Semi final hype? Future of the game?
What’s the story with hurling at the moment?
The last few years felt like the game was entering a golden era. Limerick’s dominance was beginning to fade, Cork were coming again, Clare and Tipp along with others back into the mix, and there seemed to be a real buzz around the championship.
But something about this year just hasn’t felt right.
The Munster Championship, which usually gives us a few incredible weeks, never really caught fire. The quarter-finals were poor enough and were mismatches. Even now, with the All-Ireland semi-finals this weekend (commiserations Cork), has there really been much hype? Outside of the likes of Indo GAA, The Hurling Pod and a few other outlets, the build-up has felt strangely quiet.
It almost felt like everyone had already decided it would be Limerick and Cork in the final, and that the semi-finals were just a hurdle to get over. In that sense, maybe Galway doing the business today is actually a great thing for the game. It reminds us that championships are supposed to surprise us.
Football was in a bad place not so long ago. Blanket defences, endless lateral hand-passing and games that had become difficult to watch. But at least there was an acceptance that something had to change. Whether you love or hate the new rules, they’ve undoubtedly created fresh excitement and conversation around the game.
I’m not convinced hurling has an obvious fix. I don’t think banning short puck-outs or making one or two rule tweaks suddenly solves everything. To me, the bigger issue is that the game is it feels like as neutrals we’re missing the great championship stories.
Look at football this year. Louth beat Armagh at the death, suddenly found themselves on the favourable side of the draw, beat Monaghan, and ended up in an All-Ireland semi-final with a genuine chance of reaching the final. Whether you’re from Louth or not, that’s a story people can get behind.
Apart from maybe Offaly’s resurgence this year, where are those stories in hurling? Galway have built a bit of momentum again, but for much of the season the narrative felt like it began and ended with Limerick and Cork. Once Cork were knocked out, it almost felt like part of the championship’s identity disappeared with them.
I also think hurling has a storytelling problem.
Some of the best content I’ve listened to this year wasn’t actually about tactics. It was Pat Ryan on Indo GAA talking about the build-up inside the camp before a Munster final, or maybe some ex players opening up on some podcasts, you know real story telling with emotion about that brings these players and their teams journeys to life. That’s the sort of thing that makes you care.
Hurling has incredible athletes and personalities, but we rarely get to know them. You could have a handful of favourite players in the same room and not pick them out as we barely know what they look like without a helmet. The game needs more stories, more personalities, more rivalries and more reasons for neutrals to become invested beyond simply watching a good match. All of which I believe are exist but they are being underexposed.
I bought a ticket tonight for Limerick v Clare tomorrow, the night before an All-Ireland semi-final. That should probably be impossible. A fixture like that should be sold out, or close to it, well in advance. The fact it isn’t says more than any debate about formats or puck-outs ever could.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, and maybe I’m wrong, but I genuinely feel like hurling is at a crossroads. With ash dieback threatening the very material the game is built on, it almost feels like a pathetic fallacy for where the sport itself is.
What do ye think? Is hurling actually in a great place and I’m just being overly pessimistic, or does something need to change? And if it does, what is that something? What do you think will actually change?