The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Media
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

"My parentage was often called into question, along with my sight"

25/4/2023

 
By John Considine
Picture
Yesterday the BBC carried a piece on the passing of a past President of the GAA (here).  Mick Loftus was more than just an administrator.  He also had the distinction of representing his county as a player.  Yet, he said he “gained more satisfaction from refereeing than anything else”.  We are unlikely to see his likes again.
 
The quote in the above paragraph, and the one in the title of this blog post, are from a lovely book by Jim O’Sullivan.  Published in 2002, Men in Black is Jim’s conversation with 18 GAA referees.  As I grew older, I learned to appreciate Jim’s reporting style.  He described the game but tended to let the reader draw their own conclusions about how the teams and players had performed.  The book is written in a similar style.  This is a book about those who held the whistle.  It is not a book about Jim O’Sullivan.  Like a good referee, he does not seek to insert himself into the narrative.
 
One of the recurring themes in the book is the effort of the referees to let the game “flow”.  One account opens with the hypothesis that letting the game flow could be measured by the number of free shots awarded.  One regularly hears the same idea nowadays.  Most commentators claim that the best hurling game of 2022 was the Munster hurling final and that the referee let the game “flow”.  However, the number of free shots awarded does not support the hypothesis.  The problem is not with the view of the game or the refereeing.  The problem is the measure of "flow" that is used.  The 2022 Munster hurling final was in the upper end of the distribution for the number of free shots awarded.
 
An increasingly rare contributor to this blog advocates a better measure.  John Eakins says that the flow of the game is best measured by the free shots NOT awarded.  I think he is correct.  The problem is with empirical verification.  There is no data on the number of free shots not awarded.  In last year’s Munster final, there was an implicit agreement between the players and the referee that there would be a high burden of proof on what constituted foul play.  The players adjusted and some of the exchanges were extremely robust.  Some off-the-ball stuff bordered on assault.  Gladiatorial stuff.  Great viewing.  But there were plenty of frees awarded and nearly all were well deserved.
 
My economist-self has written that the competitive balance of the game can help explain its appeal (here).  It helps.  But I know in my bones that the physicality is at least as important to the viewer.  The players knew it in their bones the day of the final.


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.