DAY 28

One word- RALLY.

Yep, it's the final quarter, the 11th inning, the last seconds of the clock are clicking away and it's all or nothing. Each player leaves everything they have on the field...every man for themselves.

Blood.

Sweat.

And of course some tears.

No, I'm not referring to the hurling game we just saw! I'm talking about our final Saturday evening here in Dublin, and as a team we definitely pulled ourselves off the bench last night for a victory.

Temple Bar pubs didn't know who they were playing, as seven girls stumbled across the cobblestone, screaming "Texas Fight" up and down the streets.

Mummsie would have been proud.

We also managed to anielate Hungry Harry's establishment while in the process of getting home. It's kind of like the Ropollo's of 6th Street, which makes it amazingly convenient for those post-game meals.

Now, onto the REAL rally of the day.

We witnessed the Semi-Final Hurling match between Kilkenny and Dublin. It was hosted at Croke Park, the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). This is Ireland's biggest sporting organization and was about a 15 minute walk from O'Connell Street.



The game was great. We wore blue in support of Dublin, but Kilkenny ended up winning 4-19 to 0-12. Clearly we were on the wrong side.

The rules of hurling are very interesting. At first it just seemed that you could do anything with the ball...use your hands, feet, and some even their heads.

But then I realized there are SOME rules to the sport.

The object of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley to hit a sliotar (small ball) between the opponents' goalposts for either 1 or 3 points depending on where they hit it.

The ball can be caught in the hand and carried for no more than four steps. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than three steps has to bounce or balance the ball on the end of the stick.

Sounds hard, right?

The match was bruttle as men body-checked and slapped sticks to eachother's heads.

AND No protective padding is worn by players. They're only allowed a helmet.




That's what I call a TRUE sport.

Texas Fight.