DUBLIN, Ireland - My 8-year-old son has yet to declare a favorite where sports are concerned. For the moment he follows the seasons - soccer when the English Premier League is in session, baseball as soon as Opening Day rolls around.
And he exemplifies that approach on the road outside our Dublin home. It doesn't matter whether he's kicking a ball or throwing one. As long as he's moving, that's what counts.
One or two years down the line, though, I expect he'll look to me for some guidance. He'll want me to nudge him toward a preferred game, all the while hoping that his Dad is still sound enough of mind and body to avoid embarrassing him on - and off - the playing field. But given that baseball is still very much an up-and-coming game here, and public basketball and tennis courts a rarity, what exactly are my options as far as youth sports programs are concerned?
Well, in Ireland, as in the rest of Europe, soccer is the dominant game. Italy, Spain, Germany, and England are home to the finest domestic leagues in the world, drawing players from all corners of the globe. The intensive marketing of this sports product is aimed at kids and adults alike - as the recent mega-signing of David Beckham shows.
First, I don't have the makings of a proper Soccer Dad. These feet were made for walking, on a good day, not for the kind of nimble pirouettes I see kids performing at my son's weekend league games. So when he comes up to me, as he already has, looking for some basic pointers in the game, let's just say he might as well ask me to teach him to dance like Gene Kelly.
Second, an early preference for soccer will prove costly before too long. In fact, my wife and I are already under pressure to buy any knick-knack or article of clothing that bears a cherished team logo (which, given historical precedent and marketing savvy, will most likely belong to Manchester United). These must-have items are sold at outrageously-inflated prices to bolster the coffers of teams that most kids will never see play in person.
This gear also possesses a kind of street cred that I have trouble fathoming, which allows kids to root only for successful teams. With these misgivings in mind, where does a parent like me turn? In my own formative years, back in Boston, we had Bobby Orr and The Big, Bad Bruins, while over at Fenway, Yaz and Rico were performing improbable deeds.
Here in Ireland there is the GAA, or Gaelic Athletic Association. Imagine an organization and a set of games with the cultural pull of baseball, the frenetic energy of playoff hockey, and the broad presence of high school football. Established in 1884 in a Tipperary hotel as a means of preserving Ireland's national identity through her native games, the GAA still enjoys a grassroots appeal that other sports organizations can only dream of.
We tend to cast prominent athletes as role models for our kids. And then we curse these demi-gods when they are shown to be altogether human - only more so, given the amazing riches at their disposal. Being community-based and amateur, the GAA has yet to run into this problem.
After every match, players return to the real world, where there's a daily job to be tended and a home life to be cultivated, usually in their own backyard. The day the GAA loses this grass-roots communal bond, its mission in Irish life will have vanished. As for my son, I'll guide him and offer advice as best I can.
And should he want to try Gaelic football or hurling at some stage, I won't object - despite my own ineptitude at these games. In a sports world gone crazy with money and celebrity, the GAA's core values of continuity and community don't look half bad. Freelance writer Steve Coronella is a former Cape Cod resident who lives in Dublin, Ireland.
News RSS