Football without the divas.
Football without the multimillionaire brats smashing up Ferraris and getting arrested in nightclubs.
Football without the Beckham soap opera.
Football without the expensive flight abroad, mandatory overpriced two nights in craphole hotel and dreadful seats so high in the stadium you'd get a nosebleed.
Football without the fawning commentary from bitter ex-pros with vapid insights who missed out on the lottery cheque paydays.
Football without the mind-numbingly bland autobiographies, ghostwritten by anonymous sports hacks who don't get credited, that invariably feature a chapter on kicking a ball against a wall as a kid, a chapter on cleaning someone's boots, and a chapter on their debut game, but entirely gloss over the teen roastings, coke snortings, attacks on people in nightclubs, rows with t he trophy WAG in the mansion and six figure gambling debts.
Football without the bribed refs, fixed matches and corruption scandals.
Football without the Sky Sports network dictating the kick-off time.
But...
Football with the passion, the skill, the talent, the excitement, the drama.
Football played by ordinary guys in your local area at a reasonable ticket price where you can get right up close to the pitch without remortgaging your house.
Football with heart, with soul, with community.
Football as it used to be and ought to be.
Welcome back, the League of Ireland. Go watch your local team this season.
Friday, March 06, 2009
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3 comments:
Very good points. I wouldn't champion myself as a huge LoI fan, but I take some interest & have probably been to 40 or 50-odd games down the years.I normally go to 2 or 3 games a year: a Bohs v Rovers match, a European game and maybe one other. I'm looking forward to going out to Tallaght to take in a game in the new ground.
I have friends who can talk all day about Man Utd or Premier League/Champions League. Yet when you tell them you're going to a match and ask if they'd be interested in coming along, the response you get is often a mixture of bewilderment and derision. They don't get that there's a match-day experience to be had that cannot be replicated by watching on TV.
Spot on Skinner.
But try telling that to any Irish sports journalist who wants a career, or to the ranks of Irish bloggers breathlessly bringing us their precious insights on Liverpool, Arsenal and ManU...
Couldnt agree more. Never miss a home game and try to get to as many away ones as possible. While I know it is not as skilful I would much prefer watching and supporting my home team rather than sopme english or scottish team who I have no connection to or some overpaid pretentious prats and divers like Ronaldo and Gerrard
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