by
Seamus Morris

It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?

At times it appears that logic is an alien concept, an unknown entity. If a being from another dimension were to make a pit stop in our lovely planet, what on earth (literally) would they think? In a world such as ours, idiosyncrasies are the order of the day. Sense is not sensible in this place.

It has always intrigued De Scribe that sport has had such an important role in the lives of millions of people around the world. How can such a simple, almost innocent concept have become a monster that may have outgrown its actual importance? It is said that international sport is war without the guns, but now all sport appears to have taken on this malevolent veneer.

Our daily lives are touched, nay invaded by the thing, and we can’t seem to get enough of it. From morning to night, sports bulletins, newspaper exclusives, breaking news, live coverage – all intermingle to lay claim to some part of our attention. But is it right? De Scribe is a sports fan, has a healthy interest in most sports, can flick between hurling, football, soccer or rugby. The important competitions are followed closely in all codes, watched and listened to; but at times the question has been asked – what is it all for?
In terms of the GAA, that question has become more pertinent, particularly in the last decade. What once was a pastime, a social outlet, has now become to all intents and purposes a profession, seven days a week, 365 days a year, a monster if you will. So where does it stop?

We must recall that the prime elements in the top echelons of the game are amateurs. These players have returned to training (well most of them) for the last four or five weeks - for what? The League does not begin until February, with the real competition (the championship) leaving the blocks in May. This is the first week in December, so why the necessity to have squads back at the ranch since last month?

In other top level sports, such as Aussie Rules or soccer, teams usually find a healthy balance between preparation, match play and rest. In the GAA however, the system appears unbalanced. By the time the League begins in the first week in February, most county squads will have been training for three months, with little or no serious match practice. Even when the league commences, there is still the underlying belief that it is not a real competition,that it somehow should not be taken seriously. So the first really, 100% competitive action that players will see will come in the month of May. That means that six months of the year will have been spent either training or playing in a competition that the majority of counties do not take seriously. That is just plain madness.

Even when the championship starts, it may be a case of just one month’s activity for a lot of teams unlucky enough to be knocked out early on. So, if you are unfortunate enough to be in this position, you could be planning your holidays for the first week in June, safe in the knowledge that you will see no more intercounty activity until the following February (but heck, you will still have that lovely training in November to look forward to.)

To an outsider looking in, this system appears absolutely absurd. The vast majority of players time is spent preparing, training, getting fit – for what? A League competition that is not taken seriously, and a championship that can eat them up and spit them out in less than a month. It’s folly of the highest order.

Experts believe that burnout will be the order of the day unless the current regime is changed, and changed fast, It is becoming increasingly rare to see an intercounty player ply his trade when he reaches the age of thirty. They just can’t handle the chore of mindless, energy sapping preparation for the big event. Surely we have missed something along the way?

Where is the enjoyment for players in putting themselves through such a torturous procedure? Stories have been told of players expressing relief at being released from the regime once their team has been knocked out from the championship. Surely this is madness? Or maybe this is the way sport is going, no longer an outlet for enjoyment, a diversion from the real world.

Now it appears to have become part of the real world, warts and all. Win at all costs attitudes are prevalent, the stench of pressure hangs over most managers at the start of a season. Tactics are increasingly becoming defensive, negativity usurping any positive inclinations. For what? Ask most intercounty players if they enjoy playing in the big matches, the really big, gut wrenching, do-or-die contests, and they will tell you ‘No’.

For weeks on end their lives are put on hold, all they have to focus on is that one match, that contest, that direct opponent. When the big day comes, they have to overcome self doubt, exude confidence, and go to battle. For the spectator, it may be pure theatre, but for the actors, it can be pure hell. Players are now questioning what it is all for, how did they emerge from the enjoyment of underage sport with their club to the highest level of the game, where the view can be scary and the stakes monumental. Sport! They’d liken it more to war. So what’s the alternative?

Well, there are two options. Either quit the current system of players being used and abused, burnt out, all for no logical reason. Playing for a top intercounty team and also holding down a fulltime job or studying is a real case of burning the candle at both ends. In this scenario, the welfare of the players must be the prime concern and strict guidelines regarding training and preparation, plus a more constricted season, would be introduced.
The other option, and this may shock and abhor the diehards, is to evolve down the professional route. I think I hear the cry of the forefathers of the GAA in the distance, but to hell with it, this is 2004, and times have changed.

The GAA is now a modern, progressive thinking (in most instances) organisation. Its main stadium is a monument to progress, speaking volumes for the efficiency and organisation of the association. But (and there is always a but), something is not quite right. It is this - the mainstay of the GAA, the one that brings in the vast quantities of Euro to the organisation, the one that pulls in the crowds and keeps them there (this would be the players by the way, just in case you are wondering) – is being ignored, treated with disdain, and frankly being made to feel as second class citizens in most cases. It is time to change.

I know that the argument will be made that professionalism has no place in the world of the GAA, that the club is sacred and the link between the county team and it should not be severed. Today such sentimentality will no longer wash. The games at the highest level have moved on, are now becoming more skilful and competitive. Entertainment and excitement are growing by the year. To suggest that any further progress should be handicapped by an illusion that the club should still have first call on its players is absurd. The reality of the situation is that the current crop of top intercounty players, when at their peak, are streets ahead of the club game. Thus, in an era of true professionalism, the club should act as a feeder, conceiving and presenting players for the county team. The provincial system in rugby in this country would be a good model to base this scheme on.

Now is not the time to go into the intricacies of professionalism, how it would be financed etc. (possibly a cop out by De Scribe or just the constraints of this article, you decide!) But the idea should be at least considered. If players were allowed to devote their time fully to their sport, think of the consequences for the sport itself. Skills would be honed to previously unimaginable levels, standards would heighten, and the product would be strengthened in the current marketplace of