Tipperary is a hurling county, that much is very clear.
The Premier County’s footballers have been on the rise for a couple of years now. Liam Kearns has been at the helm for this climb from Division 4 up to Division 2 and from qualifier knock-outs to All-Ireland semi-finals.
A likeable manager, the Kerryman’s outspoken ways in a predominantly drab managerial game make him stand out, but the obvious bond between himself and his Tipperary players is another factor.
For God’s sake, this is a man who values the psychological benefits of team bonding through drinking or having the craic more than he’s wary of the supposed scientific negatives.
“I want them to celebrate after a game… I want them to enjoy it and that’s our philosophy and that’s where it comes from,” he once said.
But even more importantly, this is a team who play a more attractive brand of football than the majority of others. Free-flowing and attacking, the men in blue and gold set out to score more than the opposition and that’s that.
Still though, the Tipperary public haven’t really been bitten by the bug. In a county where hurling is akin to religion, football doesn’t have anywhere near the same currency.
And while Michael Ryan’s side are one of the best supported teams in the whole country, the same can’t be said for the county’s footballers.
Star forward Conor Sweeney was speaking on The GAA Hour earlier in the year when he lamented the small band following his team.
“Ah, it’s the still kind of the same craic really. There’s a few more starting to come out but, there’s no major changes,” said the Ballyporeen club man.
“We just get on with it. There’s no point in giving out about it because those who want to come will come. It’s the same lads that are coming the whole time, but yeah, there’s no major changes.”
Fast forward a couple of months and it’s still the same story. Last Saturday evening, the keepers of the big ball in Tipperary began their Munster championship campaign in Semple Stadium against Waterford. The Thurles stadium, located right in the heart of the county, only had an attendance of 1700 at the game.
“That’s disgraceful,” said Colm Parkinson on Monday’s GAA Hour Show.
Disgraceful it may be, but in an age where ticket prices are extortionate, where games are fixed at the same time as the Champions League final, it can be hard for supporters to get to games – especially given Tipperary’s dual circumstances.
The prices into Gaelic matches for the championship are nothing short of ridiculous, how can they expect families to pay 30 for each parent and then 5 for each child at the gate. Amateur sport people forget.
— caolan mooney (@caolanmooney) May 22, 2018
Don’t expect too many more to be present in Thurles this Saturday when Tipperary take on Cork in the Munster senior football semi-final.
That’s because the hurlers are out on the same grounds the very next day…taking on Cork again. The Cork footballers are in a similar situation to Tipperary in that they’re less loved than their Tipperary counterparts, and Damien Hayes surely isn’t the only one questioning why the Munster Council didn’t make this a Double-Header fixture.
“Why would they not just put them two games together on Sunday, when you’d have a massive crowd at them? That just doesn’t make sense,” said the Galway man.
“Supporters have to go up to the football game on Saturday, and then they’ve to go back again on Sunday to support the hurlers. They’re on about expenses and money and all of that, but that fixture just doesn’t make sense at all.
“You’re just looking for the whole element of cop-on. That would have helped both hurling and football,” said Hayes.
For Cork supporters, who may have to make the journey to Thurles twice in as many days, it’s even tougher to take.
Hard to credit.
You can listen to this chat and much more from Thursday’s GAA Hour Show.
You can listen to this chat and much more from Thursday’s GAA Hour Show.
