5 February 1998 Edition
Sportsview: Disappearing stars
By Brian Campbell
Two top GAA stars were in the news this week. One, Kilkenny hurling star DJ Carey, announced his retirement from Gaelic games and the other, Dublin footballer and pin-up Jason Sherlock, jetted off to the US to have a trial with the New England Revolution soccer team.
If both leave gaelic games they will be a big loss, and not only because of their outstanding talent on the field (DJ Carey is this week being called the greatest hurler of his generation) but also because they represented players with the `glamour' to attract young people to play the games. There is a lot wrong with a `star' system but every sport needs its heroes for young people to try to emulate.
There will be disappointment that a player like DJ Carey could grow tired of his sport at the age of 27. Perhaps it says that all the parochial passion and glory is not enough to sustain players through the long, long hours of tough training and the trips to the end of the country to play in front of a few hundred frozen spectators at a League match. That's a pity because it is unlikely that gaelic games, confined as they are to a country as small as Ireland, could manage to adequately pay professional players.
That said, what buzz could Jason Sherlock possibly get in the US soccer league that could compare with running out in front of Hill 16 in an All-Ireland Final?
Rugby has gone professional and they've ended up biting each other's ears off. Well, that's a bit unfair but there is a ring of truth to it. The character of the game, both on and off the field, has changed with the introduction of pay for play. And not yet for the better.
Dublin this weekend will see an invasion of middle-class Scottish rugby supporters. Temple Bar will be even more packed than usual only this time they won't be young men dropping their trousers to bare their arses. They'll just raise their kilts instead.
The game itself will be a vital test for Ireland. Both Ireland and Scotland have recently been beaten by Italy and will desperately want to record a win here.
Finally, Wimbledon's Sam Hammam is back in Ireland this week to continue his lobbying for Wimbledon's move to Dublin. A friend in South London told me recently that Hammam was going through a charade in order to put pressure on councils in London to give Wimbledon a home. By making the Dublin move appear likely he thinks it will strengthen his hand in negotiations for a new ground in London. But as the controversy has raged, my friend's theory has grown less likely. We'll see.
Two top GAA stars were in the news this week. One, Kilkenny hurling star DJ Carey, announced his retirement from Gaelic games and the other, Dublin footballer and pin-up Jason Sherlock, jetted off to the US to have a trial with the New England Revolution soccer team.
If both leave gaelic games they will be a big loss, and not only because of their outstanding talent on the field (DJ Carey is this week being called the greatest hurler of his generation) but also because they represented players with the `glamour' to attract young people to play the games. There is a lot wrong with a `star' system but every sport needs its heroes for young people to try to emulate.
There will be disappointment that a player like DJ Carey could grow tired of his sport at the age of 27. Perhaps it says that all the parochial passion and glory is not enough to sustain players through the long, long hours of tough training and the trips to the end of the country to play in front of a few hundred frozen spectators at a League match. That's a pity because it is unlikely that gaelic games, confined as they are to a country as small as Ireland, could manage to adequately pay professional players.
That said, what buzz could Jason Sherlock possibly get in the US soccer league that could compare with running out in front of Hill 16 in an All-Ireland Final?
Rugby has gone professional and they've ended up biting each other's ears off. Well, that's a bit unfair but there is a ring of truth to it. The character of the game, both on and off the field, has changed with the introduction of pay for play. And not yet for the better.
Dublin this weekend will see an invasion of middle-class Scottish rugby supporters. Temple Bar will be even more packed than usual only this time they won't be young men dropping their trousers to bare their arses. They'll just raise their kilts instead.
The game itself will be a vital test for Ireland. Both Ireland and Scotland have recently been beaten by Italy and will desperately want to record a win here.
Finally, Wimbledon's Sam Hammam is back in Ireland this week to continue his lobbying for Wimbledon's move to Dublin. A friend in South London told me recently that Hammam was going through a charade in order to put pressure on councils in London to give Wimbledon a home. By making the Dublin move appear likely he thinks it will strengthen his hand in negotiations for a new ground in London. But as the controversy has raged, my friend's theory has grown less likely. We'll see.