Support for hurlers, none for footballers

July 1981

The stark contrast in the levels of support for the Wexford senior hurling and football teams was evidenced again in Croke Park over the past two Sundays.

On the Sunday before last, there was an estimated 20,000 Wexford people amongst a 31,382 crowd in Croke Park as the hurlers took on Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship.

Then last Sunday, as the footballers took on Offaly in the provincial semi-final, the overall crowd was just 7,852 and no more than 500 of them appeared to be from Wexford.

Former football great Willie Goodison was one of those disappointed by the lack of support. ‘Here we are playing Offaly in a Leinster semi-final, and we have hardly anybody there to cheer our team on,’ he said.

‘I went up on the train and there was hardly two dozen other supporters on it. How can we expect our footballers to succeed if we don’t go out to support them?’ he asked.