To the Irish, Croke Park is hallowed ground.
Holding anything there besides a Gaelic athletic game was considered blasphemy for decades, as the ground the games are played on is sacred, only to be touched upon by Gaelic athletes. Merely treading on it ranks amongst the highest honors of the GAA culture.
82,000 rabid fans pack the stands per match during the GAA busy season, which runs through August and early September, bringing with them an atmosphere that cannot be matched by any venue in Ireland. The stadium is the pinnacle of the sport, often referred to this week as the “Yankee Stadium of Ireland.”
When UCF takes the field on Saturday, it will mark the first time an American College Football game has been played in Croke Park, the crown jewel of Irish Sports, since Notre Dame came into town in 1996 to play Navy.
GAA Director of Media Relations Alan Milton understands that this event cannot be just another game, but a grand event to impress on both sides of it – bringing American Football to Ireland and exposing the Knights to the deep roots Gaelic games hold in Irish culture.
“The fact that this is a competitive American Football game involving two very competitive colleges meant everything had to be the very highest standard,” he said.
Milton continued, “I think it’s mutually beneficial.”
The field has undergone an intense transformation process that includes installing American goalposts, accommodating the large contingency of each school’s roster – both of which are far larger than any GAA team – and measuring out the regulation field on a pitch that measures about 160 yards long by 98 yards wide.
“For all intents and purposes,” Milton explained, “we hope our facilities will reflect almost entirely what you would get at an American venue.
Just moments after Penn State and UCF exit the field for the post game media operations, the grounds crew is faced with the time sensitive task of returning the field to its original form for two Gaelic Football matches to be held on Sunday. If there were any concerns that the field would not be ready, or that the turf could not handle the damage of so many games in such a short span, Milton does not show it.
“It’s the best field in Ireland, there’s no queries about that. It takes twice as much punishment as any field in Britain,” he said, continuing on that “it has a fantastic track record, it’s very durable.”
The honor will be completely on the American’s side when they arrive Saturday morning, though there is an enormous amount of respect on either side in tackling the logistics of this major event.
The Director of Media relations said that “I’m delighted to say that relations between the two colleges have been excellent, especially with UCF.”
Saturday’s game will be a sight to behold, something never before seen in college athletics. It should prove to be a benchmark game in each program’s history, something both schools can be proud of for years on end.
