaa football ostriches when Ireland becomes "rugby country" permanently after the 2023 World Cup. I only hope that hurling will survive its way too close association with gaelic football (they should be 2 different organisations) but I think it will because the beauty and skill of hurling is recognised and appreciated internationally by many people who are not Irish.

**

Don't misinterpret me on this. I truly enjoy a good game of hurling and indeed think it is a skilled game. I don't see it as having 'ills', more aspects of the game that can be improved upon, just as Football has. Football just seems to get labelled as some sort of bog ball that any man Woman or Child could play, while Hurling remains immune from criticism. None of the solid points that were raised by Hill16 were addressed for example, just a generic assertion that Hurling is the king of the GAA codes and Football the 'poor mans' whatever.

So let's let assume Hurling is the more skilful and respected GAA code, let's go back to my original question.
Why is there a much greater volume of threads related to Football, littered with varying hypotheses on style of play, passion, heated debate (arguments), funny anecdotes?? I don't see anywhere near as much of these threads in relation to Hurling, and i'm baffled as to why that is. Do the hurling crowd care less? Are there just a greater number of keyboard warriors among us Football posse?? I think it's intriguing given the rep that both codes get in terms of their skill and entertainment value, that football appears to mean so much more, especially on this particular site. I'm not running anything down, just an honest question.

fire_in_belly (Donegal) - Posts: 59 - 12/08/2014 13:01:42    1635540

Hill, for example, it takes way (way) more skill to control a sliothar flying at speed with people trying to stop you from either direction, than to pass/catch/whatever a rugby ball 20m as you say, or to catch a football, which travels much slower. You should get that chip off your shoulder before it cripples you

flack (Dublin) - Posts: 1054 - 12/08/2014 16:04:25    1635748

Most of the football comments come during the games (supporters a wee bit bored I think)….

Termon (Tyrone) - Posts: 58 - 12/08/2014 16:28:55    1635768

Ollie,i agree with your simple answer to an obvious question.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 12/08/2014 16:47:07    1635796

Fire in Belly, I'll offer you a theory. I dont know if it's a valid one of not but it's a way of looking at it. Hurling people...we are very navel..we like to do our talking on dedicated hurling sites. Unfortunately there's not too many of them around anymore. To me Hoganstand is primarily a football site. Id be more inclined to browse on it than comment or get involved. Perhaps there are more hurling buffs out there like me. We tend to focus more on our own county rather than getting involved in the general forum. But even in the county forums on this site football tends to predominate so it is less appealing for people who are purely into hurling to get involved.So really , what's left for us is to talk about hurling in the pub and leave the internet forums to the football heads!

PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1902 - 12/08/2014 17:14:35    1635824

Excitement for fans usually comes down to the speed of the game and evenly matched teams no matter what the sport it is. All things then being equal, hurling because of the nature of the game will always be superior. Football like soccer and rugby is eulogised when its free flowing and end to end, however, this tends to only happen occasionally at best.

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 12/08/2014 17:19:42    1635827

@ Flack:
Fielding the ball in Hurling may be a more difficult skill than in Football.
However i would say it's much more difficult to score a point from distance or score a goal in Football, having the larger heavier ball. It's all relative to various aspects of each game, your example just focused on one.

@ Cuederocket:
I named several or so large counties where Hurling would be the more popular code. I guess they don't care so much for debate as the Football crowd do.

fire_in_belly (Donegal) - Posts: 59 - 12/08/2014 17:31:38    1635840

Fire in belly,there are numerous posters from the counties you mentioned,who post more about hurling than football.In the main,there are more football than hurling counties.Guess its whichever of the two games you prefer,you will post more about.I like both games,but if i had to choose one,id choose hurling.Ive probably posted more on hurling also.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 12/08/2014 17:56:25    1635861