Looking for a new sport — how about Irish hurling?
Gib Snyder IIII was sitting on a friend's couch the other day, watching "Dodgeball" and when "Obscure Sports Quarterly" made its appearance, I started to think of the strangest, possibly most fascinating game I have ever seen - Irish hurling.
No, this is not a sport revolving around the effects of drinking too much Guiness. It is a sport that is not easily explained and a sport I stumbled on many years ago while watching a show dedicated to Gaelic games.
Irish hurling has been described as being similar to rugby, lacrosse and a form of aerial hockey. The idea is to score goals on the opposing keeper, pretty basic, but it's how the teams do it that makes it one of - if not the most - amazingly-insane games imaginable.
Hurling is recognized as being one of the oldest known games, with origins dating to 1272 B.C. Its early purpose was to help prepare Irish warriors for battle, evolving from that time into Ireland's national pastime.
In 1884 the Gaelic Atheltic Association was formed to regulate all games Gaelic in origin and played on the island. Other sports include Irish football, Camogie (a form of hurling for women), handball and rounders (the game many consider to be the origin for baseball).
The main instruments of competition in a hurling match are the hurley, a stick of 26-27-inches in length, with a rounded end and a ball or "sliothar", which has a cork center, which is wrapped in thread and covered in leather. In appearance, it can easily be mistaken for a baseball.
The field, or pitch, is a minimum of 130-meters long and a minimum of 80- wide and can be a maximum of 145- long and 90- wide. The goal is a cross between a soccer goal and that used in rugby. It measures 6.5-meters wide and 2.5- high. The game is played with 15 players per side - including the goalie - and most are played with two 30-minute halves. A shot taken from the ground can travel the same distance as that of a golf ball struck with a 9-iron while a ball struck from mid-air can travel as far as 305-feet.
In terms of play, hurling looks like field hockey on steroids. The ball can be struck from the ground, dropped from a player's hand and struck in mid-air (kind of like if you were to be hitting infield practice on a baseball or softball field), or can be dropped from a stationary position from the hurley and struck that way. The ball can travel as fast as 93-miles per hour and from a close distance can no doubt inflict serious damage.
Unlike hockey, body checking is not allowed and players are also not allowed to pull opponents to the ground. Also, the ball is not allowed to be thrown and can not be picked up by hand. When in possession of the sliothar, a player is only allowed four steps before he either has to pass it, or have the ball make contact with his hurley or the ground, at which time he can take four more steps. You can only drop the ball and catch it twice in one possession.
Watching clips of hurling on YouTube, it makes football or hockey seem harmless. Players, most of whom wear absolutely nothing in terms of protection (in fact, only players under 19 years old are required to wear a helmet with a face guard), run around smashing the ball through the air, with little or no regard for their saftey, the saftey of their teammates or their opponents. Goalie is not the postition I would want. Acutally this is one sport where I would prefer to be a "bench warmer."
There are 32 counties in Ireland, all of them are represented on the hurling pitch and all of them hope to play in the All-Ireland final at Dublin's Crooke Park, which is held on the second Sunday of September. This year Kilkenny topped Waterford in what was apparently dominant fashion. I mean how could I really know what is and what isn't a dominant hurling performance. I didn't even know the sport existed until I was in my mid-teens, but I'll take the report from the "Kilkenny People" at its word.
Ireland is not the only place where hurling can be found. Actually, there are GAA associated organizations in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, Canada, the United States and South America.
Currently there are 32 hurling teams in the U.S., along with 11 camogie and one youth hurling team, the Columbia Red Branch, located in Portland, OR. Who would let there children play this game is beyond me, but I guess at that age, it can't be that much more dangerous than hockey, that is if all the necessary saftey precautions are taken.
According to a recent census report (well, fairly recent - 2006 to be exact) there are 34.5 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry and 128,000 U.S. residents who were born in Ireland, which may tell us a little of why Gaelic games have some popularity throughout the states.
At 28, I can tell you that there is no way I will be searching out a hurling pitch any time soon, if at all, nor should I have children of my own some day, will I sign them up for the local hurling team. I will just simply watch with amazement as men, women and children of all ages get kicks out of things I will never fully comprehend.
Gib Snyder III is an OBSERVER Sports reporter. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com.
