What is it about the GAA that we love so much? Is it the sense of community spirit it creates that you can only share with fellow County comrades? Is it the fun and banter that you experience with rival County supporters in the stands? Is it the spray-painting of the sheep, the flags, the bunting, the headbands, the hats, the tea and sandwiches or just the feeling of being at home surrounded and proud to be out representing your County?
Maybe it’s the fact that I grew up near Pairc Dubhghlas de hIde in Roscommon that instilled in me, from a very young age, the joys of cheering on the local lads from the stand. I have so many fond memories of being in Hyde Park and at various other GAA pitches across the country. The best summers were filled with these Sunday outings. Without doubt, one of the best feelings in the world has to be standing in Croke Park belting out our National Anthem on All-Ireland Final day. Nothing makes me feel more patrotic. I love it!
The dedication that players, both club and County, give to their sport is admirable and painstaking. These guys train no fewer than three times a week with matches at weekends. For many of them, they have to commute long distances to train, sacrificing their personal time and social lives. And on top of all this, unlike the professional rugby and soccer players, our GAA lads hold down full-time jobs, many as teachers, Gardai, bankers etc.
It would be easy to see why many would not be so committed to the game, as I often wonder what thanks they get in return. But the Irish blood running through our veins means that we are traditionalists at heart and want to keep our culture alive. The foundation of the GAA in 1884 changed the face of Irish sport forever and it is only improving and modernising with each blow of the final whistle. We are a proud nation and the proof of our strength is evident in Croke Park – a true testament to our country and to the amateur status of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Ni neart go cur le cheile! (There is no strength without unity)
But one thing that troubles me is when I question the younger generations, the primary and secondary students, about their idols, the response is always the same:- Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Mario Balotteli and David Beckham.
It is very rarely someone like Sean Cavanagh, Alan Dillon, Karl Lacey, Colm Cooper or Stephen Cluxton and these are the very men that they should be aspiring to be like – hard working decent lads who work full-time jobs yet manage to balance their sporting lives with their personal ones. There are no illicit newspaper spreads detailing the latest fling with a cheap lady-of-the-night (and I can bet they are not that cheap!) there are no seedy kiss ‘n tells, there are no flash cars and grand displays of riches favoured by many of the professional Premiership footballers.
What is it about the professional soccer and rugby players that the youth find so appealing? Easy peesy– the glamorous lifestyles and the wealth that is associated with them.
These guys lead the lives that most of us can only dream of with limitless funds to buy multi-million-Euro mansions. Fancy driving a Bentley or Aston Martin? Done! Want to wear D&G, Gucci, Tom Ford, DVF or whatever designer is hot at the moment? Done! Oh and always with an attractive girl on your arm. We are inundated with pictures of Mario Balotelli splashing out on new cars, Cristiano Ronaldo decked out in designer gear and stunning WAGS (Alex Curran and Coleen Rooney do love Cricket in Liverpool y’know!)splurging in all the chicest stores.
Just to set the record straight, I am not advocating the transition of the amateur status of the GAA to a professional one. No siree! But I do think that the GAA sector needs a boost, an injection of glamour in order to continue to entice our youths into it. Without having to pay salaries or bonuses, the use of product endorsements could be utilised more. This is an extremely lucrative business for both the individual player and the brand in question.
Seeing David Beckham advertising everything from Armani underwear (Swoon! Yes please…)to Pepsi (with global Goddesses Beyonce and J-Lo) does absolute wonders for the brand, the individual and ultimately, the sport. (Maybe it’s just me but Ronan O’Gara fronting a Newbridge Jewellery campaign did him no harm!)
Now I’m not saying we need to stick Colm Cooper in an advert with Katy Perry but getting these GAA players more heavily involved in the advertising/endorsement game cannot be detrimental and will make them recognisable in each and every home cross the 32 counties. We know the name so lets get to know the face! If we recognise a face we are more likely to take note of them and look out for them in subsequent games. Let the public know the players personality a little.
GAA stars appearing in advertising campaigns is not a completely foreign concept; Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper appeared in Lucozade adverts as did Westmeaths Dessie Dolan; Adidas have Corks Sean Og O’Hailpin, Tipperarys Eoin Kelly and Kilkennys Henry Shefflin on their books; Dublin’s Bernard Brogans face was emblazoned on a double-decker bus promoting o2. It’s an industry waiting to be exploited. Conor Ridge, a partner in Horizon Sports management which looks after athletes Derval O’Rourke and David Gillick, feels the landscape between the GAA player and the commercial world is changing and says “the day when a GAA player can earn €100,000 through commercial activity is not that far away at all”.
One player who has done wonders for the glamorisation of the sport (even if he is renowned for some dirty trickery on the pitch) is Paul Galvin. As a player I detested Galvin because any of my dealings with the man resulted in me leaving a stadium in floods of tears as Kerry, yet again, stormed forward to reclaim Sam (Maguire that is!)
However in recent months I have softened towards the sportsman and now find myself religiously reading his style-bible in the Irish Independent Weekend supplement and following him on Twitter. His fashion column is witty and informative and if you haven’t read it its worth a look – it’s rather funny. 
The Kerry style-guru was also voted third in February 2012, to find Ireland’s most desirable Valentines. He has made GAA fashionable and recently announced that he was dating Today FM presenter Louise Duffy.
So what do the GAA need to do in order to increase their popularity and to raise their revenue…glamorise the sport. One way of doing this is to exploit the good looks of some of their main men and to cash in on their high-profile marketability. Get some product endorsements in place.
If these faces become household faces and not only associated with on-pitch playing but also with a more diverse, fun and glam lifestyle, younger kids might start to turn from the Wayne Rooneys of this world to the Sean Og O’Hailpin and Stephen Cluxtons for inspiration. These guys work hard and play hard. Great role models for the younger generations. (Plus some of them are handsome devils whom I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of on my telly-box!)
snoozeulooze 