Go On The Tribe!

I usually try to post at least once per week to the SportsTalkSocial tribe and also interact as much as possible with the other members and posters throughout the week. There are a number of reasons for that - firstly @cryptoandcoffee is a great guy and indeed the glue that binds the gang here I find, with his weekly incubation updates, as well as the showcase which I always look forward to. The second reason that I like to post here once a week is because I like to stay in touch with the gang here, who I have gotten to know well over the past year or so (well as well as you can know a bunch of keyboard warriors from around the globe, without having ever met any - @blanchy, @niallon11 and I might change that this summer with a round of golf and a few pints). Last but not least, @ocd through this community has been a big help in terms of my continued growth here, and I am grateful for that, so always try to get back here (usually on Sundays) and add something to the weekly sporting mix.

We continue to Grow

We continue to grow as a tribe, as we can see from @cryptoandcoffee's recent update and although we only added 26 users last week, it is still growth. The Motherhood community are hot on our tales, but competitive as I am, I don't mind if they pass us, after all they are likely a bunch of Mamas, Mothers, Mammies and Mams exchanging advise, guidance and a fair share of war stories, so fair play to them. Alien Art Hive though, let's set our sights on passing these guys, truth be told I have no idea who they are or what they do, but let's surpass them anyway.

Images below courtesy of @cryptoandcoffee recent post which can be found here @cryptoandcoffee/ocd-sportstalk-incubation-curation-update-r8ajer

Suggestion

Ok, so what is this week's post going to be about? Well it is twofold, firstly I'd like to suggest "Sporting Memories" or "Sporting Firsts" as a theme for some posts from the community and secondly, I'll go ahead and post about it myself.

Ok, let's get down to it, I remember vividly the first time I did a one handed press up, it was 8pm on a Wednesday evening in late May and I had just come home from the gym... Nah, just yanking yer chains, I happened upon this image when looking over at Pixabay and thought it might be a good picture to hook a click or two, yes, I'm a bad man, but let's be honest we all want a click or two and decent payout when we write a post - it is part of the excitement. I have made it to the trending page once or twice and it was pretty damn exciting I must admit. Ok, so now I will actually get down to it and I am going to try to blend Sporting memories and Sporting first into the narative and @talesfrmthecrypt won't be surprised by this, yep, it's coming, I'm going to start banging on about my beloved hurling again. In the interests of not reinventing the wheel and to give some new users a feel for what hurling is, I will share a video of hurling below and a quick definition and then I'll get into the "Sporting Memories".

What is Hurling

This video will give you a good flavour of what hurling is all about - Passion, Desire, Passion, Strength and Pride in ones county. These guys are all amateur players too and don't get paid to play, which makes their passion and desire all the more special. The footage of some of the plays here are grainy, but the first one of Diarmuid "The Rock" O'Sullivan powering out of his own goal area with the ball and scoring an unreal point sums Hurling up nicely - you'll see why they call him the Rock in a minute!

This excerpt from https://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/getting-involved/hurling gives a quick overview of what the game of Hurling is.

Sporting Memories and Sporting First

For as long as I can remember, my Father had a fascination with sport, I was one of the younger children in my family, so I never saw my father play sport, but by God did he like to watch it, especially in two scenarios, and those were if Galway were playing Hurling, Football, Soccer, Rugy (Connacht) or anything else. The second scenario was when someone was representing Ireland. He is and always was a hard working man, but if there was an International match on or somebody running a bug race in the Olympics or the like, it would mean and early finish or an extended break to watch the events unfold on the big screen.

He often went to games too, both locally and further afield, but as time passed, he preferred to watch them on the telly, as the big crowds and all the drinking that goes with the territory did not appeal to him. Some of my first ever sporting memories were at some of these matches that he would bring me to at Pearse Stadium, in Tuam, in Castlebar against Mayo or up in Croke Park in Dublin where the big matches happened - All Ireland Semi Finals and Finals.

I remember vividly the excitement and anticipation for these big games. For me there would be a Galway headband bought from a stall on the way in and maybe a can of coke and a bar if I was lucky. Dad would buy the match program and would leaf through it as we waited for the game to commence. He would always be very patriotic for the Irish National Anthem, which is always played before a game, and no matter where he is, he will always stand up for the anthem and so does whoever is in his company. Indeed this is a trait that I have inherited myself, and I have passed to my own sons. You stand to attention of the National anthem, with no shouting for your team, until the last note is sounded and then you can shout "Up Galway" or whatever you're having yourself to your heart's content.

The craic would always be had with the opposition and unlike some other sports the fans were all mixed in together, and there would never be any fan trouble. There was never a need for segregation of any sort and you would often end up sitting next to people or families who were there to support the other team. They might give you the lowdown on some player or gossip on their side and similar stories would be exchanged in the reverse direction. You might even see them for a pint after the match. That reminds me actually of some of the games in Croke park and time would be tight after a ling journey up by car (4 to 5 hours back then) and you would be having the sandwiches and tea out of the boot near Croker, before heading in for the game.

Then the games would begin and you'd watch 30 players going hammer and thongs in a bid to win the game. I remember fondly those games in my early childhood, the famous clash of the ash as hurleys clapped off each other in the heat of battle, epic points taken from the most impossible of angles and players putting their bodies on the lines for pride of club or county and they could easily walk off the pitch after 70 minutes bloodied and bruised, but smiling emphatically if they were the victors. I think those memories will always be engrained in my mind and I have brought my own eldest boy to a good few Ireland and Galway games already and he too loved every bit, especially the sweets, the match programs and the scarves!

I suppose in the end the end the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, and we often end up quite like our parents or caregivers and from my perspective that is a great thing, as I have the upmost respect for my own parents who raised us with respect and always showed us a great example of how to live our lives in a simple, respectful and carefree prayerful way.

The photos used throughout this post are not my own and the sources are here

@cryptoandcoffee/ocd-sportstalk-incubation-curation-update-r8ajer

https://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/getting-involved/hurling

https://www.the42.ie/galway-hurling-gaa-special-congress-3626502-Oct2017/

http://codeblackseries.blogspot.com/2010/07/does-apple-falll-far-from-tree.html

https://pixabay.com/photos/man-woman-push-ups-wellness-2264825/

Peace Out