Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, Planet Earth!

It should be a US (world?) holiday. The Monday after has long had one of the highest rates of sick days of the year. Productivity dips, churches are empty, stores close (Green Bay only), and every TV station NOT covering the game plans strategic marathons of shows aimed at the non-game crowd.

That's right, once again, the Super Bowl is upon us. And I'm stuck in Europe...

The game won't kick off until almost midnight local time, and will last AT LEAST an hour longer than a normal (already long) NFL game. It's gonna be a late night, but I'm dedicated to enjoying this one little bit of my American heritage to the last.

It really is impossible to compare Super Bowl Sunday to anything here in Ireland. Hurling and Gaelic football finals are great, to be sure. Rugby Six Nations championship? Exciting and thrilling of course, but the preamble and postgame is a bit deflating. World Cup? Yeah, it's big -- especially if your team is hanging in to the late stage of the tourney -- bit it's much less of a spectacle. That's right, I said it.

The Super Bowl is a big piñata-pop of all things American, the culmination of an entire autumn and winter of football fandom. Every high school season is long in the books, the college football bowl season has passed, and all American sporting eyes turn to the all-day coverage of the Greatest Game of the Year.

It falls at the perfect time. After the NFL season, America enters a sporting doldrums. Football is over, the baseball season is still months away, and sports networks struggle to find interesting (non-NASCAR) programming on weekends.

But.. Basketball! And ice hockey!

I know, basketball is still in full swing, and the college hoops season is really amping up as the conference standings fall into place in the buildup to the conference tourneys and the ever-loved March Madness championship tournament. The NBA is... the NBA. Professional basketball, a few nights a week. Those games that are always playing on mute at the local bar, with scores running into the triple digits and celebrities sitting courtside for their obligatory out-and-about shots. Compared to football? Yawn.

Ice hockey, enjoyed by a small but incredibly passionate fanbase, still occupies a second-class spot in the pro sports world. Just like the NBA, it suffers from a too-long season and bad television deals (outside of the home markets) and gets relegated to game-on-mute-at-the-one-bar-owned-by-that-guy-from-North-Dakota.

No friends, the Super Bowl is the LAST big game of 2014 -- even though it takes place a month into 2015. Like the traditional Chinese or the fiscal year, sports function by their own calendar not set down by the Romans (and later refined by monks) all those years ago. And much like the Western New Year celebration, Super Bowl Sunday is a big party held in the middle of winter, and the following day we wake up hungover, jaded, and looking ahead into a void of cold nothingness.

So enjoy, friends! However you celebrate (if you celebrate), do so safely and with as much America in your heart as you can fit. America is pretty big, much bigger than any human heart -- use caution. Even if you don't care one lick about that start-and-stop game where all the fat guys give each other head trauma, get yourself a watery American light lager, plug your nose, and release your inner North Dakotan. Get on YouTube tomorrow and watch as much of the halftime show as you can stomach, especially if there is a wardrobe malfunction -- but not if it happens to Steven Tyler.

And while you're watching the game, know that I will be sitting on an uncomfortable couch in our cold apartment in the middle of the night, full of nachos, quietly celebrating every sports fan's favorite holiday right there with you. God bless you, God bless football, and God bless America!
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Location: Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Muhammad Ali in Croke Park,1972

Boxing is a popular sport in Ireland. It should be no surprise, as they do love to put a little money down on their sports, and there is almost no sport better for the bettor than boxing. Ireland even won a boxing gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics (Katie Taylor).

...But way back in boxing history, another legendary boxer came to Ireland for a bout. The one, the only, the greatest of all times, Muhammad Ali.


In 1972, promoters scheduled a fight between Ali and Alvin "Blue" Lewis (not another boxing Lewis) at historic Croke Park in Dublin. We all know Croker is home to Ireland's national sports and select international events (or not), so what better venue for a huge event like this?

Before the fight, Ali shot some promotional material, resulting in this little gem of a TV spot:


He seems to have some trouble with pronunciations like shillelagh, but he gets off some other nice bits like, "[Whiskey is] the water of life. That's just crazy!" He even calls Ireland greener than Kentucky- and we all know that's saying something!

Now let's get to the fight itself. It's not a classic to the tune of the Rumble in the Jungle, but interesting nonetheless. Momentum shifts back and forth a few times, but Ali seems to be in control throughout the fight. He appears to get stronger as the bout wears on, as Al Lewis fades.

I've included time spots with highlights below the video. Each round is marked along with a few other interesting bits, like the cringingly-sexist remarks about the ring girls.



  • 2:33- The Dubliners perform the National Anthem of Ireland. Luke Kelly is the one on the right with the huge red hair and beard.
  • 4:09- The (clearly English) announcer calls The Dubliners court jesters as they are ushered from the ring. Wonder what the Irish thought of that?
  • 8:51- Round 1 begins
  • 11:55- Quite insensitive description of the woman with the "Round 2" sign. Very 1970s.
  • 12:50- Round 2
  • 16:52- Round 3
  • 21:00- Round 4- Ali has a very strong round.
  • 24:53- Round 5
  • 27:46- Ali knocks down Lewis to a 9-count at the end of the 5th.
  • 29:00- Round 6- Lewis makes a bit of a comeback, landing some solid blows.
  • 32:59- Round 7
  • 36:55- Round 8
  • 40:25- Another sexist joke about the rounds girls, calling them a "change of scenery." 
  • 50:55- Round 9
  • 44:55- Round 10- Ali comes out big at the first bell
  • 48:55- Round 11- Ali looks fresh, dancing around Lewis, who is clearly exhausted.
  • 50:11- The Ref calls the fight before Ali can devastate the dazed and stumbling Lewis.
The fighters end with an embrace, and Lewis even lifts Ali on his shoulders to the excited crowd.

I wonder if Ali ever beat "Ugly Joe Frasier" and came back to Ireland for a real holiday as he predicted in his promo spot.

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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

All-Ireland Hurling Final (Again)

Kilkenny and Tipperary played to a classic tie earlier this fall. On Saturday, both teams hit the field again to settle the affair... for good.

The two kept it close in the first half before historic hurling champs Kilkenny began pouring in the points (over the bar- 1 point) and goals (in the net- 3 points). Tipp scored a late goal to bring it close, but were unable to pull even before the final whistle blew and they were on the bad side of the scoreline.

Twitter again lit up with action from around Ireland and around the world, let's take a look at some of my favorites!

















Also in GAA action this weekend, the Cork Ladies Gaelic Football team overcame a late deficit to defeat Dublin in Croke Park on Sunday. Congrats to all the men's and women's GAA champions this year.

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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Kerry Knocks off Donegal in the Gaelic Football Final

It's still All-Ireland season here, and the GAA action is still rocking the whole island. The men's Hurling Final ended in a tie and will be replayed, but not before the men's Gaelic Football final pitting historical favorites Kerry against far-flung Donegal.

I wasn't able to catch the match live, but I did have the chance to scroll back through the Twitter history to get the real-time report from Irish folks around the country. For those thrown by the some of the words and references, here's a mini glossary:

The Kingdom- Nickname for Co. Kerry
Hon- It means "on" or, "go" as in "Go Donegal"
Sam- Name of the trophy going to the winning team, the Sam Maguire Cup
Mon- Short for "Come on"
D- Short for "The"
Croker- Croke Park, Dublin's historic home stadium of the GAA
Dun Na nGall- Irish name for Co. Donegal
Ulster- One of the four provinces of Ireland. Ulster includes the six counties of Northern Ireland and the northwestern counties of the Republic, one of which is Donegal.
Jaysus- Alternative pronunciation of "Jesus," originally made famous in the book The Bible.
Shite- Irish polite way of saying sh*t. If you reverse the vowel sound (or add an "e" in text), it's not as dirty! See also: feck

Let's hear what they had to say!














If you couldn't tell by the Twitter highlights, Kerry won a close match. The game overall was a low-scoring, grind-it-out match, leading to many upset viewers. The "Blanket Defense" prevents many of the exciting plays and high scores that fans so enjoy.

...But don't try to tell the Kerry fans there was anything wrong with the game!
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

2014 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final as Told by Twitter

It was going to be a good day in sports. The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final was set to throw in at 3:30, and the first week of the NFL season kicked off at 6. We started the day off right, a slightly-less-than-full Irish breakfast.

When the afternoon rolled around, we fired up the RTE streamer and caught the end of the pregame festivities. The game got off to a hot start, with both teams putting up points and getting very physical.


For our American friends, Weetabix is a brand-name Euro breakfast cereal much like our Wheaties... with the same kind of athletic advertising stance. Michael Jordan: "Ya gotta eat your Wheaties!" Michael O'Jordan: "Ya gotta eat your Weetabix!"

The game continued into a scoring frenzy in the middle of the first half, and fans were getting pumped.

At the end of the first half, the scoring streak slowed as the game became a physical grindfest. At halftime, the score was tight and expectations for a great finish high.

To begin the second half, Kilkenny scored a quick goal, but Tipperary kept it tight.

Some questionable officiating and a controversial new rule crept into the action near the end of the game. Last June, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) that oversees hurling, camogie (women's hurling), and Gaelic football clarified a penalty shot rule after a controversial play involving Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash.

In (very) short, the Nash Ruling means that players shooting a penalty shot can no longer cross the 20 meter line, leading to many more blocked shots. Some fans took to Twitter to express their feelings toward this game-changing rule.

As the game went into extra time, the score was tied, with one minute of extra time awarded. Most of that minute was spent with players standing around waiting for a couple of rulings. A controversial offensive foul on Kilkenny gave a very long penalty show to Tipperary. The refs took most of a minute just separating angry players and coaches before setting the ball down for the 97-meter penalty shot.

If Tipperary could put the ball through the uprights from 100+ yards, they would most likely take the game... unless the refs gave Kilkenny an extended chance to tie... But if Tipp missed, the game would end in a draw with a replay to come. The shot sailed... over? Through? Wide? No one could immediately tell. The official called it a miss on the field, but a play this big required the use of Hawk-Eye instant replay.


The call of miss held up on review, and the game ended in a draw. 

Take a look at just how close Tipperary came to walking away with this final.

Since the close call, a small but vocal group wonders aloud if the Hawk-Eye was falsified to force a draw and subsequent replay. These games bring in a lot of money for the GAA, so their accountants must be smiling at this result. The replay software display does make an animated image rather than live-action camera looks, so...

In any case, the match was one for the books, and the hurling final still isn't decided! These two teams will be back at Croke Park under the lights on September 27th. We'll see you then!
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Friday, September 5, 2014

Dublin Goes Down to Donegal

Dublin is known as a Gaelic Football (hereafter just called "football") powerhouse. Year in and year out Dublin is always involved as the football tournament winds down. This year was no different as the men's team prepared to square off in the semi final against northwest-corner-of-Ireland Donegal at Croke Park one day after Penn State beat UCF in a thriller.


The day of the Croke Park Classic, Kerry and Mayo played a spectacular semi final replay over in Limerick- much to the dismay of many fans here in Ireland who view Croke Park as sacred GAA ground. To have a Gaelic game, especially a football semi final, pushed out by an invading American sport was unthinkable.

But the GAA didn't foresee the semi going to a replay, and the schedule was what it was. Kerry overtook Mayo in an historic battle, and the winner of Dublin and Donegal would take them on in the final later this fall.


During the week, we kept seeing references to the big game in the local press. Whenever a matchup like this rolls around, the media don't only cover the upcoming sports action. Donegal is a rural county in western Ireland with a small population. Dublin is, well, Dublin. Overtones of the plucky country folks (a bit exaggerated) taking on the wealthy and sophisticated (very much exaggerated) Dublin were everywhere.

National publications like the Irish Times and Irish Independant were a bit more balanced, at least as far as this American could tell, but the Dublin-centered tabloids certainly had a pro-blue bent.

On match day, I was watching the game on RTE online while monitoring the Twitter feed of #dublinvdonegal.



In the second half, Dublin mostly lost the plot, and Donegal started pouring in goals. Twitter became even more "Let's beat those city folk!" than some of the papers had.

Dublin fans were a bit less impressed...



Donegal rode the second half hot streak to a decisive victory at 3-14 (23 total) to 0-17 (17 total). That's a wide margin in this game, especially for a team that was a 6-1 underdog, as many happy Tweeters who had bet on Donegal on the moneyline.



This Sunday, hurling-crazed Kilkenny takes on Tipperary in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final. The hoopla has been big in the national media, but the local Dublin rags have been a bit more quiet on the subject... wonder why?

Kilkenny hurling blasted Dublin in the Leinster (eastern Ireland region) final earlier this season on our first-ever visit to Croke Park. I'm not sure who I want to win, but I'm hoping for a great match with an equally entertaining Twitter feed on Sunday.
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

College Football Kickoff in Croke Park


First, thanks to my blog friend Rachel in Ireland for writing a great post and taking a great photo of the two of us with our Iowa gear in the stands at the game. It's great to have blogger buddies who also appreciate American Football.

The big day was upon us, Penn State was set to take on Central Florida at Croke Park at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. EST- timed perfectly to end just before the noon games), but there were supposed to be pregame festivities on in Temple Bar, so we headed up a bit early to check out the action.

The VAT House Sign for Penn State and UCF Croke Park Classic 2014
The VAT House Sign

There was supposed to be a "tailgate" in Temple Bar to celebrate the game. We didn't know what this actually meant when we read the headline. If it was to be in the Temple Bar area, it couldn't really resemble anything like a real American parking lot tailgate. Where would they put the pickup trucks?

The VAT House had their standard promo sign for the game, welcoming as they always are to foreign sports fans. Beyond the VAT House was the melee, the "tailgate" of legend. As we suspected, it wasn't anything at all like a tailgate except that it preceded an American sports game and was full of partying Americans. It looked like it was just a sort of pregame gathering place before catching a shuttle to Croke Park. Where were the barbeque grills? Where were the footballs being thrown? We might have been tempted had there been bratwurst, pork burgers, or turkey legs being cooked, but sadly we weren't in Iowa City.

After taking some pictures with a few PSU fans with Iowa fan friends, we headed up to the stadium for the pregame festivities. Right away we noticed a different vibe in Croke Park than that before the Dublin hurling match. As the stands filled up, the sounds of Jay Z, not those of Enya, filled the stadium. Both teams had brought small bands along, and these skeleton crew pep bands did their best to fill cavernous Croker with their teams' fight songs. 


ETATS NNEP Banner Croke Park Classic 2014
ETATS NNEP Banner

Knightro the Knight Croke Park Classic 2014
Knightro the Knight

Pregame Flag Presentation from a Low Angle

We really felt homesick during the pregame flag ceremonies. They knew their audience for this one, as more than a hundred staffers brought out banners for each team, the Croke Park Classic logo, and huge American and Irish flags. The Dublin Gospel Choir sang the US and Irish national anthems, and from our endzone seats, we could see (but not yet hear) two F-16 fighter jets barreling at the stadium. 

It was a standard well-executed flyover, common in the States at big sporting events. As rehearsed, the jets flew low over the stadium, and the loud blast of their engines hit the crowd just as the singers were finishing the anthem. 

It really sent a charge into the stadium, but it apparently startled and upset some Dublin residents. Unfortunately, no advance notice went out to the local residents who wouldn't be expecting low-flying fighter jets buzzing their city on a normal sports day. Some folks took to Twitter and Reddit asking things like...

I think Cork is finally invading Dublin.
RE: Thank f*ck! I thought it was something to worry about.

Ah f*ck sake lads, now we'll have to get sweet talking Bill Clinton over to smooth out the Irish American relations. I'll get the saxophone.

That was loud alright. Heard it in beaumont hospital. I thought it was a plane coming down! Jaysus

My elderly neighbour just flung open the window and yelled "damn Ryanair bastards!" at the sky.

Sorry to all those who were disturbed by the surprising display. I read in the Croke Park Classic pregame materials that a flyover would be part of the festivities, but most of the disinterested local population wouldn't have sought that out. They were mostly getting ready to watch the Kerry/Mayo Gaelic football replay that was moved from Croke Park to Limerick because of the American football game.

When the game got underway, I smiled when I saw the helpful display on the scoreboard describing some of the action for American football beginners. We first noticed it on an early false start call, but saw it for a number of other penalties throughout the game.

Scoreboard Explanation at Croke Park Classic 2014
Scoreboard Explanation

At halftime, with both schools' bands numbers limited by travel expenses, the entertainment was a display of hurling by Leinster (eastern Ireland) and Munster (southwestern Ireland) junior squads. They weren't playing on a regulation-size field, and didn't have the goalposts for single-point scores, but it was intriguing and exciting for the Gaelic games noobs in our section. It also was, according to an Irishman we talked to after the game, "The most exciting part of the day..."

Halftime Hurling Demonstration Croke Park Classic 2014
Halftime Hurling Demonstration

A Polite Request in English at Croke Park Classic 2014
A Polite Request in English

The second half of the game really saw the action crank up. Both offenses were moving the ball, and a number of big plays on both sides brought the sizable crowd to its feet. UCF took a very late lead in the 4th quarter before Penn State drove the ball into field goal range on their hurry-up package. PSU took the 26-24 win on a field goal as the last second ticked off the clock. We stayed for the trophy presentation as the fireworks and blue and white confetti flew.

After the long trip home, we were just in time to catch the second half of the Iowa game as they beat Northern Iowa back in Iowa City. As a dedication to all those rooting for the Hawkeyes, I proudly displayed my black and gold pride all over Croke Park. We miss you and we miss football, but events like this certainly help.


Cory at Croker at the Croke Park Classic 2014
Cory at Croker
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

College Football Kickoff at Croke Park!

First and foremost... cue the music!


There, now that that's out of the way, we can talk business. The American college football season gets underway this week- and we're going to catch some live football action right here in Dublin.

The Croke Park Classic will officially start the college football season, with Penn State and Central Florida kicking off in the early afternoon in Dublin- that's early morning in the States. When we found out about this game before the 2013 football season, we bought tickets right away. We knew we'd be desperately missing football by the time our second Autumn away from Iowa rolled around.

Just our good fortune that we can catch live American football here in Dublin, and while we won't get to see our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State is a respectable alternative. Both Iowa and Penn State play in the same conference (Big Ten), so we can wear our Big Ten fan hats that day.

There are a number of ancillary American football events scheduled this weekend in Dublin, including pep rallies for each team, a high school football game on Friday night, and team-specific tailgate parties the morning of the game in Temple Bar.

The Croke Park Classic organizers have assembled this handy calendar of all the events leading up to the big game.

For the non-American college football fans out there, here's a short glossary:

Tailgate- A large gathering of fans several hours before the game, traditionally celebrated with barbecue cookouts, playing catch with the game-appropriate ball, and often dangerous amounts of alcohol. The word tailgate comes from the traditional practice of opening and sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck.

Pep Rally- A very old tradition celebrated at many old-school colleges today. Pep rallies are usually sponsored by the university and fans are invited to attend a ceremony of music and rousing speeches made by coaches, players, and cheerleaders. Wealthy alumni are often present to make large donations to the sports program in question.

The game kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, that's 1:30 p.m. Ireland time. We'll be in the end zone with our Iowa Hawkeyes signs, so look for us on field goal and extra point attempts, and stay tuned for the recap post and photo gallery!
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Friday, August 8, 2014

In The News: Irish Women's Rugby in the World Cup

Ireland is a rugby country, at least in terms of internationally popular sports. I heard part of a story on the radio about a big World Cup win for the Irish women's rugby team. It was odd to hear a sports update outside of the regular sports report, so I assumed that they must have won the whole thing. The regular (and entertaining!) NewsTalk morning show hosts were so excited about the big triumph, and they were reading headlines from all the Irish papers.

I hit the web to check it out, and I saw that the big win wasn't the whole silver tuna, but a simple early-round group game.

...Or was it?

Ireland's Niamh Briggs celebrates victory over New Zealand Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan 
See more at: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/world-cup/briggs-on-top-of-the-world-as-ireland-roll-over-mighty-black-ferns-30486472.html#sthash.a5OU91wO.dpuf

The win was against international rugby bullies New Zealand. The Kiwis are known as powerhouses of men's and women's rugby. The NZ women's team has won the last four World Cups, and hasn't lost a match in the Cup since 1991!

The action for Ireland continues on Saturday as the ladies in green take on Kazakhstan in Paris. Let's see if the women's rugby team can add another piece or rugby hardware to the men's Six Nations championship from earlier in the year!


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Location: Paris, France

Friday, August 1, 2014

The Galway Races 2014

I may have mentioned here a time or two that the Irish are into horse racing. And by into, I mean into. One of my favorite stories to share is of our afternoon in Trim town. We saw a steady stream of older gentlemen bouncing from the pub to the licensed, legal bookie next door and back to the pub. When we went in (to the pub- not the bookie), it was a hopping Saturday afternoon race, and every television in the joint was tuned in to live racing coverage. The local gents were putting a little bit on the horses to pass the time.

All other races pale in comparison to the legend that is the Galway Races, particularly the Galway Races Summer Festival, which comes to a close on Sunday. All week long they have been celebrating all things horse and horse racing, and I've been casually following the buildup and the action on NewsTalk radio and in the Irish Independent newspaper.

One would expect an event so exciting and so Irish to have an Irish trad song written about it. True to form...



Like so many other sports, the entertainment doesn't stop with the races. Each day of the festival has a different theme and a different headline race. Thursday was Ladies' Day, with prizes for the best-dressed-and-haughtiest-hatted ladies. No word if crossdressing men are allowed in the competition.

Monty Python's Eric Idle

...And on Friday, in addition to the Guinness Handicap featured races, another winner will be crowned in the Fair Lady Competition... Another competition involving dressed-up ladies (and maybe crossdressing Monty Python members) in big hats? The races must be pretty boring for the audience if they need two running days of distractions in the form of big hats. Maybe the races are scheduled with too much time in between?

But who would we Americans be to judge? How many show up in tastefully wacky headgear every summer for our own best ninety seconds in sports?

This guy knows how to rock a Kentucky Derby

All smiling aside, this is a big deal here in Ireland. Horse racing is hugely popular, and this festival gets the same king of multi-day media coverage one might expect from the World Series or the Super Bowl... adjusted for proportional population size, of course.

Race punters (bettors) can put their shekels on a number of races different lengths and lineups. Reading the betting options makes my eyes cross, but I'm sure it would make sense to an experienced racing gambler.

They even cheer on well-known jockeys here on the island of horse fans. On Thursday, this Vine went Irish-viral when local favorite Davy Russell narrowly avoided a nasty fall with a bit of mid-race acrobatics.


After the Galway Races Festival closes up, all the horse fans will presumably make the trip over here to Ballsbridge in south Dublin for the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS, another fancy-hat-wearing, pricey-drink-drinking, red-coated English Irish equine tradition!
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Location: Galway, Ireland

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Hurling Leinster Final

Earlier this summer, we attended our first Gaelic Games event, and it was a doozy. The hurling regional final pitted the local Dublin hurlers against the Cats from hurling-crazy Kilkenny. We had our tickets for the general admission standing area called Hill 16 - more on that later - and were off for a big day out at Croke Park.

First, we stopped for lunch at Irish Americana chain restaurant Eddie Rocket's. Hamburgers, fries, and a jumbo hot dog before this most Irish of athletic events.

Eddie Rocket's Lunch in Dublin
Eddie Rocket's Lunch

After lunch, we made our way to Croke Park on Dublin's north side. This historic stadium is Ireland's traditional home for the Gaelic games championships, and it also happens to be Co. Dublin's home park. It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, giving it a very cozy feel. It isn't like the ultra-modern stadia in Dallas and New York with specially-designed pedestrian routes and parking choices. It is more like Wrigley Field in Chicago, surrounded by homes and businesses.

Its residential status doesn't come without its share of problems, and the Garth Brooks controversy was still fresh in everyone's mind as they gathered for the game.

Before going into the stadium, we stopped for a drink at Gill's pub, just around the corner. It was jammed full of black-and-gold-clad Kilkenny fans and strung with Kilkenny flags and signage. Clearly this was the visitors' pub. We kept our blue-and-blue scarves under wraps...

Gill's Pub Near Croke Park
Gill's Pub Near Croke Park

Drinks at Gill's
Drinks at Gill's

In the stadium, we found our seats on Hill 16. This famous corner of Croke Park is named in honor of 1916, the year of the Easter Rising that ultimately led to Ireland's independence from England. In 1920, the tragedy of Bloody Sunday came to Croke Park, as a troop of British soldiers entered the stadium during a Dublin-Tipperary Gaelic football match and began firing into the players and the stands. Fourteen people including one player were killed.

Today, the standing terrage of Hill 16 is an icon for Ireland and the local Dublin supporters to yell, sing, and heckle from the less-than-comfortable standing cement steps.

We arrived at the game quite early, and per the advice from another Dublin fan, grabbed a good standing spot against a barrier near the tunnel. The view of the field was great!

View of the Stadium Croke Park from Hill 16
View of the Stadium

This Sunday at Croke Park was actually a hurling doubleheader. The minor regional final, also between Dublin and Kilkenny, threw in two hours before the senior event. We were able to watch the young hurlers from these two counties go at it as Hill 16 slowly filled up behind us.

Dublin Minor League Player Warming Up
Dublin Minor League Player Warming Up

After the minor league game, the senior hurlers took the field for warmups. We were blindsided by the sudden outburst of singing from all the blue-clad Dublin fans around us in the Hill 16 stands.

"Come... on.... you... BOYS in blue, c'mon you boys in blue, c'mon you boys, c'mon you boys in blue. C'mon you boys in blue, c'mon you boys in blue, c'mon you boys, c'mon you boys in blue..."

The Gaelic games have a long tradition of pregame pomp and pageantry. Before both games, to get the crowd pumped up (?) they cranked up the adrenaline-pounding hit "Only Time" by Irish artist Enya.


Although using slow progressive electronic music for pregame events isn't all that unusual...


 Our favorite pregame ritual at GAA games is the kids marching band leading both teams on parade around the field. I don't know where this tradition comes from, but it is a very sportsmanlike routine. Both teams shake hands and line up to take a lap around the field to be recognized and appreciated by fans of both sides.

Dublin and Kilkenny on Parade at Croke Park
Dublin and Kilkenny on Parade

After the presentation, they line up for the Irish national anthem. The text of the piece is in Irish, and singing it is considered a much stronger political statement than Americans singing our anthem at any gathering of more than six people.

The match itself? An absolute beatdown of the hometown Dublin team made the game a bit sad, but the enthusiasm of the Hill 16 crowd never waned. Their shouts of encouragement turned into shouts of insults and challenges as Kilkenny pushed farther ahead in the second half. 

One particularly colorful character kept telling the referee to go back to Westmeath, the neighboring county to the west of Dublin, whenever he made a call in favor of Kilkenny. Not sure if the ref happened to actually be from Westmeath or if a Dublin person telling someone to "Go back to Westmeath!" is some kind of coded city folk-country folk insult.

Follow this link to see highlights from the match.

Now we can gear up for our next trip to Croke Park, the Croke Park Classic of American college football featuring Penn State and Central Florida!
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Location: Croke Park, Jones' Road, Dublin 3, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

An Irish Year in Sports

We were raised on American sports. Football, baseball, and basketball are our sporting languages, and touchdowns, earned run averages, and free throws are our vocabulary. From the violent-yet-chess-like move/countermove of football to the leisurely-paced, crotch-scratching headgames of baseball, to the gritty-and-strictly-timed ballet of basketball, these games are our sports reality- what speaks to us.

So in one year away from the States, could our sports tastes change and grow? Would we find ourselves stuck in our old ways, or could we learn to appreciate international sports?

First, let's talk football. American football in particular is a sport we both can watch, share, and appreciate together. We knew it would be one piece of Americana that we would miss dearly when we left the landlocked shores of Iowa. Hot dogs we might be able to do without, but a life without football? Could it be done?

Turns out, it can- in a number of different-but-not-perfect ways.

Watch American football on an internet stream
Yes, there is always streaming, legal and illegal, to feed a football jones. This has proven to be a difficult replacement for the real American football experience. Watching on a freezy/laggy/poor-quality stream in a small apartment just isn't anything like packing a stadium or even a divey sports bar with a crowd of like-minded fans.

The time difference is also a killer. We can't stay up late for the primetime American games. Even the unmissable Super Bowl didn't kick off until almost midnight here in Ireland, and the extended halftime show and commercial breaks stretched it almost until sunrise.

Take advantage of the Croke Park Classic 2014

 That's a big 10-4 on that, good buddy! We purchased our tickets to this event just after they went on sale last Fall. Penn State will be taking on Central Florida on the hallowed grounds of Ireland's national GAA stadium. This will be a great time for us, no doubt, but it will be just the one game. And we all know that no sports fix can be fed with just one game!

Learn and follow the popular local sports

 When in Rome Ireland, get to know the popular sports and cheer on the local teams! Isn't that what they say? Despite the efforts of American professional sports leagues, they just aren't very popular here yet. Irish sports fan dig their teeth more into soccer, rugby, and Gaelic sports.

Soccer

It has been interesting to listen to the local sports report on the radio each morning. We assume the sports editors generally reflect the preferences and passions of the locals, so we go with what they say. When Ireland soccer was playing qualifying matches for the World Cup, Irish soccer was big in the news- particularly the drama with the team's head coach, who resigned shortly after the World Cup qualifying losing streak.

Rugby

When rugby time rolled around, the drama really rose. Ireland seems to have been having more success in rugby than in soccer recently, so media coverage and casual conversations were much more enthusiastic. Ireland winning the Six Nations Rugby championship certainly didn't hurt matters... We had a great time learning the game of rugby and some of its ins and outs. Much of the strategy and a few of the more obscure rules are still beyond us, but we'll tune in again when the season kicks off again next year.

Gaelic Sports

And Gaelic sports, Ireland's national sports identity. We sincerely enjoy watching these specialized and highly-skilled games- particularly hurling. They give us a home team (County Dublin) to support and follow in a sport enjoyed by Irish people everywhere. The GAA has not been without its share of controversy this year, making a deal with Sky Sports to show live matches. This will be the first time that matches will be aired on a paid-subscription service and not over the air for free on RTE.

A number of hardcore traditionalists have criticized this move in the papers, slamming the GAA for selling the rights to traditional Irish games to the English and their greedy media empire. Many rural Irish people who cannot or will not subscribe to the Sky cable or satellite packages will not be able to watch these traditional favorites.

Of course, the benefits of this deal are also discussed. GAA sports will now have more international exposure than ever before, and will be broadcast live to millions of potential new fans. The GAA is also a nonprofit organization that supports developing leagues and communities all over Ireland. These profits (supposedly) will be distributed to the various GAA county clubs around the country.

Controversy aside, we try to catch live Dublin hurling and football matches whenever we can. If things continue like this, GAA sports might actually be something we miss when we move on from Ireland's shores? Might we someday be writing on this very blog about missing the annual All-Ireland championship matches?

It is amazing how our sports tastes have grown in one year. I use the word grown and not changed because we haven't suddenly decided that American sports are boring games with strict clocks and too much stoppage of play. We don't only accept sports if the players are wearing collared shirts with traditional heraldry crests for logos. We have added some of these non-American favorites to our sports repertoire. We still have a long way to go with soccer, cricket, and horse racing, but give it time. Maybe we'll be heading down to Paddy Power to put a few quid on One Pint Too Many in the third race next year!

Maybe this living abroad thing really is expanding our experience, after all.

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Location: Dublin, Ireland

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

USA in the World Cup! Yay Soccer!

The World Cup is well underway in Brazil this month, and the non-USA world is very excited. It might be unfair to exclude Americans from soccer enthusiasm, but with apologies to the good folks in Seattle and Portland, Americans just don't share the same kind of if-we-don't-win-I'm-going-to-pull-out-this-pipewrench-and-start-beating-random-strangers-and-burning-any-nearby-car-that-is-if-this-stadium-doesn't-collapse-before-halftime excitement for soccer.

We mostly save our violent hooliganism for baseball, football, and, for a vocal few, ice hockey.

...But with Team USA representing us in the World Cup, we decided to make a point to at least watch one game match; it would be a shame not to see them play while living in a country that at least mildly cares about soccer- that is, English Premier League soccer.

So when USA squared off against Germany in the last match of group play with a chance to advance, we headed over to the student pub to catch the snoozefest SOCCER ACTION OMG ALL CAPZ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!


Well, the game certainly wasn't as exciting as The Simpsons would imply. It was more fun to listen to the announcers describing the action and to watch the crowd gathered in the bar responding to the almost scores.

Of course, we had to enjoy a drink and some popular Irish snacks while watching the edge-of-your-seat action.

Drinks and Soccer
Drinks and Soccer

Popular Irish Potato Crisps
Popular Irish Potato Crisps


In particular, I smiled when the announcers said at halftime with the score tied at 0 (yep), "Germany have completely dominated this one so far!" Imagine what the announcers at an American football game tied at 0 going to halftime would say. Non-American football fans, you can bet your boots they won't sound as excited and certainly won't say that either team is dominating anything. It might be something like...

"It's halftime here at Lambeau, and both defenses have been stingy and have not given up an inch to these two offenses. Let's hope to see these offensive coordinators make some halftime adjustments and put some points on the board." 

I know what they meant, even as a soccer novice, I could see that Germany had control of the ball for most of the half, and had many more shots on goal than did the good guys in white jerseys. I just have the disadvantage of a perspective shaped by the play style and pacing of American sports, few of which (ice hockey bears a passing resemblance) are played anything like soccer. I do enjoy comparing the commentary and commercial promotions of soccer and American sports, particularly American football.

In the second half, Germany scored a goal, and that would be the final score, Germany 1-0 USA. The other matchup from the USA's group, Portugal and Ghana, kicked off at the same time. A few vocal fans of that match were watching and excitedly shouting, as it ended in a scoreboard-shattering 2-1 to Portugal.

Because of a very complex tiebreaker that could rival the wildcard playoff scenarios in the NFL, Team USA advances to the next round. The loss to Germany merely hurt their matchup in the next round. Belgium is looming on July 1st (the night this post goes live) in what should be a big match.

It would be nice to see Team USA do well for the small but enthusiastic American soccer community, and I'm sure I'll follow the rest of the World Cup action as it plays out in the next few weeks. If we don't bring home the amorphous gold trophy, I will still be happy to be world champions in all those team sports popular nowhere but the USA.

Enjoy the rest of the World Cup, soccer fans! While I am not a fan of watching soccer games, I am a fan of any peaceful international event that unites humanity and inspires the best in us all. As Morgan Freeman used to say in those VISA Olympic Games commercials...



Go World, indeed.
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