The Sunday Game has raised the ire of Paul Galvin.
RTÉ's flagship GAA show has regularly been more conspicuous in the headlines than games themselves. That has notably been the case over the last week following Jim Gavin's censuring of Pat Spillane for his comments about Diarmuid Connolly early last month.
Joe Brolly and Dessie Dolan further fueled attention by condemning their Sunday Game colleague last weekend. Dessie Dolan's main objection appeared to be that Spillane had done some research before appearing on air. Brolly thought Spillane's allegiance to Kerry had motivated him to suggest that Connolly should be banned for making physical contact with a linesman.
Writing in his Sunday Times column, Galvin has suggested that it is time for both RTE and the GAA to have a rethink regarding the show.
Galvin's moment of clarity came after he spent two nights watching ITV show 'Love Island'.
There are less hormones at play on Love Island than on The Sunday Game.
The efforts of the last two weekends prove what I have long believed. The show is a liability to the GAA and now a liability to RTE too. If the powers-that-be in Croke Park and Montrose have any vision they will get together, take it off the air at the end of the season, rebrand it and relaunch it with new talent in a new direction. The current offering is reductive, agenda-led and has been mired in a culture of bias for 10 years. Thank God for Dara O Cinnéide and GAA Nua. At least that’s teaching us something about the game and adding to popular culture.
The Kerryman also suggests that the introduction of a device from reality TV shows, the ability to vote someone off by sending in text votes, might not be a bad idea for the Sunday Game in its current guise.
Picture: Sportsfile
