Hurling is my new favorite sport

This weekend we went to the 2019 US Gaelic Athletic Association Finals out in Leesburg, Virginia.  After traveling in Ireland last summer, Robin and our friends Kay and Florence were curious about the Gaelic sports after meeting someone in Belfast who actually came to Maryland to play Gaelic sports.  We found info for the championships held here last weekend and we drove out on Sunday, inviting a friend of mine from college who lived in Leesburg to join us.  We had no idea what to expect, though we were heartened to see Guinness would be served.

WOW.  Hurling is my new favorite sport.  Gaelic football was fun too, but the hurling was really exciting and compelling, especially as we learned more about it.

Starting the ball (called a sliotar) is a bit of a scramble as in hockey.  In hurling there are sticks (called a hurl or hurley) but no protection other than helmets unlike hockey (helmets have only been required in hurling since 2010).   Folks there were kind enough to explain rules and nomenclature to us.  They were sorta pleased we were there, as almost everyone there was on one of the teams that travelled from across Canada and the US.  The women's version is called camogie.  Though there are plenty of videos on Youtube (Watch some!), I tried taking some photos of the proceedings.

Going for the ball or sliotar.  Vancouver in blue, San Francisco in black, officials in gold and black.

Still going for the sliotar.  I imagine there's some cursing involved.

The player from San Francisco is determined to get the sliotar,
even if the Canadian player is on top of it.

Guys can catch the ball or scoop it up with the hurly (stick) but can't pick it up with their hands (a good rule if another player is trying to get it with a wooden hurley). 

Catching the sliotar.

About to scoop up the sliotar and hit it after a foul.

They can hit it it to teammates or to the goal posts.

Trying to stop the sliotar with the hurley.

About to hit the sliotar.  The goal is behind the players. 
3 points for getting it in the net, 1 point for clearing it between the posts above the net.

After giving a good smack across the field to score a point between the posts.

The match shown here was late on the last day of the finals.  While this match was going on, it seemed all the competitors who had finished competing were in the beer tent letting loose.  Those who won trophies were happy to show them off to everyone else, to the accompaniment of live Irish music.  Lots of singing, proof of the inspiring musical power of Guinness.

They can't carry it more than a few steps unless they balance it on their hurley.  The guys are fast.

The pictures here are from the final men's match between a club from Vancouver and a club from San Francisco.  You can probably guess which team won and which team lost in the picture below.

Sadly, the match shown above was probably the best hurling match I will ever see live.  The US finals are usually in New York, Chicago, Boston, or San Francisco (large Irish populations) and so we were lucky they happened to be held locally this year.  The only other place to see it is Ireland.  Yes it's on ESPN sometimes, but it wouldn't be the same.  

The finals in Ireland are in a stadium in Dublin that seats 82,000 people (representing about 2% of the population of Ireland).  And the teams are all amateur as professional players are not allowed in Gaelic sports.  So the final match in the annual Irish tournament is just about the equivalent of having the final match of a tournament of afternoon softball teams in the Washington Metropolitan area in Fedex Field and everyone in town trying to get tickets or trying to watch it on TV.

If you get a chance to watch a match, do it.