What is Gaelic Football? I'm glad you asked. But before we dive into it, I want to share how I stumbled upon this truly unique sport. I was on YouTube one day, making my rounds of viral videos, when I stumbled upon a video called "Gaelic Football." I thought, " Hmmm. That is interesting." I watched and was enamored with what I witnessed. It is somewhat of a complicated sport as it combines soccer, football, basketball and even elements of hockey. The players are also wearing rugby like jerseys as the official uniform for the sport.
The sport is very popular in Ireland, hence the name GAELIC football. The sport is played between two teams with fifteen players on the field. It is played on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goal posts at each end as well as having soccer goals at both ends under the H-shaped goal posts. It is played with a round ball which can be passed and controlled by the hands and feet. The objective of the game is to have the most points by the end of the match (yes, I said match not game). Players can do this by sending the ball into the goal for three points or sending the ball between the H-shaped goal posts but over the bar. Tackling is allowed in this sport as well. When a player gains possession of the ball, they are only allowed four steps before they have to bounce the ball or "solo-ed" the ball. "Solo-ed" is the act of dropping the ball on your foot and kicking it back into your hands. There is no bouncing the ball twice in a row though.
Gaelic Football might be one of the most interesting sports in sports. How I stumbled upon it is beyond me; I'm glad I did though. This sport has a lot of my favorite sports packed into one. Will I be keeping up with with sport? No, probably not. But, this is a sport that I want to play at some time; I feel as if I would thrive in this sport. Gaelic football should be a more well-known sport; I mean if Equestrian is an Olympic sport, why the hell is this not? I know people will say, "Well, it's because Ireland would dominate the sport and there wouldn't be a big population what plays it." First off, if you are one of those people who say, "**insert random county** would dominate the sport so it can't be in the Olympics," you clearly have never watched Olympic Basketball; Team USA wipes the hardwood with everyone, so that is not an excuse. Plus Ireland needs something to cheer for every four years. Gaelic Football, you got a new fan.
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