Lifting the lid on the comedy that is the GAA

The GAA

What is the GAA you may ask if you are from outside the island of Ireland? They would like you to think that it is an association which turns dreams into reality where all players who play their games live on clouds built by their adoring fans.
They would like you to believe that the players are modern day gladiators, ready to battle to defend the honor of their club or county but the reality is slightly different.
The GAA used to be an association where there was always a level of inequality, where the executive and suits always had the Orwellian equality system equated. The players who are the primary source of income for the association,(ie, without players you don't have a game, without a game you don't have income), were always treated badly but while their treatment was tantamount to something out of a forced labour camp the benefits for the suits weren't extreme. They got extra expenses, extra dinners, extra tickets for games etc. It wasn't fair, they never had to put their bodies on the line but you played for the love of the game so you could over look it.
Enter the Celtic Tiger however and now we've hit a new level of (in)equality. The amateur game, where under no circumstance can a player receive any compensation for playing with the exception of paltry travel expenses, has now become professional everywhere except the shop floor.
Administrators get paid, officials get paid, stewards get paid, ticket checkers get paid, linesmen get paid, referees get paid, umpires get paid, photographers get paid, reporters get paid, scoreboard operators get paid. Everyone gets paid except for the guys putting their bodies on the line every week, so really, the modern day gladiator description is extremely apt. You get adoration but once you've outlived your use you get cast aside as someone new comes along.
The modern day GAA is no longer an association where the games are the central focus of the association. It's now a commercial entity where players are commodities and where accountants and marketing gurus are the new big wigs.
The games are now based upon creating a frenzied Stockholm syndrome type loyalty equivalent to a lobotomy so really once you get a taste of something nice you forget all the bad things from the past and those who still have their frontal lobe intact receive the usual derisory comments equating them to the visionaries who dared to unwrap the green flag and warn of the death of the Celtic Tiger.

NEW RULES

With this new breed of high ranking official on board comes another year of tinkering with the games to make them more appealing to the broader audience. Key to this statement is audience. Not players, not coaches, audience. Players who would play in front of 5 people or 50,000 people it wouldn't matter as they are do it for free in accounting terms but in economic terms are doing it at a massive loss when you take into account the opportunity cost of training, travelling and playing and that's before injuries.
To appeal to the insurance agencies complaining about payouts for teeth injuries they brought in a policy of compulsory gum shields for all footballers. Another cost for the player which I'm sure the association can profit from by aligning itself with a new Corporate partner. Let no player cost the association a penny more than they should.
And now to the black card. The new rule to attempt to curb so called professional fouls in the sport. Intentionally blocking an opponent or pulling one down means that you are sent off but a sub is allowed to be brought on. Fair enough you may say but define intentional. How do you know what's intent and what's accidental? Well that's up to the interpretation of the referee they say. Ah the bastion of all that is good. The man in black, or blue or red or green depending on what wardrobe they bring along. Footy fans in England may give out about the standard of refereeing over there. At times it is bad but invariably in 90 minutes of high paced action they only make marginal mistakes. Add that to the fact that the players still get paid handsomely at the top level and a quick trip to the ATM to check the balance will soon get you back in a good mood especially as work the next day is training not actual 9-5 work followed by training.
The GAA has possibly the worst line of refereeing officials known to mankind on their books and as such there could be comedic repercussions for players all over the country when the national leagues start. When I say comedic I do of course mean so tragic you have to laugh.
My point is illustrated by two games I've attended so far this year. Both in a provincial pre season championship called the McGrath Cup in Munster. It's a relatively mickey mouse competition (I won it once and they lost my medal) that was played between the counties of Clare, Limerick, Waterford & Tipperary to promote football in these counties as Kerry & Cork dominated in Munster. A few years ago the Munster council in their wisdom decided to incorporate the big guns into the competition along with the universities and colleges and now it's become a bigger joke than before as Kerry & Cork are dominant and it's a counterproductive excercise elsewhere.
This year just to ensure that some are more equal than others in true Orwellian style the Munster Council decided to eliminate the random draw in their provincial championship. It was deemed a huge commercial loss if Cork & Kerry met anywhere else bar a Munster final so in order to ensure this would happen the big teams received a bye to opposite semi finals. It's the equivalent of Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool & Spurs being guaranteed not to meet in the FA Cup until the Quarter Final if they won through. I don't think the clubs would be massively enamored with this but in true GAA fashion they found enough turkeys to vote for Christmas here. This did lead however to the brave stance of the intercounty players to boycott the competition and even though I doubt it will have an effect it's a noble gesture.

BLACK CARDS

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Because of an outcry by tv pundits for change after some cynical tactics last year it was decided to introduce this new disciplinary measure. From the 2 games I've seen in the McGrath Cup I can see why this is going to cause a nightmare for players.
The primary reason for this is referees. There is no consistency in refereeing these days. It appears ineptitude and profile good or bad (more often bad) is rewarded rather than actual ability. In our opening game we had a referee from Tipperary who was a breath of fresh air. If you define a good referee as one you don't notice this guy was different class. He let the game flow and used a rare commodity among officials, that being common sense, as he took account of the conditions and showed wonderful discretion to ensure that the game was an all time classic and one that will live in the memories of anyone who was there for a long time.
Contrast it with this weekends fair. A Clare referee from only down the road from myself, supposedly good but in truth he's relatively inept, more high profile due to mistakes and handshakes than actual ability. Surround this with increasing levels of ineptitude among his support officials and you've a recipe for disaster. Luckily enough for him the game was over as a contest after a manner of minutes but that still didn't stop him having to make his mark and award a black card which came about as a result of tricky underfoot conditions and momentum. Was it a common sense decision, perhaps, if you were living in cloud cuckoo land, but at least if there was an element of consistency on all sides then that would be fine but no. The rest of the game showed how silly the decision was. As the unfortunate player sat in the stands observing a game he had spent all week preparing for he looked on despondently as players committed worse acts but were let off to continue on playing.
In summation this rule will live and die by the actions of those that interpret it. I've a feeling it will live but the game may die as there's too much incentive for simulation. And then what tinkering will we see then.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the GAA.