Pathetic Sky deal is a betrayal of trust and an insult to fans
Asell-out Wexford Park just shows you the value of a home Championship match. It remains to be seen whether the round-robin series of home and away games proposed for the 2018 All-Ireland SHC will dilute such an impact or add an extra dimension.
The new system is certainly worth a try. Already this summer, I’ve seen what a live game brings to Tullamore with the naming rights of Bord na Móna O’Connor Park now secured and sure to gain added value.
There is the potential for the added games to light up the summer.
As it is, so much more can be done for the promotion of the games. The Sky deal suggests the commercial element is out of control. The fact that WexfordKilkenny was live on Sky Sports would have left so many supporters around the country disenfranchised. I know I’m involved with RTÉ but I met an Offaly neighbour of mine last weekend who wanted to watch the Munster semifinal between Clare and Limerick. He was visibly upset about not being able to see it. I heard the common response – ‘sure why not go to the pub and watch it?’ That’s an insult, particularly to older supporters or kids who want to see the stars of today’s game. My father who is 83, felt exactly the same way. There was no match shown in our house last weekend.
What is the GAA trying to achieve with this deal?
And then consider the figures which I saw put out during the week. On Sky Sports, 8,900 watched the Clare-Limerick game. That’s 0.23 of one per cent of the audience share. Meanwhile 300,000 viewers tuned in to RTÉ to watch the Ulster football quarter-final between Down and Armagh.
How is the first, tiny figure doing anything for the promotion of hurling?
Clare versus Limerick passed by almost unnoticed. Same as the build-up to Galway versus Mayo in the Connacht SFC this weekend.
There is an onus on the GAA to allow access to players. To let them do interviews rather than suffer a media black-out. For managers to release the teams so the public can discuss them. Why not put out pen pics of the players ahead of the games?
The game just isn’t being marketed the way it should.
That’s why I’m hoping the proposed new Hurling Championship structure showcases players better.
The top end of it seems very well thought out; not so much the lower tier. Meath are demoted even though they were in the Liam MacCarthy Cup this year while both Christy Ring Cup finalists take part in the third group of five? That’s hardly right.
And there was the opportunity to allow the top two from that group play a preliminary quarter-final in the All-Ireland series rather than just one team. Again, a missed opportunity.
Back to the Clare-Limerick match – I had been really looking forward to seeing what changes the new Banner management would bring about in that Munster semi-final. While we did see the sweeper system that Davy Fitzgerald ditched, I was disappointed by the fare on offer.
With Dónal Óg Cusack as coach, the gameplan still seems to be based on short puck-outs and a possession game. Andrew Fahy was picked for that reason but a lot of balls went to ground. It was all very sloppy.
Ironically, the couple of early goals came from long, quick balls going in to Shane O’Donnell. I really wonder about the train of thought, what Clare hoped to achieve. It was only inviting something to go wrong.
Limerick could have thrown in the towel after 10 minutes. Kyle Hayes, a minor last year, lost the first three or four balls and was struggling. To go out then to the half-forward line and make such an impact was very impressive.
It was a poor spectacle though when compared to some of the great matches of the past.
With all the training, it’s as if the players are nearly fed up of it, worn out by the time the match comes around. That passion, that heart, was missing. It was all structured and clinical – and that’s not really hurling.
I know there are different ways, but it is still a game played best when it is offthe-cuff, like the Cork-Tipp encounter.