American football fan or not, you couldn’t escape The Super Bowl hype this week even if you tried.
Come the finale of the NFL, whether you’re a sports fanatic or hater, the sheer event around the match itself is unrivalled in terms of its ability to draw people in from all backgrounds and interests, all over the world.
Whether that’s because of the nitty gritty of the in-game tactics, the halftime show, or the utter Taylor Swift factor of the thing is up for debate, but regardless, people are watching, and perhaps that’s a slight trick being missed in terms of the women’s sport.
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Asked and answered this week over on Her Sport’s Instagram was ‘if there were an Irish act to play at the All Ireland final halftime show, who would it be’, and while both the question and the responses were in jest, the notion of it does raise some interesting ideas.
If there were supplementary entertainment options available at games, could it sway passive fans, or even those on the fence about attending, to get over that final hurdle?
While Usher, Rihanna and co may be (just ever so slightly) out of reach, and so too might the likes of Niall Horan, Jazzy and The Coronas as suggested by the Her Sport audience, the offering of a non sporting activity, in addition to the main event of the match/race/fight etc could enhance the overall experience, and thus get more people in the gates.
With a study released this year showcasing that 60% of Irish people haven’t been to a women’s sports event, more needs to be done to entice that cohort and expose them to the fantastic sporting product on offer, but they need to get there first.
🔥Hot take: Is it really surprising that 60% of Irish people haven’t been to a women’s sports event?
✍️@acunnane10 writes here👇https://t.co/jVeUU4WCOl— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) February 4, 2024
The LGFA, in conjunction with sponsors Tg4 and LIDL, have consistently made strides on this in recent years, with reduced ticket prices for youth teams, an encouragement of bus culture to promote a group experience, free flags on offer and more, they’re certainly along the right track, although this could be brought on another level again.
For example, in America, there are countless events in recent years at basketball and volleyball games where halftime shows aren’t amassed with a trip to the overpriced in stadium shop or groups sitting chatting amid music echoing around the tannoy in the background. Instead, there’s a universal experience of an exhibit of a music act, a dance group, circus entertainers, crowd engagement and so on.
So cue the concert at halftime in Tallaght Stadium of an Irish WNT outing, a flash mob at the break of the All Ireland camogie and football finals, an influencer showdown at Ireland’s Women’s Six Nations opener and so on.
While it may seem a small and insignificant matter, even a maybe a gimmick, if Sunday evening’s match is anything to go by, it could have a SUPER effect on the publicity and promotion of sporting events.
