Camogie and Ladies football

Didn't see much of the ladies final yesterday but I did watch the camogie final a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it. At the moment both ladies finals are quashed, more-or-less between the mens finals and it's inevitable that people will compare & contrast, and as a result the womens' games are't going to measure up with such comparisons in most peoples minds. That may not be fair, but that's the way it is. My question is, should the ladies finals be moved to August when the playoffs are still going on in the mens' games? Way back in the 60s & 70s when the ladies finals were held in August, the games used to attract much bigger crowds, the biggest being around 50/60 odd thousand and also, should the finals be held in a smaller ground as Croke Park doesn't generate much atmosphere when there is only 30-35 thousand there?

The reality is that no one has interest in the Ladies finals outside of relations and friends of the players. It is simply boring unless you have a vested interest.

That' just plain dismissive. You may not be interested, but plenty of others are. If you haven't got something constructive to add, why bother.

akaredtop wrote:The reality is that no one has interest in the Ladies finals outside of relations and friends of the players. It is simply boring unless you have a vested interest.

I agree with that totally. I simply can't watch it, it's like watching a really, really poor man's game.

If a ladies final gets a crowd of 30 - 35'000 I think that's very good going! It may be worth considering another neutral venue somewhere in Dublin for the final, but where would you recommend? The rugby stadium at Lansdowne Road? That's got a capacity of about 50K.

I'd just like to add that I don't mind camogie it's not a bad game to watch at all. It's just women's football I can't get into.

Lansdowne Road pitch is too small Cari.

The use of CP is fine by me. every player aspires to play at CP and that is true of man, woman, child and beast. The club finals are played there and it isn't an issue. It is for the players and clubs, counties and supporters. I am sure they are perfectly satisfied at the atmosphere if there is 20k, 30k or 80k.

we'll see matches in the next few weeks at the business end of the county championships and the fitness wont be as good as the ladies, the ball retention wont be as good as the ladies, the decision making wont be as good as the ladies, the intelligent running wont be as good as the ladies.

I appreciate that the ladies game isn't going to hold the same broader appeal but
that ain't really the point.

I only saw the ladies junior final yesterday and because it was the junior and not the senior final it perhaps gave me an overly negative impression. The accuracy even from close in frees was terrible and the ability to pick the ball straight off the ground perversly seemed to slow the game down.
I did see the camogie finals and I thought they were far superior.

One of the recurring themes of the Rebelettes was the huge number of dopey wides all year. Looking at that, it would reaffirm your thoughts. Also, poor tackling has been a bit of a theme.

That said, I haven't seen support play as good anywhere else all year with the possible exception of the Tipp Hurlers. Monaghan had a scything style bursting from deep with great cohesion..... reminiscent of the Dubs.

Ok, it just doesn't illicit the same feelings as their male counterparts but look at it for what it is, a ladies version of our games that there is a different dynamic to.

Ok, it just doesn't illicit the same feelings as their male counterparts but look at it for what it is, a ladies version of our games that there is a different dynamic to.[/quote]

That's my point, hence the suggestion that both women's finals be played well before the mens, preferably the month before. It worked before, so why not again. I remember last year after the leaving cert results that while girls were doing better than boys in school there were concerns that the number of under 18s in Ireland participanting in sports was something like 75% for boys and 30% for girls. The boys were leading a more rounded lifestyle, and having a lot more fun, while girls were focusing on school results. Apparently the figure for girls has dropped by half since the early/mid 90s. Those figures are scary as is the antitipthy towards womens sport in general - judging by some of the comments on here anyway. Why, do guys consider it unlady like or what? What happened to playing sport for fun. Negative comments on womens sport is not going to entice our young to play. Also, we have a big obesity problem in this county and anything that can promote all sports for whatever reasons should be taken.

Is it it a cardinal sin to say I find it boring? That is just my opinion. By the way, I also find International Rules boring. Is that a problem as well?

Yet they are essentially the same sports played by both men and women, yet one interests you and the other does not. Do you like the sports or not or is it just gender specific?

bluemoda wrote:Yet they are essentially the same sports played by both men and women, yet one interests you and the other does not. Do you like the sports or not or is it just gender specific?

Have to say I agree with akaredtop on this rather than Bluemona

Lots of people follow football (scoccer [ground football]) but how many watch ladies football, you get die hard fans that love football, live and breath it, but would never watch a women game, are you saying that these people don't actally like football becasue they don't follow the womens game?

I'd keep an eye out for the results and so on, but would I ever go out of my way to get a ticket and attend a game?, simply answer is no, (unless I knew one of the players or something) i'd say this is the same for the vast amount of GAA fans.

By not following the womens games does not mean you don't like GAA games as you are trying to make out Bluemona.

So is it the standard of the womens' game that you find objectionable? So does that mean that you wouldn't watch the minors either, given that their standard isn't yet up to senior level.



I'll put it another way, if Rep of Ireland were playing Iceland in a Euro qualifer and Man U were playing Barcelona in the Champions League Final at exactly the same time, I take it that it would be the champions league game that you would watch..., if it's about quality only, then by your standards, there is only one game worth watching and it isn't the Rep of Ireland.

Somehow or other, I'm not convinced that when it comes to womens's sport it's not only just about standards.

I also meant to say that if they were dressed for a Honky Dory add, you'd watch. Jeeze, you might even buy a ticket.

I'd get a season ticket for that.

but serously I get your point the womens games should get more reconation.

You seam though to try to make out if your a fan of the sport you'll watch it at any level, but this isn't true.

Its not just GAA or Football, how many rugby fans watch womens rugby? How many Aussie rules fans watch the Womens games? How many Boxing Fans watch female boxing (Ireland have a good chance of gold in the olympics) and even vice versa how many beach volley ball fans watch the mens games?

I don't think it's totally down to sexism, as many woman sports fans don't watch the womens code either.

Its not down totally to quality either, as I watch some crap mens games.

It's a combination of things that is the answer, and I don't get enough time to watch everything I want at present, never mind adding in Camogie (which I actually quite like) or anything else.