GAA legend and former pundit Pat Spillane has used a phrase made famous by the late Queen Elizabeth II to describe the senior football season that just passed.
Gaelic football has once again come under fire for its slow tactics and lack of action, and this was in full effect in the All-Ireland final last month. Armagh beat Galway in a game that many slammed for being low-quality and boring on the day.
Monaghan great Conor McManus said last week via the Square ball podcast, "It was slow, laborious, and hard to watch. It’s not just specifically Armagh and Galway. That’s just football, the way it is.
“The All-Ireland final will be highlighted. Something has to change within the rules of the realm of Gaelic football. It is just becoming, from a spectator point of view, a very tough watch."
Kerry great Spillane, another GAA personality who isn't afraid to have his say on all things Gaelic football, offered a similar take to McManus and used a famous line from the last English queen to sum up the state of the game.
"I doubt that Queen Elizabeth II had any interest in Gaelic football, but this morning, in order to describe the 2024 All-Ireland football championship, I make no apologies for borrowing a statement the Queen made in 1992 to describe that particular year," he said in his Sunday World piece.
"To quote her, "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis."
Dublin , Ireland, July 28, 2024: Conor Turbitt of Armagh in action against John Maher, left, and Johnny Heaney of Galway during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Armagh and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile via Getty Images) )"This, I believe, is the first time I have quoted Her Majesty in one of my GAA columns. But her statement could be used word-for-word to describe this year’s championship—it was indeed a horrible year and one that will be quickly forgotten."
To address the issue of Gaelic football's decline, there have been attempts to change the game and restore its excitement. Several rule changes have been trialed by Jim Gavin’s ‘Football Review Committee.’
Among the proposed changes are the 40-meter scoring arc, where a score from outside this arc would be worth two points, kickouts required to go beyond the 45-meter line, and rules mandating that teams keep a certain number of players in the opposition half.
Spillane, adding on why the game has changed for the worse, believes that the GAA knows there is an issue and that changes will come as a result.
"It has become stale, boring, sanitised, safe, and too rehearsed and scripted. It is no longer a much-watched programme. It needs competition and a good kick up the arse because it is not good enough," he added.
"The championship format was also low, with the long-winded method of getting down to the last 16.
"It is good news; I think the GAA is going to look at it again and maybe change the format. At least they’ve realised that there is an issue.
"This format hasn’t worked. It hasn’t captured the interest of GAA followers. There is no excitement around most of the games, no do-or-die element, or even the normal cut and thrust of a proper championship."
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