GAA not immune from Arsenal Fan TV mentality – just ask the Limerick hurlers

"The revolution is coming."

Not my words, but the words of Robbie Lyle. If you do not know who Robbie Lyle is, then you are perhaps not familiar with the phenomenon that is Arsenal Fan TV. Any YouTube channel that can attract upwards of 500,000 views for a single video does not need the recognition of 'mainstream media' but Arsenal Fan TV, which features irascible, loud supporters reacting outside the stadium to each and every Gunners match, was mentioned on Sky Sports by Gary Neville last weekend. Neville, like many established journalists and pundits, appears uncomfortable with the fan-forum phenomenon that has made minor celebrities out of the likes of Manchester United supporter Andy Tate and brought viral fame to this philosophical Liverpool fan. https://youtu.be/XmNsWzHgxC8 Members of the fourth estate jealously guard their status as the cypher through which all debate passes but the technological advances that allow amateurs to film, broadcast and distribute their own forthright analysis is a challenge to the status quo. While newspapers and broadcasters must strive for balance and context, Arsenal Fan TV's cast of volatile die-hards can lead chants calling for the head of Arsene Wenger each and every week. Within reason and the constraints of slander laws, their criticism can be as strident and personal as they like. They do not strive for balance, they strive for views and they are very successful. Lyle's rather unsettling promise that a revolution is imminent came in his video response to Neville's criticism. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/828764479324307456 "Fans have a right to have a voice as well, they pay their money," he declares. "They travel up and down the country, to see their team, everywhere. "Real fans now have a voice, they have it. And they are not going away." Nooruddean Choudry points out the hypocrisy of Lyle's response. One of Wenger's most strident critics, criticising someone for criticising their criticism. If you are going to dole it out you have to be able to take it. So, the Limerick fans singled out by hurling manager John Kiely as 'abusive' will have to take the Garryspillane man's criticism on the chin. Over 1,500 people turned out at the Gaelic Grounds to witness Limerick get hammered 7-22 to 1-19 in the Munster Hurling League on January 15th. Never mind January is no time to be hurling, never mind it is a meaningless game in a meaningless tournament and never mind Limerick went on to qualify for the meaningless final where they were ultimately defeated by a meaningless point a fortnight later. No, a small portion of the supporters in Limerick were mad as hell and, according to Kiely, let the home team know in no uncertain terms.

“That day against Cork in the Munster League, there were quite a number of people in the crowd who were extremely abusive and it was not at all appropriate that players be treated like that on the day, given the amount of time and effort and work they put into preparing themselves on the pitch, and off the pitch. “That is not something we would like to see again. We have an awful lot of decent people involved in hurling in Limerick, and if they are people out there that aren’t behind the team, we would rather they stayed away. “And we would like to see the people who are real, true hurling people in Limerick step up and follow the team through thick and thin, through good and bad, and support the players and acknowledge the effort that the players are putting in.”

They may not have a Youtube channel with 330,000 subscribers, but were these Limerick fans not simply exercising the rights that Lyle is defending? You might not like their method of delivery, or their impatience, but any hurling fan who braves the cold to take in a Munster Hurling League clash in January has a right to be heard. Nobody should judge any team on a pre-season leg-loosener and there is nothing more self-defeating and pointless than verbally abusing your own players - even if for a fleeting moment it makes you feel good. But... are the age of the team, the amount of effort they are putting into training or that hoary old chestnut that 'they are amateurs' a legitimate defence against criticism? Besides, anyone who thinks this is a new development is kidding themselves. It is not new and you can be sure that whatever those Limerick players had to listen to paled in comparison to the vile barbs thrown at former Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack The abuse aimed at Cusack should not be deemed acceptable in any right-minded society but, we can only hope, the Gardaí would have been informed if what happened in the Gaelic Grounds crossed a line. More likely it was the type of abuse that is heard at football and hurling matches all the time. Misplaced - or passion expressed in pejorative insults. Should supporters hold their tongues indefinitely if they are unhappy with what they have seen? Is there a stage in the GAA season after which criticism is acceptable? Can you roar at a player from the terraces if you do not swear? Where is the line? Clare secretary Pat Fitzgerald hit out at the anonymous online community that "pushed the keyboards to stir up opposition" to his son Davy seeing out his tenure as Clare manager. But these keyboard pushers, presumably, view themselves as fans. They, presumably, "pay their money" to follow their team and have a "right to have a voice as well". Fans are supporters of amateur sportsmen, and they pay to follow their passion. It may be a small fraction of the price of a season ticket at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium but then, so far, none of them are broadcasting to 300,000 YouTube followers either. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/736948075420385284 Whether it is Brexit, Donald Trump, Arsene Wenger or a callow Limerick hurling team, we live in an age where people are quick to express their anger. Can an association that awarded a five-year contract to the broadcaster of Joe Brolly's often caustic and personal attacks on players and managers really complain if Joe Punter on the terrace lobs in a few expletives of his own? In an ideal world all supporters would be supportive and all criticism would be constructive, but we live in the age of Arsenal Fan TV, 'keyboard warriors' and Munster League ultras. If you can't beat them, then at least appreciate their passion. As Oscar Wilde almost said, the only thing worse than having abuse screamed at you is not having abuse screamed at you. The revolution is not coming. The revolution is here. And it is angry as hell.