I'm getting really annoyed over the past few days regarding the coverage given to the scenes during this game last Sunday. Declaring no conflict of interest, I support neither team, nor am I from either province.
From much of the coverage that I've read and listened to, the media and people "down the country" are tending to lay the blame at the door of the Dubs, going up there, giving the poor young weak lads from Tyrone a hard time.
How long have we watched Tyrone (and Armagh) come up against other counties and literally box, push, punch and throw players off the ball in what the GAA is letting go as the "tackle" these days.
Take the humiliation of Kerry in the semi-final against Tyrone a couple of years ago - how many frees were called in that game? After the uproar caused by that game, the GAA seems to me to have gone down the road of just blowing less frees rather than addressing the root causes of the frees.
For Dublin to have gone up there, stood their ground and not given an inch (which they're perfectly entitled to do) is applaudable in my mind. Teams should have done this to Tyrone and Armagh years ago rather than rolling over meakly in the face of the violence they're subjected to in supposed football competitions.
That Tyrone on Sunday didn't appreciate at all the fact that they were stood up to shows them in their true light as bullies and thugs, masquarading as footballers. And the behaviour of their fans, and their intimidation of the Dublin panel, just illustrates this even further.
That one of the incidents started on Sunday because of a Tyrone player faking an injury to the face, as exemplified by Arjen Robbin on Sunday for Chelsea, just shows that they manner and tone which Tyrone play their football is becoming more and more despicable.
The cynical manner in which Tyrone and Armagh have perfected this thuggish type of football style, yet fall over at the slightest hint of a tackle themselves is something that is totally unwelcome in GAA football.
That the GAA are afraid to do anything about it at all is, in my view, down to the fact that in their defence Tyrone and Armagh always start squealing on about the fact that "all" the southerners are against them, causing the GAA to back away in fear.
I believe that this in itself will mean that Dublin will be more harshly punished by the GAA than Tyrone will.
I say fair play to Dublin. More teams should have the bravery to stand up to the thugs of Tyrone and Armagh football. There was a time when pure football could beat these teams as Donegal and Mayo showed in the last few years, but even footballing teams are having the crap kicked out of them by these 2 teams, meaning that the Dublin tactics seem to be the only way to go now.
From much of the coverage that I've read and listened to, the media and people "down the country" are tending to lay the blame at the door of the Dubs, going up there, giving the poor young weak lads from Tyrone a hard time.
How long have we watched Tyrone (and Armagh) come up against other counties and literally box, push, punch and throw players off the ball in what the GAA is letting go as the "tackle" these days.
Take the humiliation of Kerry in the semi-final against Tyrone a couple of years ago - how many frees were called in that game? After the uproar caused by that game, the GAA seems to me to have gone down the road of just blowing less frees rather than addressing the root causes of the frees.
For Dublin to have gone up there, stood their ground and not given an inch (which they're perfectly entitled to do) is applaudable in my mind. Teams should have done this to Tyrone and Armagh years ago rather than rolling over meakly in the face of the violence they're subjected to in supposed football competitions.
That Tyrone on Sunday didn't appreciate at all the fact that they were stood up to shows them in their true light as bullies and thugs, masquarading as footballers. And the behaviour of their fans, and their intimidation of the Dublin panel, just illustrates this even further.
That one of the incidents started on Sunday because of a Tyrone player faking an injury to the face, as exemplified by Arjen Robbin on Sunday for Chelsea, just shows that they manner and tone which Tyrone play their football is becoming more and more despicable.
The cynical manner in which Tyrone and Armagh have perfected this thuggish type of football style, yet fall over at the slightest hint of a tackle themselves is something that is totally unwelcome in GAA football.
That the GAA are afraid to do anything about it at all is, in my view, down to the fact that in their defence Tyrone and Armagh always start squealing on about the fact that "all" the southerners are against them, causing the GAA to back away in fear.
I believe that this in itself will mean that Dublin will be more harshly punished by the GAA than Tyrone will.
I say fair play to Dublin. More teams should have the bravery to stand up to the thugs of Tyrone and Armagh football. There was a time when pure football could beat these teams as Donegal and Mayo showed in the last few years, but even footballing teams are having the crap kicked out of them by these 2 teams, meaning that the Dublin tactics seem to be the only way to go now.
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