The road to Dublin was filled with cars from Cork.
And that may not sound that surprising perhaps. These cars however were filled with supporters of the Corcaigh Hurling Team. The county had made it to the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship which was being played at Croke Park the next day.
Our friends had managed to get tickets and so the four of us went to see the most amazing spectacle. Not only is Hurling incredibly fast, physical and exciting, but the crowd was something else!
The level of cheering and support through the build up and the national anthem was one thing. The roar that went around as the teams paraded side by side around every corner of the stadium was something else. But then when play actually got under way I thought the roof would come off! The level of passionate encouragement was equivalent to putting a lit match to a petrol station. Croke Park erupted.
And not only was the support passionate, but it was also incredibly colourfully put… in shades of blue. Supporters in the stands aren’t segregated into team support just as in rugby. But the level of aggressive banter between supporters was of a level that I had not come across before outside of a football stadium… Worse really because the people effing and blinding at one another were sat seats apart and the abuse became really personal at times.
One guy from Cork and one woman from Kilkenny were so bad I really thought it was going to end in some sort of a punch up. As Kilkenny put the points on the board though I noticed the guy quieten down. With 20 minutes left he had gone.
And that may not sound that surprising perhaps. These cars however were filled with supporters of the Corcaigh Hurling Team. The county had made it to the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship which was being played at Croke Park the next day.
Our friends had managed to get tickets and so the four of us went to see the most amazing spectacle. Not only is Hurling incredibly fast, physical and exciting, but the crowd was something else!
The level of cheering and support through the build up and the national anthem was one thing. The roar that went around as the teams paraded side by side around every corner of the stadium was something else. But then when play actually got under way I thought the roof would come off! The level of passionate encouragement was equivalent to putting a lit match to a petrol station. Croke Park erupted.
And not only was the support passionate, but it was also incredibly colourfully put… in shades of blue. Supporters in the stands aren’t segregated into team support just as in rugby. But the level of aggressive banter between supporters was of a level that I had not come across before outside of a football stadium… Worse really because the people effing and blinding at one another were sat seats apart and the abuse became really personal at times.
One guy from Cork and one woman from Kilkenny were so bad I really thought it was going to end in some sort of a punch up. As Kilkenny put the points on the board though I noticed the guy quieten down. With 20 minutes left he had gone.
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