Hurling is the greatest sport you’ve probably never watched but should see
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It's a sport even Roy Keane gets excited about.
His Manchester United star and fellow Corkman Denis Irwin played it as a kid. Other Premier League stars like Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Stephen Hunt and Niall Quinn to name just a few excelled at it.
Think hockey with the ball in the air. But for goodness sake, don't call it a ball. It's a sliotar.
Think catches which would be all over the highlight reel of a cricket match.
Yet they don't stop and celebrate when the ball hits their hand, they turn and run down the pitch before smashing the sliotar between the posts.
Think physical challenges that would send a footballer rolling from one side of the pitch to the other.
Think about skill level with a stick that the best golfers in the world would be impressed by. But it is not called a stick, of course. It's a hurley.
Throw in a fair bit of bravery, a good helping of athleticism and a lot of madness and you are some way to understanding the sport of hurling. The fastest game on grass, the best sport you've probably never watched.
Keane's favourite to sit down in front of, too. So he claimed, anyways.
This weekend the All-Ireland final will be played at Croke Park. He will be tuning in if he's not working as a TV pundit for Sky Sports on Arsenal against Chelsea.
Usually Ireland's biggest stadium would be full and tickets would be like gold dust. Covid-19 rules in the Emerald Isle means there will only be a limited number of supporters there and tickets have been even harder to come by.
Cork and Limerick will tussle it out for the trophy known as the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
It is a piece of silverware named after a London-born Irishman.
It's well-worth a watch if the football doesn't take your fancy this Sunday.
Don't want to take my word for it? Listen to United great Keane then.
“My career is focused on soccer but I have great admiration for GAA players,” he said back in 2013.
“If I had a chance to watch any game in the world tomorrow I would go to a hurling match.
“I’ve been to the Super Bowl, Formula 1 racing, Champions League matches, but the All-Ireland is up there with all of them as a great occasion.”
Hurling is a sport which captivates a portion of Ireland, but even in some counties it struggles to really take hold.
Competition from other sports is the main reason. It is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association, with Gaelic Football played at a wider level on the island.
But in recent years it has become a far better sport to enjoy on TV. Once you understand the basics, of course.
The playing surface is huge. Just have a look at how a football pitch was set up at Croke Park when the Republic of Ireland football side briefly played there to get an idea.
It's 15 men a side and there are two ways of scoring. A point for putting it over the bar between the posts or three for beating the keeper and finding the net below the bar.
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The skill level is extraordinary, a player will sprint, avoid big tackles and look for space to get a shot or pass away all while carrying the sliotar on the end of his hurl.
There's no going easy in challenges, while helmets were only made compulsory in 2010.
That was 50 years on from when the first player wore one after suffering a fractured skull playing the game.
Some goalkeepers would still rather not wear them, there's no padding and the sliotar can fly at speeds of over 75mph.
It still doesn't stop the blood from being shed as the hurls made out of ash clatter around but it is the skill level of the players at the elite level which means there are not so many serious injuries now from wayward thrashes of their tools.
The sliotar, about the size of a tennis ball, is caught with one hand, sometimes with the assistance of the hurl behind it but not without rival players also challenging with their own hurls.
It can often resemble chaos when there is a loose sliotar and hurls are cracking as players battle it out to get control of possession.
But the distance they can strike it with, what is roughly described as a hockey-shaped stick with a bigger head, is remarkable.
The scoring and fast-paced nature of the game means matches can often swing one way or another within minutes which leads to many dramatic finishes.
They are phenomenal sportsmen, who compete as amateurs. There are no big salaries, here.
The pinnacle of the sport is at county level, but it is a community-driven game from club level up.
It brings towns and villages to a standstill when their club or county are in a major game.
It's wild, but it's wonderful to watch. It's a sport entrenched in Irish mythology with many a fable written which involved a hurley and a sliotar.
Your first reaction if you've never watched it before will be 'What the f*** is this?' but stick with it. Pun intended.
This weekend is a clash between reigning champions Limerick against a resurgent Cork, the second most successful hurling county in the country only behind Kilkenny, who are aiming to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first time since 2005.
It starts at 3.30 on Sunday. If the football is a bit dull, don't be afraid to switch over to Sky Sports Arena for something a little bit different but also a fair bit special.
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