The G.A.A. as we know it has rapidly transformed into a huge commercial entity since the turn of the millennium. In contrast to when it was first established in 1884, the G.A.A. has grown into one of the finest and most unique sporting organisations in the world today. The players of today’s game are far stronger, fitter, and better conditioned than ever before. The demands placed on inter-county players are comparable to those of professional sportspeople, and in many respects, the vast majority of inter-county players are now training at an elite level.
It goes without even saying that football has changed a lot over the past few decades in a whole host of respects; be it from sponsorship to broadcasting, playing styles to sports stadiums. But no one could argue that one of the biggest changes seen within the game is the ever increasing level of transfer fees. Whether you’re a fan of it or not, it is clear to see that huge amounts of money are changing hands all around the world during the summer and January transfer market windows. In 1973 Johan Cryuff became the first player to break the €1 million transfer fee record through his move from Dutch champions Ajax to Spanish giants Barcelona which was a substantial amount of money for that era. In the context of today’s game it is incredible to believe that the world transfer record was so small just 37 years ago. Fast-forward to the present day, Real Madrid has taken the world transfer record to what must have been un-imaginable heights back in 1973 with their €100 million purchase of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur. Is it justified though? I mean €100 million is a staggering amount of money to pay for anything. To think that such a sum of money was spent on a single player is ridiculous. Runners are a different breed of people. Those who chose any distance of 800m or more do the hard grafting of long runs which has a tendency to be done in solitude during the long winter months. The marathon is a 26.2 mile event that is said to be one of the toughest events within the sport of athletics. The general consensus is that the first 26 miles of the marathon are the easiest part of the event. It is the last .2 miles of the race that provide nothing but physical and mental torture. In recent months the following question has been raised, can the distance be done in less than two hours? The first record for the marathon was close to the 3 hour mark. In the last few decades, the world record has been inching closer to the two hour mark. Indeed, in September of this year the previous world record fell to the feet of Wilson Kipsang. The world record now stands at an impressive, 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds. Is it possible to go any faster than the current record? Can anyone do it? |
Archives
December 2018
Categories
All
|