It’s the laziest insult to hit anyone with, calling them a bandwagoner.
Everyone’s interest in anything peaks whenever something actually gets interesting.
But we love this idea in Ireland that we should be noble and slog it out through thick and thin even if we’re not enjoying ourselves. Real supporters do that and they’re just that, supporters – fine supporters. They’re supporting their country, trying to help in whatever way they can but you can’t expect an entire nation to be as enthusiastic all year round.
When rugby season comes into play, a massive spike is felt. The country gets behind the oval ball if only for six weeks or whatever it might be but those not endeared with the sport as much just call it a bandwagon. Glory-hunting.
Well, in fact, the most-searched for terms in Google might suggest that the football fans are the true ‘bandwagoners’ whatever that is – let’s call them the fair-weather supporters.
Despite a much higher potential reach in the soccer world – as the stats will show – a look through Google’s trends for 2016 shows how erratic that interest in the Irish footballers was.
Wes Hoolahan v Conor Murray
- 100 on Google Trends indicates the peak of the activity around the search term indicated.
- If something is at 50, that’s half of the peak.
- These search terms are for Ireland only and in 2016 only.
Wes Hoolahan peaked around June time of course and someone even as special as Conor Murray – who beat the All Blacks in one of the most historic results for Irish sport ever – could barely hit a quarter of the same interest that the footballer received – at any time over the 12 months.
The reach of an Irish player starring at Euro 2016 was much grander but, interestingly, searches for Murray averaged out more than Wes over the whole year.
There were more people there interested in Hoolahan but they only showed up when he was playing in France.
Johnny Sexton v Seamus Coleman
The interest in the Irish captain, the new hero, the Donegal legend couldn’t be more sporadic.
Search terms for Sexton are more common and often and, although interest in Coleman peaks at the same heights, it doesn’t do so as much.
Johnny Sexton v Shane Long
You take that same rugby player though and you pit him with an Ireland striker as opposed to a defender and the oval ball is dwarfed.
Jon Walters v CJ Stander
A battle between the country’s favourite adopted sons.
Once again, even though Shane Long and searches for him on Google would show you the enormity of potential for Irish footballers, it is not widespread and it is definitely not year-round.
CJ Stander v Robbie Brady
Throw Stander against the man of the summer though and he doesn’t have a chance.
Interest in Brady for a week in June was so high that the rest of the graph almost flat-lines – because no-one was coming back after the tournament. They rode the wave and then pissed off again.
Joe Schmidt v Martin O’Neill
Rugby wins. By a landslide.
Joe Schmidt v Roy Keane
Rugby doesn’t even register.
Republic of Ireland v Irish Rugby
More people were searching for Irish Rugby on Google than they were for Republic of Ireland. Now, granted, football fans generally just use the term ‘Ireland’ but it’s an interesting pattern to notice from January the whole way to December.
Euro 2016 v Six Nations
But a look at the respective sports’ biggest tournaments and it’d show you how the interest peaked and troughed.
It doesn’t matter, because if you compare any of those to Conor McGregor, you ask yourself what the hell’s the point.
