With the 2015 football championship beginning tomorrow in New York with the clash of Galway and New York, It raises a few questions. 90-95% of the country tomorrow wont even know that the All Ireland Football championship has started, this is the competition that brings the biggest crowds to games in the country. Is there a gap here that the GAA could invest into? could the GAA have a big game to start off the championship with a bang, and not a stroll such as this game where it will really take a month for the real championship to start. Under the current structure of the championship, it probaly doesn't allow for a opening game of some sort, but if the structure was changed, we could have the current All Ireland champions opening the championship with the Sam Maguire on show and the whole lot. Sure we could even throw in an opening ceremony. People probably will object to this strongly but I'm just interested in hearing opinions. I think the championship should start and the whole country should know it started rather then the whole country not even aware its underway.

PoppinPoints (Meath) - Posts: 225 - 02/05/2015 14:45:33    1719657

Agreed. The championship has always started like a damp squib and the GAA just take it for granted that the loyal followers will jump on board once the serious action begins. Which they probably will.

commercials1 (Limerick) - Posts: 115 - 02/05/2015 15:52:25    1719666

Most non-league based competitions don't really begin with a bang either. For example the biggest club soccer competition on earth is the Champions League. It quietly begins with a whimper in early July in front of 3 figure crowds in places like The Faroes, Malta and Andorra. Like our championship it only really gathers momentum a few weeks later as the competition moves through the rounds and the big guns start appearing.

Unless you rig the draws to produce clashes of heavy hitters, its impossible to guarantee a huge opening round for the championship.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1643 - 02/05/2015 16:00:23    1719669

You have a valid point but until the GAA squeezes the champ season I can't see it happening, we are limping along until the August bank holiday weekend which is a shame

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 02/05/2015 16:17:31    1719678

02/05/2015 16:00:23
CastleBravo
County: Meath
Posts: 668

1719669 Most non-league based competitions don't really begin with a bang either. For example the biggest club soccer competition on earth is the Champions League. It quietly begins with a whimper in early July in front of 3 figure crowds in places like The Faroes, Malta and Andorra. Like our championship it only really gathers momentum a few weeks later as the competition moves through the rounds and the big guns start appearing.



That's the Champion's League qualifying rather than the CL proper, it's not really a correct comparison. Most people don't regard that as the Champions League, and think the group stages are the beginning.


Although I'm against an overall restructuring of the Championship, I believe the fixtures can and should be arranged to create some sort of high profile start with a number of games all starting on the one weekend. The Leinster Round One games, Ulster preliminary match and the exhibition match in New York could all be played on the same weekend at the start of May.

OgraAnDun (Down) - Posts: 406 - 02/05/2015 16:36:04    1719680

With the Provincial Championships spread over May, June and July, and the All Ireland series played in August and September, It takes 4 or 4.5 months to play a total of 6 or 7 games.

Too much time, and we should be able to fit in 4 or 5 rounds of Club Championship during that period. In saying that, I think a more expansive Intercounty Championship would create more Interest in the game.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 02/05/2015 17:07:49    1719692

If it was rugby it would be hyped on every media platform

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 02/05/2015 18:11:53    1719701

you dont want the rugby model where the start is bigger than the finish
just look at their final today where the teams care more about their ownleague than the european final
the national league tends to start with a bang and then after the round matches finish
it actually loses interest nationaly
I tend to enjoy the way the championship picks up pace as it goes on
their is one obvious way of starting it a bit stronger though
use the june bank holiday weekend as the main launch
you have three days really there
and its a good chance to have the four provinces have their 4 biggest games of the 1st round on show
you could have an ulster double header on the saturday
a connaught football and munster hurling big games on the sunday
and a croke park double header on the bank holiday monday of leinster championship whatever are the two biggest
games be it football and football or one football and one hurling
it would be very like how they launch the all ireland series of the august bank holiday weekend

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 02/05/2015 18:45:51    1719710