Me with the holy grail of sports trophies

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

The Sam Maguire cup

This is the trophy for the GAA Football Championship, which is played for in september each year, about 83,000 people in attendance, with most of the country watching on TV

Donegal won in 92, their only time, beating the dublin scum.

That was a full week party at home, it means that much.

32 counties, everyone has a chance at the start of the year. Because it's county based, its regionalized fans, so there is savage passion, players are from the area, fans from the area.

Greatest sporting event in the world (in my biased opinion)

Pic from the smithsonian folklife festival this week in DC

[CapsFan 5]

With all due respect... I thought the Stanley Cup way the most coveted of sports trophies... I understand soccer is a world sport and each country desperately wants to win, but this is a hockey board for god's sake! :P

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

With all due respect... I thought the Stanley Cup way the most coveted of sports trophies... I understand soccer is a world sport and each country desperately wants to win, but this is a hockey board for god's sake! :P

It's not a soccer trophy, and to me, it is the trophy, the the stanley cup

[CapsFan 5]

With all due respect... I thought the Stanley Cup way the most coveted of sports trophies... I understand soccer is a world sport and each country desperately wants to win, but this is a hockey board for god's sake! :P

It's not a soccer trophy, and to me, it is the trophy, the the stanley cup

I thought football was soccer...? Aside from that I'm not sure what you mean.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

With all due respect... I thought the Stanley Cup way the most coveted of sports trophies... I understand soccer is a world sport and each country desperately wants to win, but this is a hockey board for god's sake! :P

It's not a soccer trophy, and to me, it is the trophy, the the stanley cup

I thought football was soccer...? Aside from that I'm not sure what you mean.

GAA Football = Gaelic Football. Not soccer

As for what I mean, if I could choose any team to win any trophy, it would be Donegal, for the Sam.

Gaelic football

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kApM83xSzC8...ted&search=

Ireland / Austraila compromise rules (gaa/aussie footie) fight compilation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA4U8zEMmLM...ted&search=

[CapsFan 5]

With all due respect... I thought the Stanley Cup way the most coveted of sports trophies... I understand soccer is a world sport and each country desperately wants to win, but this is a hockey board for god's sake! :P

It's not a soccer trophy, and to me, it is the trophy, the the stanley cup

I thought football was soccer...? Aside from that I'm not sure what you mean.

GAA Football = Gaelic Football. Not soccer

As for what I mean, if I could choose any team to win any trophy, it would be Donegal, for the Sam.

Is is rugby then? If not... What is it? I'd like to understand.

I see what you are saying about the trophy now.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

look at the 2 clips

[frankie56 0]

I thought Aussie rules football used a rugby type ball.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I thought Aussie rules football used a rugby type ball.

Ireland and Australia do a compromise rules series each year, the games are somewhat similar, and they are always great games

[frankie56 0]

The punter for the San Diego Chargers was a Aussie rules player.

[mattzilla 0]

this stuff is fuckin brutally awesome.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

this stuff is fuckin brutally awesome.

And because it's all region based, only players from my area can represent the county, so its got some very passionate fans.

If you ever get to to Ireland, try get to a gaelic football game, or hurling (which was once described by someone trying to explain it to a new york radio station as "a cross between hockey and murder"), which is equally vicious

Apart from the old school cooper style helmets (made by o'neill at home), notice the lack of pads, and excessive swinging of sticks....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM-kB1e96CA

[DDude26 0]

hurling looks like lacrosse to me with bigger goal nets.

[tips09 0]

I thought Aussie rules football used a rugby type ball.

I love aussie rules football... My hockey coach for the last 3 three years used to coach in australia and now we play on lots of our off days... Its Great

[tomh7 2]

All I have to say is that you guys are nuts over there across the pond. Those sports are just down right brutal, and everyone takes it so seriously.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

All I have to say is that you guys are nuts over there across the pond. Those sports are just down right brutal, and everyone takes it so seriously.

It's part of our history, and our community. All the Gaelic players are amateur athletes, they are not paid, they are playing for their town or county, for pride. Thats why it's so serious.

Now, the GAA as an organization, are some money grubbing bastards, who are raking in the cash at the expense of the unpaid players, but thats another story altogether.

[Langenbrunner15 0]

Ah..my friends cousin who lives in Ireland plays hurling, crazy game and hard too!

[hockeytim18 0]

this stuff is fuckin brutally awesome.

And because it's all region based, only players from my area can represent the county, so its got some very passionate fans.

If you ever get to to Ireland, try get to a gaelic football game, or hurling (which was once described by someone trying to explain it to a new york radio station as "a cross between hockey and murder"), which is equally vicious

Apart from the old school cooper style helmets (made by o'neill at home), notice the lack of pads, and excessive swinging of sticks....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM-kB1e96CA

Last year I was in Ireland and was able to go to a GAA Football match. Our hotel was right across the street from the stadium in Dublin.

Best part of the sport besides the fact that there is more hitting than hockey is that these guys play for free.

[booyaagrandma 4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Ireland_S...hip#Top_Winners

Allsmokenopancake, check out this link to truly appreciate how many times the true champions Dublin ( or as you so eloquently put it ' scum ' ) won the Sam, and see how many times Donegal won.........oh, thats right ...just the ONE TIME since its inception ! heh,heh ! So, you got something against Dubliners eh ?

[mack 44]

It's an inferiority complex ;)

[booyaagrandma 4]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kApM83xSzC8...ted&search=

Excellent link !

There are some good clips there for any body wanting to see a real GAA team play heh,heh ;)( cough...Dublin ) :D ,back in those days it was all Dublin vs Kerry, ah, the memories. Looks like its been a while since the Dubs won eh ?

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

You have to first understand a couple of things about me/dublin.

1. The dublin teams of old were great, not kerry great, but great.

2. When Donegal won, their only title in 92, it was against dublin, but all we heard from the dublin players, and stupid RTE and Meeehail o moriarty, were how dublin lost, not how donegal won. That it was Dublins title and they lost it.

3. My father had 3 sisters move to dublin, and I spent most of my summers there with cousins. They were from Crumlin (then moved to sunny ashbourne), and Finglas. I spent more time kicking cans in Ballymun, or down sherriff street that any kid should.

So, I saw the scum side of dublin, it was my familys side. When I was with my cousin and his friends, they are the best of lads, then I would look across the towers and see another group of young ones there, and would think, look at them knackers. So my view of dublin isn't kilmarnock or rathcool, it's Finglas, bareback horses tied to traffic lights outside the pub and having my runners robbed when I was 10.

Let me enjoy 92, please!!!! :)

[booyaagrandma 4]

I'm just slagging ya ;) .I'm a smidge biased you see, I grew up on the north side ( a couple of houses down from Kevin Heffernans' Ma ) so I'm well acquainted with Ballymun as it was back then, one of the roughest areas on the northside.Ballymun in those days would make south central look like Blackrock on a nice day in comparison.You're right ,Kerry was the team to beat back then .It was watch the game and then get the lads together in the park after to reenact the days preceedings till it was dinner time.You're an honorary northsider by the sounds of things :D ,so fair play to you.We grew up playing GAA and hurling and then discovered hockey when I moved to LA.Are you involved in GAA where you are now ?

Anyways ,Slan go foill.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Well, I'm in the washington DC area, moved here about 7 years ago. So, as you know, there was no hurling up north, my 16 year old cousin made the mens senior team.

We were all about football, the mighty St. Eunans representing.

Thats why I got into hockey too, similar aggression but with the emphasis on teams not the individuals. Yeah, I would say I have earned my northside citizenship alright.

Not involved in the GAA out here though