Fagans , Quinns or kavaghnas , had a pint in them all ,I meet with family I hardly ever see , and catch up its Our Thing , talking 3 pints gets rid of the nerves and have been doing it for donkeys , my pint being , thousands drink , thousands choose not too , fair enough , bit boring to talk about responsible adults much easier o talk about a moronic minority .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 25/08/2013 19:54:11    1467898

Was at All Ireland Semi last year between Mayo and Dublin in Lower Cusack and it was probably the same morons who pulled the exact same crap on an elderly gentleman just down from me. I had my three kids with me and notified stewards who got Gardaí and they told said morons to knock it off or they were gone. It worked. I've played and attended GAA games when I lived in Ireland but currently live in the US and am a season ticket holder to an NFL team and attend baseball games too where alcohol is consumed in the parking lot prior to(tailgating) and inside the stadium. Croke Park need to have a strict policy, you act the moron drunk or sober and you're out and they have to follow through on that policy. People who attend the games should not be subjected to these verbal barrages of abuse.

TOB (USA) - Posts: 24 - 25/08/2013 19:58:31    1467904

25/08/2013 18:21:16
Cherno_Samba
Just in from Croke Park. Great game, well done Mayo.

For me however the day out was totally ruined by 4 clowns about 4 seats in front of me in the lower Cusack.
These lads were only teenagers, but they were hammered. The abuse they were roaring at opposing players was disgusting, but the way they turned round after every score and taunted an elderly supporter of the opposing team really made my blood boil.
A couple of people mentioned it to the stewards at half time but nothing happened.

I deliberately haven't mentioned what county they were supporting because it is irrelevant. I still don't know how do these clowns got in?

All I could think of during the second half was why is alcohol for sale in Croke Park?
I'm guessing that these lads were hammered before they even got into Croker, but they missed the first 5 minutes of the second half so they could finish the drink they bought at half time.

Am I the only person who thinks that Croke Park should be an alcohol free zone?
It may not eradicate the problem, but at least it sends a message.

I really hope we're not on the slippery slope towards a venomous style soccer atmosphere creeping into our game - rant over!
Don't see a need for the go at soccer and vast majority of games in all sports especially soccer do not have "venomous style atmosphere"
No Croke Park nor any stadium should not be alcohol free. Just because a small number of fans act stupidly after having a few drinks should not mean many thousands of others should be incapable of purchasing alcoholic drinks.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 20:25:07    1467934

25/08/2013 18:34:17
hill16no1man
these types are fuelled with drink from early morning,they drink on the train up to dublin and are p****d long before entering croke park.same happens at all big music/sporting events. Slane/Oxegen/Games in Aviva etc etc. Not nice to see but what can you do?

25/08/2013 18:37:30
westkerry
Happens week in week out in croker.
It will happen again next week you can be sure.
Drink is sold at sporting events around the world so banning it is not the answer.
I think it's down to the stewards removing people when the step over the line.
There will be a serious incident one of these days the GAA needs to get tough and throw people out when they start abusing peopleBut will stewards do that? People who are forcibly removed will take umbrage to being removed and often leaving the people in their seats is better off for all involved(this coming from someone who has stewarded in 20k stadia in the past

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 20:29:19    1467940

That type of behaviour needs to be rooted out as it spoils it for others. I would favour an alcohol ban in all stadia in all codes

mod (Mayo) - Posts: 859 - 25/08/2013 20:33:18    1467944

25/08/2013 18:46:12
Damothedub
What was the crowd size ? How many idiots ? Weighed up against how many responsible alcohol drinking adults ?
Don't throw the baby out with the dirty water for crying out loud , alcohol free-zone , more nanny state rubbish .
There will always be drunks There will always be idiots , stopping 50 odd thousand people from enjoying themselves is not the answer . +1
25/08/2013 18:52:26
hill16no1man
its like the governement trying to ban sports sponsorhsip by alcohol saying they are leaders and should show that sport should be without alcohol but yet they wont take the dail bar out of leinster house and even worse they make the tax payer pay for themselves to drink yes you guessed it alcohol in the workplace,
you couldnt make it up haha they are the actual leaders of the country if anybody should lead by example its the government
The dail bar and sport sponsorship by alcohol companys are 2 very different issues though. They don't have alcohol in the workplace. Theres a difference there,
hands!
25/08/2013 19:01:38
Gleebo
Unfortunately, the latter stages of the championship will always attract bandwagoners, some of whom treat the occasion as an excuse for a p1ss up. Before the All-Ireland quarter final, I saw a few drunken teenage Mayo fans who were sprawled out on the pavement outside Croker, being told by police not to have any more alcohol. It's a problem that happens almost every championship weekend.
I'd love to suggest a rule at Congress that anyone who is clearly the worse for drink shouldn't be allowed in to a GAA stadium. It doesn't seem to be enforced at the moment, particularly at Croker.
I just understand why people want to drink prior to watching a match at all, to be honest. By all means, have a few after, but if I pay for a ticket, travel to Dublin etc. then I want to be compos mentis for the match. It's a much better experience sober, irrespective of the result.
Why the stupid go at some fans. Why would the GAA enforce such a rule and how would they decide how somebody is "worse for drink"?
Plenty of people want to see games but take the day out as a social occasion(which It is) and have a few drinks with friends and are up for the craic of going with friends as much as the game itself.
That's your opinion that its a better experience sober but plenty of people enjoy having a few or more drinks prior/during game and then more afterwards and nobody can put a limit on that

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 20:36:26    1467948

25/08/2013 19:10:33
cavanman47
hill16no1man, its not anti-dub. and i can't believe you could defend/deny that this takes place when it gives genuine fans a bad name.
I'm sure yourself and Snuff and pretty much anyone from any county who regularly uses this forum is a genuine fan who would not want to see this type of behavior at a family event. For what its worth, when i was on the Hill it was for a Dublin game with a group of proper Dublin fans who were disgusted too - are you not irate at the reputation it brands Dublin fans with?
I am against anti-social behavior form ANY man, woman or child inside or outside a GAA stadium. I would like to think that would be most people's view also.
Of course the kind of behaviour mentioned in the OP is horrible and should be removed from grounds immediately but banning booze is not the answer.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 20:39:05    1467954

As Hill16man said, these characters have most likely been drinking since early in the morning. I was at club game this morning and watched match in pub a stones throw from Croker. Sad to see a few Mayo lads out of their faces watching it on TV when they most likely had tickets or could certainly have gotten them if they wished. They were not obnoxious or anything - quite pleasant lads - but jaysus what a waste of a day to come all that way and spend the match 500 yards from the pitch in a pub.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 25/08/2013 20:43:12    1467959

25/08/2013 19:58:31
TOB
Was at All Ireland Semi last year between Mayo and Dublin in Lower Cusack and it was probably the same morons who pulled the exact same crap on an elderly gentleman just down from me. I had my three kids with me and notified stewards who got Gardaí and they told said morons to knock it off or they were gone. It worked. I've played and attended GAA games when I lived in Ireland but currently live in the US and am a season ticket holder to an NFL team and attend baseball games too where alcohol is consumed in the parking lot prior to(tailgating) and inside the stadium. Croke Park need to have a strict policy, you act the moron drunk or sober and you're out and they have to follow through on that policy. People who attend the games should not be subjected to these verbal barrages of abuse. same morons... ah come on.. don't be ridiculous..
very difficult to get stewards to get people thrown out only in the worse case scenario will somebody get thrown out.
Of course people who attend games should not receive any form of abuse...

25/08/2013 20:33:18
mod
That type of behaviour needs to be rooted out as it spoils it for others. I would favour an alcohol ban in all stadia in all codes No an alcohol ban should never and will never happen. Why should the vast majority lose out because a small minority act the clown.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 20:43:43    1467960

ormondbannerman - I lived in London for a year and I went to a good few Premiership matches. The atmosphere before some (not all) games is very tense. Fans are segreggated before they even get into the ground, different streets are cordoned off for different supporters and the chanting is obscene. Been to rugby, tennis and even cricket (loads of alcohol at the cricket!) and they are nothing like soccer. That's just my experience.

Like I said, 4 idiots aren't representative of the 50,000+ fans, but when they're sitting within ear-shot it doesn't really matter how nice the other 49,996 fans are!

Over and out.

Cherno_Samba (Louth) - Posts: 632 - 25/08/2013 20:49:05    1467965

Banning drink in stadium wont make a difference if they arrive drunk. If Stewards see something or something is reported to them they have footage to review any instances and to get police to eject the culprits.

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 25/08/2013 20:54:05    1467970

Croke Park and the Gardai can always eject patrons by citing health and safety concerns. They don't need an offence to be committed, though being drunk in a public place is an offence as is serving alcohol to someone who's drunk. The rules we have are OK, we just need them enforced.

Maroonatic (Galway) - Posts: 1067 - 25/08/2013 20:54:54    1467971

It's not particular to the GAA and we should never pretend that it is. There were a couple of big concerts in Belfast recently and the drunkeness of some of the young people going to them was appalling. I was coming home from work Friday week ago and the antics of some kids going to the Boucher Road concerts was dreadful; wee girls and fellas of about 15/16 openly drinking and falling about on Stockmans Lane/Kennedy Way and open air smoking of cannabis etc. It is a cliche but it is very much a modern day society thing.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9819 - 25/08/2013 21:00:26    1467976

25/08/2013 21:00:26
Ulsterman
It's not particular to the GAA and we should never pretend that it is. There were a couple of big concerts in Belfast recently and the drunkeness of some of the young people going to them was appalling. I was coming home from work Friday week ago and the antics of some kids going to the Boucher Road concerts was dreadful; wee girls and fellas of about 15/16 openly drinking and falling about on Stockmans Lane/Kennedy Way and open air smoking of cannabis etc. It is a cliche but it is very much a modern day society thing.
Don't think it is. Plenty in the past drank plenty etc and it is not just a modern day society thing except it is publicised and talked about more and can be much more talked about now in the era of social media.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 21:13:42    1467990

Poster: Ormondbannerman
County: Clare
Posts: 5498

Why the stupid go at some fans. Why would the GAA enforce such a rule and how would they decide how somebody is "worse for drink"?
Plenty of people want to see games but take the day out as a social occasion(which It is) and have a few drinks with friends and are up for the craic of going with friends as much as the game itself.
That's your opinion that its a better experience sober but plenty of people enjoy having a few or more drinks prior/during game and then more afterwards and nobody can put a limit on that.

It would be pretty easy to enforce, actually: pubs and night clubs the length and breadth of the country do it every weekend. I am not suggesting that alcohol be banned within the stadium, or that anyone who's had a beer shouldn't be allowed in. What I am suggesting is that those that are clearly legless should not be allowed to enter GAA stadia, as they may well spoil the enjoyment of the games for the other patrons.

As for the social aspect, I'll have to respectfully disagree there. Is it responsible for fellows coming up from Mayo today (just as an example) to be drinking since mid-morning? I often have a beer or two if I'm watching soccer on TV (the result of which I don't tend to care very much about) and I don't take in the action as cogently after a few beers. I would never do the same if I was attending a live match, because I want to absorb every minute of the game. If people want to have a beer before the game, grand, but it's up to them to be in a presentable condition upon entry to the stadium.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 25/08/2013 21:18:55    1467995

Welcome to Ireland.

I expect that queuing up to drink an overpriced quick pour pint from a plastic glass in a concrete wind tunnel is probably fairly far down the list of root causes.
Travel to croker for a big match from any corner of the country on match day and you will witness countless buses pulled-over on motorways as gangs of straw-hat festooned warriors leak the lizard halfway up the shrubbery.

Go to a baseball game/ cricket match - even a rugby international and you can bring your beer to your seat.

Your solution is not the answer - we have a much wider problem with responsible drinking.
If people are being disruptive within the stadium security should remove them regardless of where they bought the drink.

As for people getting defensive about this county or that county. Go to your nearest town at 3 am on Saturday night and queue for a burger. Look around you - these are the same people that will have county headbands on come semi final time. Why should you apologise for them cause they happen to share nithing other than geography with you.

ruanua (Donegal) - Posts: 4966 - 25/08/2013 21:27:48    1468007

25/08/2013 21:18:55
Gleebo
It would be pretty easy to enforce, actually: pubs and night clubs the length and breadth of the country do it every weekend. I am not suggesting that alcohol be banned within the stadium, or that anyone who's had a beer shouldn't be allowed in. What I am suggesting is that those that are clearly legless should not be allowed to enter GAA stadia, as they may well spoil the enjoyment of the games for the other patrons.

As for the social aspect, I'll have to respectfully disagree there. Is it responsible for fellows coming up from Mayo today (just as an example) to be drinking since mid-morning? I often have a beer or two if I'm watching soccer on TV (the result of which I don't tend to care very much about) and I don't take in the action as cogently after a few beers. I would never do the same if I was attending a live match, because I want to absorb every minute of the game. If people want to have a beer before the game, grand, but it's up to them to be in a presentable condition upon entry to the stadium.
That would not stand up. Who would you employ to decide whether a person is too drunk to enter the stadium? What would be the criteria for somebody to be stopped from entering a stadium for a game where they "may" spoil the enjoyment of others. You are going into guesswork as many people can have a good few drinks prior to entering a ground for a game and are perfectly fine and under your proposal they would lose out on seeing the game very unfairly.
If anyone from Mayo wants to drink all day that is their prerogative you cant dismiss them for choosing to do so.
As long as people are not causing trouble prior to games and bringing themselves to the attention of the gardai nobody should be stopped from entering a ground to watch a game no matter what they've drank

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 25/08/2013 21:32:46    1468010

Poster: Ormondbannerman
County: Clare
Posts:5501

That would not stand up. Who would you employ to decide whether a person is too drunk to enter the stadium? What would be the criteria for somebody to be stopped from entering a stadium for a game where they "may" spoil the enjoyment of others. You are going into guesswork as many people can have a good few drinks prior to entering a ground for a game and are perfectly fine and under your proposal they would lose out on seeing the game very unfairly.
If anyone from Mayo wants to drink all day that is their prerogative you cant dismiss them for choosing to do so.
As long as people are not causing trouble prior to games and bringing themselves to the attention of the gardai nobody should be stopped from entering a ground to watch a game no matter what they've drank.

Well, similar to most professional sporting events, I would designate those on the turnstiles and stewards as those who make the judgement.

The general criteria for ejection would fall under that wonderful Irish phrase 'acting the maggot'- i.e. patrons can have a few drinks before the match if they are capable of behaving themselves afterwards. If they fail to do this- examples of which including harassing or threatening other fans, being drunk and incapable, or abusing players/ officials- then they don't get in or are ejected from the match.

If someone wants to drink all day before a match, fine, I can't stop them and wouldn't try to. But why should my enjoyment of the game be spoiled, if I am seated near drunken oafs as in the OP's scenario?

I can't believe that I'm having to explain this to a presumably grown man, TBH.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 25/08/2013 21:53:16    1468039

Cherno Samba will you go way and play a game of CM 01/02 for yourself.

I think the problem lies with letting these embiciles into the ground in the first place. People who are clearly hammered should be arrested on route to the ground if they are being a nuisance. This type of carry out would not be tolerated in most civilised countries. I'd enjoy 2 or 3 pints of Bulmers before a Championship game on route to the stadium and like to take in the atmosphere but these idiots who are getting hammered clearly have no interest in our games. Difficult one but I think a zero tolerance approach should be taken and these type of fellows should be escorted to the exit if they gain entry and picked up by the gardai nd get to spend a night in the cell. Until we as a country start getting serious about this we will forever be known as a country of clowns who cannot handle there alcohol. I type this as I enjoy a nice glass of Chianti :)

07_LK_1973 (Limerick) - Posts: 115 - 25/08/2013 21:53:18    1468040

If there was an incident with a drunken supporter falling and injuring himself/herself or someone getting hurt in a row involing drunken supporter(s) Croker Park would be very quick to put security on every entrance to see who's under the influence.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8059 - 26/08/2013 08:42:34    1468070