The Irish Daily Star’s Kieran Cunningham and Examiner’s Tommy Martin joined the Sunday Paper Review on Off The Ball to discuss the purpose of holding the GAA championships.
The need for this year’s football and hurling championships have been questioned for a while, with many wondering why they should continue.
For smaller teams with little hope of winning an All-Ireland, Cunningham questioned what is driving them this year.
“I think there are a lot of counties out there that are going through the motions, they have to fulfil these fixtures,” Cunningham said.
“It is ok for Donegal, Tyrone, Kerry and Mayo, but there are a lot of them now, even though it is the same in the summer that they are not going to win anything, there is a back door there.
“[Under normal circumstances] they are playing in front of a crowd, their family and friends; even if they lose, they get a night out, wearing the county gear, there is a bit of buzz, a bit of craic.
“Now it is straight home, driving on your own. It is kind of soulless for a lot of the players involved now.”
While neither Martin nor Cunningham disagreed with the continuation of sport, Martin mentioned that he often has to question the purpose of the matches he is watching.
“In sport, in general, on one hand I find myself evaluating it like I normally would, and on the other hand I find myself going, ‘what am I actually watching here?’” Martin said.
“Is this something that I need to [try and] understand in any complex way or is it just fixtures that have been arranged and circumstances that are so bizarre and different to what we normally see.
“The difference with the GAA situation is that they are not professional.”
Rory Finn of Wicklow in action against Bryan Menton and Shane McEntee of Meath during the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Wicklow and Meath at the County Grounds in Aughrim, Wicklow. Photo by Matt Browne/SportsfileThe GAA is merely a welcome distraction
Martin feels as if the championship now is more of distraction for many than the typical competitive championship during normal circumstances.
“It does feel like an entertainment that has been set up for the purposes of the ‘bread and circuses’ thing; for the masses,” Martin said.
“The players have had to step in line and do their thing to make it happen. Whether that justifies the championship or not, that is a different discussion.”
“It is hard not to feel like there is a lot of people in this championship who are just there as the ‘henchmen’ [from Austin Powers]; nobody knows their names and they are bumped off early in the movie.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
