GAA and Me
There was a slight delay in new posts as I was lazy and didn’t do it. No valid reason, just lazy.
Anyway, as promised here is a post dedicated to my newfound interest into Gaelic Football and Hurling, which are both regulated by the Gaelic Athletic Association, or GAA. A quick wikipedia search gave me a quick rundown on the rules and few ins and outs on how the game is played. One of the interesting facts is that the players are all amateurs! Great to see the sport is played for the love of it and not the money.
The sport is a bit like football, rugby, and Australian Rules Football all combined. Here are some quick points:
- Pitch is similar in size to a football pitch
- The ball is similar to a football,
- Ball is a bit heavier with horizontal stitching rather than hexagonal
- Use of hands are allowed
- You can kick the ball, handpass, or solo (which is kicking the ball to yourself)
- Can’t throw the ball
- Can’t go more than four steps without releasing, bouncing or soloing the ball.
- Tackling is allowed and is more robust than in football, but less than rugby
Scoring:
If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format {goal total}-{point total}. For example, the 1991 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final finished Meath 0-15 Roscommon 1-11. Thus Meath won "fifteen points to one-eleven" (1-11 being worth 14 points). (From wikipedia).
As with most sports, watching it helps to explain some of what is going on. The best way is to watch with someone in the know, but as there are hardly any football fans here in Corpus, there are likely even fewer Gaelic Football aficionados here! Hopefully someday though. And I’ll be checking in with my new friends at Munchen Comcilles for more updates. As a note to the person I was commenting, with send me an email and we can discuss the game even more.
And it seems that the climax of the season is coming up with the All Ireland Final coming up in the end of September. There are some matches on Setanta tonight, so I better wrap this up and go in and watch some!!!
Back to normal day to day crap tomorrow. Maybe.
Anyway, as promised here is a post dedicated to my newfound interest into Gaelic Football and Hurling, which are both regulated by the Gaelic Athletic Association, or GAA. A quick wikipedia search gave me a quick rundown on the rules and few ins and outs on how the game is played. One of the interesting facts is that the players are all amateurs! Great to see the sport is played for the love of it and not the money.
The sport is a bit like football, rugby, and Australian Rules Football all combined. Here are some quick points:
- Pitch is similar in size to a football pitch
- The ball is similar to a football,
- Ball is a bit heavier with horizontal stitching rather than hexagonal
- Use of hands are allowed
- You can kick the ball, handpass, or solo (which is kicking the ball to yourself)
- Can’t throw the ball
- Can’t go more than four steps without releasing, bouncing or soloing the ball.
- Tackling is allowed and is more robust than in football, but less than rugby
Scoring:
If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format {goal total}-{point total}. For example, the 1991 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final finished Meath 0-15 Roscommon 1-11. Thus Meath won "fifteen points to one-eleven" (1-11 being worth 14 points). (From wikipedia).
As with most sports, watching it helps to explain some of what is going on. The best way is to watch with someone in the know, but as there are hardly any football fans here in Corpus, there are likely even fewer Gaelic Football aficionados here! Hopefully someday though. And I’ll be checking in with my new friends at Munchen Comcilles for more updates. As a note to the person I was commenting, with send me an email and we can discuss the game even more.
And it seems that the climax of the season is coming up with the All Ireland Final coming up in the end of September. There are some matches on Setanta tonight, so I better wrap this up and go in and watch some!!!
Back to normal day to day crap tomorrow. Maybe.
posted by Cameron at 7:19 PM
3 Comments:
yes, way to follow the GAA! I need to get Setanta so I can watch it. My county is Cork or as the locals say Caaaaaaaaark. I'm kinda glad they are good, but it is where my Mom's family is from, so I get to support the local side! and i figured i would comment on your blog. nice work.
-Dan
i should also say that the GAA season is winding down. the playoffs are on now and the All-Ireland final is in September. I hope to be in Ireland for it next year.
-dan
Right on Dan! I do always seem to get into a sport at the end of the season. Oh well. I have a bunch of friends from Kilkenny County so I'll probably follow them. I know they did well in hurling a few years back.
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