I lost track of how many times I got full-body chills while at Croke Park in Dublin in late July. The first time was when a taxi dropped me off at the stadium the day before the All-Ireland senior hurling final, and I saw the enormous stands towering above me. It happened again when I first set foot in the empty stadium as we filmed the latest installment of our Stadium Wonders video series. The chills returned repeatedly the following day, during the final between Cork and Tipperary—when the crowd roared as the two teams paraded around the field in the pregame ceremony, when the fans sang the national anthem in unison, when Cork scored the first point of the match 13 seconds in, and on and on.
As an Irish American whose interest in sports is primarily rooted in the traditions, history and communal aspects of fandom, it was a dream come true. I’d been dying to see a hurling match live ever since my first trip to Ireland as a 17-year-old. To have my first hurling experience be an All-Ireland final at the sport’s home was jaw-dropping. Most American sports fans probably aren’t familiar with Croke Park or the Gaelic games that are played there. Still, it doesn’t take an expert to appreciate the fast and physical game of hurling, or the iconic stadium that serves as the sport’s home.
