opening the trap door
To understand how I feel about Trapattoni’s appointment you must first understand how I feel about football.
It really, really, bugs me when someone belittles the beautiful game by describing it as “Twenty-two grown men running after a ball”. You can be a smart-arse like that about just pretty much anything if that’s the case.
When true football fans watch a match, they aren’t just interested in who scores more goals on the day.
It could be about the personalities involved.
It could be about an overwhelming desire to beat that particular opposition.
It could be about remembering when you were a kid and having something to talk about with your dad.
It could be about having a world to escape to in order to forget about the shit life can throw at you.
Now if you don’t like sports that’s all very well, to each their own and all that. But if you’re going to mock someone who does enjoy them I think you’re actually revealing something about yourself.
Let’s take the recent appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni as the Republic of Ireland’s new manager. To a ‘true’ fan, it’s an inspired choice.
The man has actually won stuff. Italian, German, Portuguese and Austrian championships, as well as some European trophies. He knows how to get the job done, and surely will command respect from the word go.
“But what about the fact that an entrepreneur with a dodgy-at-best tax record had to put up the cash to hire him?”, I have heard more than once in the past week from various sources.
What about it indeed.
Sure, it’s embarrassing that the FAI needed a hand-out. They have done NOTHING to maximize revenue over the years, particularly when Delaney has been involved as either Treasurer or Gen Sec.
The eircom League is still stuck in the 70’s when it comes to marketing, even though year after year we have thousands of kids coming through who are hungry to get involved in sport both as players and spectators, and even though they have to compete for attention with both GAA and rugby.
So by rights, with a bit of sound financial planning, maybe we would be able to afford a high-caliber boss at this point in time.
But the fact is, we can’t. There is a shower of head-in-the-sand blazers entrenched at Merrion Square, and let’s face it, there’s feck all we can do about it.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m a supporter of the Republic of Ireland football team, and I want them to do well, and I want to be proud of them when they play in competitions that involve most of the other nations on this planet.
If that means the FAI need a few bob from Denis O’Brien, so long as nobody was actually killed in the process, then I’m all for it.
We can scrutinize where the money came from until we’re blue in the face, but if we hold those standards, surely we’d have to look at everything that is achieved in all walks of life, not just football? If that were the case, the Mahon Tribunal would be a drop in the ocean!
So when all is said and done, after years of bemoaning the Kerrs and the Stauntons of this world, let’s look forward to the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign with a bit of optimism, shall we?
It’s only a bloody ball game, after all! ;-)
By the way, if your looking for a good sign that Trapattoni is a right fit for the Ireland job...his birthday is St Patrick's Day (the real one)!!!
It really, really, bugs me when someone belittles the beautiful game by describing it as “Twenty-two grown men running after a ball”. You can be a smart-arse like that about just pretty much anything if that’s the case.
When true football fans watch a match, they aren’t just interested in who scores more goals on the day.
It could be about the personalities involved.
It could be about an overwhelming desire to beat that particular opposition.
It could be about remembering when you were a kid and having something to talk about with your dad.
It could be about having a world to escape to in order to forget about the shit life can throw at you.
Now if you don’t like sports that’s all very well, to each their own and all that. But if you’re going to mock someone who does enjoy them I think you’re actually revealing something about yourself.
Let’s take the recent appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni as the Republic of Ireland’s new manager. To a ‘true’ fan, it’s an inspired choice.
The man has actually won stuff. Italian, German, Portuguese and Austrian championships, as well as some European trophies. He knows how to get the job done, and surely will command respect from the word go.
“But what about the fact that an entrepreneur with a dodgy-at-best tax record had to put up the cash to hire him?”, I have heard more than once in the past week from various sources.
What about it indeed.
Sure, it’s embarrassing that the FAI needed a hand-out. They have done NOTHING to maximize revenue over the years, particularly when Delaney has been involved as either Treasurer or Gen Sec.
The eircom League is still stuck in the 70’s when it comes to marketing, even though year after year we have thousands of kids coming through who are hungry to get involved in sport both as players and spectators, and even though they have to compete for attention with both GAA and rugby.
So by rights, with a bit of sound financial planning, maybe we would be able to afford a high-caliber boss at this point in time.
But the fact is, we can’t. There is a shower of head-in-the-sand blazers entrenched at Merrion Square, and let’s face it, there’s feck all we can do about it.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m a supporter of the Republic of Ireland football team, and I want them to do well, and I want to be proud of them when they play in competitions that involve most of the other nations on this planet.
If that means the FAI need a few bob from Denis O’Brien, so long as nobody was actually killed in the process, then I’m all for it.
We can scrutinize where the money came from until we’re blue in the face, but if we hold those standards, surely we’d have to look at everything that is achieved in all walks of life, not just football? If that were the case, the Mahon Tribunal would be a drop in the ocean!
So when all is said and done, after years of bemoaning the Kerrs and the Stauntons of this world, let’s look forward to the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign with a bit of optimism, shall we?
It’s only a bloody ball game, after all! ;-)
By the way, if your looking for a good sign that Trapattoni is a right fit for the Ireland job...his birthday is St Patrick's Day (the real one)!!!
2 comment/s so far:
JL,
I'm afraid I've been guilty on two accounts. I questioned DOB's kind gift and I do believe that I've called football 22 men chasing an inflated rubber ball....
In doing so, I've never once meant to belittle anyone's harmless pastimes. I do have a particular theory though about the place football has in the life of a young man!
JL, have just tagged you in a competition for bloggers who mention a Glengarriff Lodge Luxury Self catering in a blog post. The prize is a self-catering weekend worth €1,175, just thought you might like to enter! Pop over and see my post if you're interested
Post a Comment