The big game is Saturday. Well, I suppose there's a 'big game' on in Ireland pretty much every weekend depending on who you're talking to, but it's 6 Nations season for rugby and Ireland is taking on England tomorrow at 5.30. That makes it the biggest game in a while and people have been looking forward to being at a pub to see it. I'm heading out with a few of the ladies late in the afternoon to join in the festivities. It should be a good time.
To give you an idea of how big this game is, I know of a pair of standing room tickets that were originally (and by a great stroke of luck) purchased for €80/pair. They were being dropped off in Dublin today to a man who bought them for €2300/pair. There's some profit. I didn't even make half that for my Yankees/Red Sox tickets in the first row of the Green Monster the year it first opened. BIG game. I've seen them selling for as much as €3000 each for good seats.
It's also a big game because of the location and history of the match. The usual rugby stadium (Lansdowne Road Stadium) is being torn up and redeveloped, so it's been agreed after MUCH debate that the 6 nations tournament could be played at Croke Park. This is the national home of all things Gaelic, meaning Football and Hurling. Not rugby, not soccer, and most certainly not the English. The singing of the English national anthem has become quite the topic of pub debate and radio talk shows.
There's good reason for the hatred and arguing in this case. During a match at the park on the 21st of November 1920, British tanks rolled into the park and opened fire on the crowds, killing 12 spectators and 1 player. The scene is depicted in a few historical Irish movies and the whole thing would make you drop your jaw in disbelief. The day became known as 'Bloody Sunday' and it's one of the many reasons Irish attitudes toward the British tend to be so hostile. People aren't thrilled at the idea of so many English being in the stadium, let alone singing 'God Save the Queen' while they're there.
To give you an idea of how big this game is, I know of a pair of standing room tickets that were originally (and by a great stroke of luck) purchased for €80/pair. They were being dropped off in Dublin today to a man who bought them for €2300/pair. There's some profit. I didn't even make half that for my Yankees/Red Sox tickets in the first row of the Green Monster the year it first opened. BIG game. I've seen them selling for as much as €3000 each for good seats.
It's also a big game because of the location and history of the match. The usual rugby stadium (Lansdowne Road Stadium) is being torn up and redeveloped, so it's been agreed after MUCH debate that the 6 nations tournament could be played at Croke Park. This is the national home of all things Gaelic, meaning Football and Hurling. Not rugby, not soccer, and most certainly not the English. The singing of the English national anthem has become quite the topic of pub debate and radio talk shows.
There's good reason for the hatred and arguing in this case. During a match at the park on the 21st of November 1920, British tanks rolled into the park and opened fire on the crowds, killing 12 spectators and 1 player. The scene is depicted in a few historical Irish movies and the whole thing would make you drop your jaw in disbelief. The day became known as 'Bloody Sunday' and it's one of the many reasons Irish attitudes toward the British tend to be so hostile. People aren't thrilled at the idea of so many English being in the stadium, let alone singing 'God Save the Queen' while they're there.
It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. As another little bit of added history, I did manage to find the only other two non-Gaelic game played before this year in Croke Park. I think most of you will find the teams familiar:
2nd November 1996: Notre Dame v. Navy (54-27)
27th July 1997: Pittsburgh Steelers v. Chicago Bears (30-17)
Crazy, huh? I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. I'm heading out soon to get ready for dinner. I'm going out to a nice seafood dinner to celebrate passing my driving test and finding a fantastic new apartment in Arklow (more on that next week). Have a great weekend. ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment