American reacts to Hurling for the first time (The Magic of Hurling II)

Thanks for watching me watch hurling! Is this sport popular? I've never seen it here in the USA. Thanks for liking and subscribing!

[dbuckley]

You probably got the best grasp of Hurling just from watching this video out of any reactions I've seen. 👍

[matthewedgeworth]

My video you've reacted to here...nice one. Nice reaction, you've grasped it all fairly well just from highlights which you cant say for most americans that watch hurling. Aim of the game is hit the ball (a sliotar in Irish) over the bar for 1 point and in the net for 3 points. It is like basketball in terms of travelling-esque rule, you can catch the ball but only carry it in hand for 4 steps after which you need so 'solo' it, ie. balance on your stick or get rid of it. You can't outright throw it like a baseball, but can only handpass by striking it with an open palm. You can't straight-up rugby tackle someone, but shoulder to shoulder to contact is allowed.

[Irish]

It's almost 3000 thousands years old daddy of all sports

[SolidusSnapes]

Hurling is like 3000 years old. It is said the birthplace of the sprot was on the Cooley mountain in couty louth. I can see the mountain out my window.

[BadDubII]

Best sport in the world imo You play for where you are from for free. All about the passion.

[billabong]

The greatest game of all time.

Edit... watch matches, not highlight videos, that will give you a feel for the flow and magic involved. Watch any All ireland hurling finals over the last 10 years.

[michaelcrimmins]

Iomanaicht is the Irish word for hurling. It is an Irish sport. The sport is exceptionally physical, and occasionally, bloody. It’s best played when the ball is not on the ground. There are rules as to how many steps you can take with the ball in your hand. When struck the ball can achieve up to 94 mph. Points can be scored when the ball goes above the crossbar or below the crossbar. Cheers.

[qwertyTRiG]

You grasped a lot of it there. Well done.

[ErleLevey]

Ryan ... writing from Australia and the best thing I can say is it that Australian Rules Football has a lot of elements of hurling - from our Irish heritage - instead of a football you have the stick and ball ... no off side, similar positional play and contact, similar goals and points except for the net ... run and tap the ball rather than bounce the football ...

[beth]

I think of it as Aussie Rules with Sticks. I got to see a semi final at Croke Park, Dublin years ago (Clare vs Cork). It is fantastic to watch and the crowds are great. Very different to the scary vibe you get from British Football where they segregate the fans of the two sides.

[cheiftain]

When pyramids were getting built in egypt we played hurling .

[asociacionrquer]

The stick, or hurley, was a formidable weapont, it was banned on 1921, during irish independece war

[philipbohan]

Ok Lads, this game is the oldest and fastest field game in the world. There are comparisons with Pelote, played in Florida and the Basque region of France and Spain. The game was played to learn the skills used in battle in ancient Ireland but became a sport that has been played for 2000 years. We've so many world class golfers who learned their hand to eye skills playing hurling, Paul McGinley credited his Ryder Cup winning strategy along the values of the GAA, bringing the parish/local ethos into the team club room - empowering all the players and encouraging a community unified team ethos. The modern version of hurling has been played in an amateur organised game for over 140 years. This game is one of 4 Celtic sports that are indigenious to Ireland - Hurling (precursor to ICE HOCKEY fact, hurling played in the winter in Nova Scotia with Camans {sticks curved historically similar to a hockey stick or west of Scotland - Shinty stick (Gaelic Game similar to hurling)} by Irish imigrants that became the sport of Ice Hockey! Gaelic Football, originally the ancient game of 'Caid' ironically viewed by William Webb Ellis (pioneer of the game of rugby) in south Kerry as his father was a British dragoon stationed there in the 19th century. The game of Caid had the ball kicked in the air as part of the game and Webb Ellis brought this to rugby school allowing the game to take on new skills. Garryowen, an Irish rugby team exemplified this skill and gave the name to the rugby game. Also this game influenced AFL in Australia as ex pats who were interned or emigrated to there in the 19th century brought there game along with aspects of rugby and made Australian Rules Football. Also the game of basketball has similarities with Gaelic Football in the hand passing side of the game. Rounders was played in the ancient Tailteann Games, older than Baseball but strikingly similar rules, since there are over 100 million US citizens claiming Irish heritage you could draw conclusions as to how baseball came about from these ex pats - Boston Red Socks having an Irish American heritage and one of the oldest baseball teams! Handball, a game that played with a small rubber ball (smaller than a tennis ball) in an arena not dissimilar to a squash or raquet ball court, this game is very strong in south Leinster and Munster in Ireland and is played on 'Ball Walls' used to enhance skills for hurling players.
Look it, we are a very sporting nation. All of the Gaelic sports are played in an amateur capacity under the auspices of an organisation rooted in amateurism, but crucially embraced by a huge number of clubs/teams/parishes all over Ireland that promote these values. The GAA are an organisation that encourage all forms of Celtic culture music, drama, dance open to all and include all persons/creeds in recent years (excluding the troubled years in certain parts of our country). Most Irish children play all sports - soccer/GAA/Rugby/Basketball and the skills they learn have encouraged players to excel in all these sports at a national level. Our soccer team would have had players - Roy Keane, Dennis Irwin, Robbie Keane, Liam Brady, Kevin Moran who all played GAA, you could argue that their physical put them under pressure nature was learned in the physical side of Gaelic games. Our rugby team who were number one in the world (aprox 50, 000 registered rugby players in Ireland compared to 2.2 million in England!) have gotten so much talent from the GAA pool of players, learning their fielding and kicking skills from the GAA . Brian O'Driscoll (Gaelic footballer), Paul O'Connell (hurler), Keith Wood (hurler), Ronan O'Gara (Gaelic footballer) to name a few rugby greats.
We are a very small country but our sports players have been enriched by so many codes that embrace amateurism and fair play, exemplified in Celtic sports, sermon over - enjoy!

[bokane]

As for if it is popular and never seeing it in the UK I believe New York had a team once

[mccorama]

Have a look for Shinty too - it's the sister game played in Scotland

[gerryward]

Left some links to give some more info on hurling

[dianadoinea]

Why are you not react to Bts again? I thought that you like them

[cheiftain]

Hurling is also i winter sport where you slide a stone to a ring while your wife sweeps the ice 😁🇮🇪👏🤣