Guest Article: American Football in Ireland?

Brian Carter has made quite the football journey.  A former teammate of mine from Dublin he proves to be quite the candidate for the Guest Article series as he has played the game at several levels in the states.

A brief bio of his playing career would read something like this: College - Central Washington University, Arena - Yakima Shockwave, Semi Pro - NorthWest Football League with each of the following teams: the Eastside Chiefs, the Snohomish County Vikings and the Eastside Hawks, with whom he was part of a perfect 16-0 season and was a second team all-American wide receiver.  Along with all those accomplishments he spent time with the Dublin Rebels and has only recently taken his life to the next chapter, but before I could let him be on his way I had to wrangle him into this reflective piece: enjoy!

Brian Carter, WR, Eastside Hawks, 2003

American Football in Ireland?

by Brian Carter

Ever since I can remember I’ve lived and breathed for American football.  I’m from Seattle, Washington home to the Seahawks of the NFL and I can remember always watching or listening to their games while growing up.  There was something about football that I loved.  My dad did a lot of video work for the Seahawks and my brother played and loved it more than I did. Every boy in the states wants to be like their older brother or dad so maybe that’s why I loved it so much.  Loving it is one thing but to be good or great in American football you have to work you ass off and I think that’s the real reason I love football…..the challenge.

In the states football season is obviously huge; from High School to the Pro’s, practices are Monday through Friday and a game played on Sat or Sunday (6 days a week in total).  As anyone who has played the game will know, if you don’t practice enough it’s hard for a team to gel and get better.  Well in 2009 I found out why practicing 5 days a week and lifting all those damn weights and running wind sprints were so important to a football team, it made you play as a team.  I had recently moved from Seattle to Dublin and wanted to continue playing football and found the Dublin Rebels.  The Rebels had racked up some impressive seasons and won the Shamrock Bowl 5 times before my arrival, but they practiced one day a week (Sunday) and that was it.  Now for a sport that demands everyone to be on the same page, one day a week just won’t cut it, amazingly though, that was the norm for the Irish American Football League (IAFL).

American football is just different over here in Ireland compared to the states.  The tempo at practice seems a little slow and drawn out but I can understand why; you have some players that have never played before and sometimes the turn out can be quite small.  So if someone were to get hurt then the team could be really screwed but that’s football: when someone goes down another guy steps up.  In the states teams usually have three deep in every position, so if someone does get hurt the next guy can fill in.

Most of the practices are on fields where there are no lines and you just have to make up the line of scrimmage and guess how far 10 yards is.  Sometimes the practices are just in random parks where there are no field goals and if the one guy who is in charge of bringing the balls doesn’t show up practice can suck.  Practice uniforms, which consist of one color or a lot of random College or NFL jerseys, are rather less than uniform, so remembering if Peyton Manning or Stephen Jackson is on your side of the ball can be confusing.

Helmets and Pads are another obstacle.  For someone who is interested in playing they have to buy new gear which is not cheap over here or get some ones used gear that had been passed down for the past 15 years.  With all the concussions that are happening there days, that old gear just won’t cut it.  Teams are usually funded by the players or maybe a sponsor here and there which isn’t much.  This in turn causes all the situations that I’m talking about.  No money can mean crappy conditions and not enough advertisement which doesn’t bring out more players.

Football is an expensive sport that requires a time commitment to be competitive.  Unfortunately in Ireland the sport just isn’t that popular yet.  The one thing that will help build Irish football is Irish players going to other European countries where players are paid to play.  This in turn hopefully inspires other Irish footballers to get to the next level.  When these players return to Ireland, they will be bringing experience which will benefit the league as they raise the level of the guys around them via solid coaching.

Playing over here in Ireland has been an eye opening experience.  I’ve played among some serious warriors and have had tremendous battles against other teams in the IAFL and Europe.   I just wish every IAFL team could go to the states for two weeks and train with a High School or College team to see how intense football can be in the states, then that same intensity can be brought back to Ireland and put on display.

 

There’s raw talent in Ireland sure, but the league is still developing and until a greater number of guys get out into Europe and start seeing those levels available to them things may remain somewhat stagnant.  For now though there are a handful of Irish guys with European experience, and that’s a start.  Football is a passionate game and all it takes is the right guys with the right passion to start something great, and that’s what unites football players everywhere, regardless of the level they’re at: passion.