He was over the line you fat lad!

Today I went to the Leinster Senior Hurling Final at Croke Park.  Wow... what a seriously incredible time and experience.  After I woke up I met up with some friends and headed towards the park.  We stopped to grab a bite to eat first at a cute cafe and then decided to check out a pub nearby, "The Red Parrot."  I bought a 2 Euro blue yarn headband for Dublin that I tied around my wrist before I got to the pub, but once I entered I saw a crowd of yellow and black jerseys (for Kilkenny, Dublin's rival).  So I hid my bracelet and ran to the back of the pub.  We ordered a few drinks and I struck up a conversation with the older lad sitting next to me.  He told me a little about the games and then disappeared after we had a great talk.  I think his wife might have thought that I was hitting on him... but he was literally in his 60s or 70s.  No way, I was just being friendly!

After ordering a few drinks we headed towards Croke Park.  On the way to the game we ran into a few interesting people worth talking about.  First, I took some pictures with some Dublin fans outside the pub since there were so few of us and we needed to stick together (even if I was just a fair weather fan...) After that we passed several other friendly strangers, including several people near the park who offered us their Dublin flags.  They said, "there aren't enough of you out there, take these!"  Such a nice gesture.  Next, we ran into an older woman with the cutest puppy I've ever seen (besides Doccy of course).  So, knowing me, I asked her if I could take a picture with the pup (who was even wearing his own Dublin jersey!)  She said of course and told me I could even hold him.  The day was already headed off to a good start- puppies, flags, pictures, what more could I ask for?

We arrived at the stadium with about a half hour to spare before the games so we decided to check out the Croke Park museum for a few minutes before finding our seats.  Then I headed to the lower tier and found Row M Seat 2.  I had a great view from where I was sitting, and I loved my location because although there were a ton of American EUSA students around us we were also dispersed with some local Irish people who knew more about the game than we did.  I was sitting next to a friendly couple; the wife was a Kilkenny fan and the husband a Dublin fan.  I was nervous to hear that they were rooting for different teams at first, but I could tell their competitiveness was mostly for show and that they wouldn't get into any fights over the outcome.  I asked the woman I was with several questions during the game when I didn't understand what was going on and she was really patient and open the entire time.

So the friendly couple was to my left, but the best part about my seat location was definitely the young lads to my right (see picture).  There were a crowd of about ten boys sitting together rooting for Kilkenny, and the chants they screamed were hilarious, given the fact that they were about eight years old.  Whenever a Dublin player would fall to the ground, they'd scream "He fell over, he fell over, he fell over."  However, when one of their players took a fall, they'd yell "Boooo!"  My favorite chant occurred when they didn't agree with the referee over a serious call.  They responded by saying, "He was over the line you fat lad!"  I was hysterical the whole time, the boys were really entertaining.  I thought it was funny that they seemed more into the game than their own parents because they were more vocal about every call.

In terms of how the game itself works, I'll try and describe it here as best I can.  It looks like a mix of some US sports (lacrosse, baseball, hockey).  Each player has what looks like a lacrosse stick, and the point of the game is to score the ball into the opponent's actual goal for 3 points with the stick or to score the ball over the goal for 1 point.  3 point shots are visibly more difficult to make, so the 1 pointers are more common.  Some differences between US sports and hurling:  players can use their hands in the game, and the tackling and shoving involved with hurling is way more intense than any anything we play in the states.  The game lasts for 70 minutes with one half-time 15 minute break midway through, and the clock never stops.  Calls are rarely challenged and even if they are the clock still doesn't stop!

I tried to follow the game as best I could and was really appreciative that the couple next to me was willing to explain everything whenever I had a question.  Unfortunately, Kilkenny was noticeably better than Dublin, and they held the lead the entire duration of the game.  The final score was Kilkenny 28 (1, 16), Dublin 18 (4, 15).  That means that Kilkenny scored more one-pointers than Dublin (16 versus 15) and more three pointers as well (4 versus 1).  Even though Dublin lost I had an amazing time becoming acquainted with the new sport, and I ended up leaving the game learning a lot.  I think that we should bring hurling to the States- I just know that it would be a hit here.