The Emerald Isle has what you need

America needs something. Sports are integral to the happiness of the American public and right now the people aren't happy because there's a serious lull in American athletics. Every year the space of time after the Super Bowl and before March Madness leaves people across the States with little to follow. However, have no fear. Just as the Irish have stepped in in the past to provide Americans with countless resources --Guinness, potatoes, and Lucky Charms --my people are ready to deliver what America has been waiting for: Gaelic sports.

Unlike anything seen here in the States, Ireland offers a variety of fast-paced, highly skilled athletic endeavors that aim to keep the fans on their toes. Each year the 26 counties comprising the Republic of Ireland team with the six counties within Northern Ireland to see who will fare best in Gaelic football and hurling. If you haven't got a scrap of Irish in you, you've at least wished you were Irish at some point. So get out the family tree and trace yourself back to a county so you'll have someone to root for in the coming weeks.

Touted as a blend of soccer and rugby, Gaelic football is in fact older than both of these sports and far more engaging. It is played on a pitch that is 137m long by 82m wide, with goalposts located at each end and crossbars lower than in rugby but a bit higher than in soccer. The ball used is round and a smidgen smaller than a soccer ball.

In order to advance the ball down the pitch, it can be carried by hand for four steps, or can be kicked or "hand-passed"-- a striking motion performed by the hand or fist. After four steps the ball must be either bounced or "solo-ed," which involves dropping the ball onto one foot and kicking it back into the hand, and the ball can't be bounced twice in a row.

Teams are 15-men strong, including a goaltender, three fullbacks, three halfbacks, two midfielders, three half-forwards, and three full-forwards. Players wear a jersey with their team colors and number on the back, with the goalkeepers' jersey different from that of any other player. Scoring is achieved in two ways. For a point, the ball can be struck over the crossbar using a foot, hand, or fist. For three points, the ball can go under the crossbar and into the net for a goal

Though the rules sound tedious, they do nothing to slow the pace of the game as those playing it are highly skilled and make it look easy. The Allianz NFL 2003 campaign started up on Feb. 2 and is set to end regular season play on April 6. Last year saw County Tyrone take its first NFL title, however Tyrone have only gone 1-2 thus far in the season. It's only victory unfortunately came at the hands of my very own Galway squad. However my men in maroon rebounded the next weekend against County Kerry. There are weeks more of this action to take place, so we'll see where Tyrone ends up this time around.

If Gaelic football sounds too similar to rugby and soccer for your liking, then hurling is the sport for you. The only similarities between the two sports lie in the number of people on the team and the positions they take as well as the way the scoring is done. However, instead of launching a soccer-sized ball by hand or foot towards the crossbar, a small ball about the size of a baseball is sent by means of a curved wooden stick.

The ball is known as the sliothar and the stick, which is curved outwards at the end to provide a proper striking surface, is referred to as a caman, or hurley in English. As Europe's oldest field game, it looks like a cross between field hockey, lacrosse, and baseball, but played with greater intensity than the three. The sliothar can be hit on the ground or in the air, and can be picked up with the hurley. It can be carried for four steps, after which time the sliothar can be bounced on the hurley and back into the hand, but the sliothar can't be caught more than twice. In order to move with the sliothar without having to constantly bounce it around, the skill of balancing it on the hurley and carrying it down the field has been perfected.

What ensues is a deadly aggressive game that moves so quickly that it can be hard to follow at times. The sliothar can be hit clear across the field, bounced, carried, or passed, and there are no timeouts or injury timeouts. Thus, it's a sport guaranteed to keep you occupied.

Traditionally the Kilkenny Cats are the frontrunners in the prestigious Guinness All-Ireland Hurling Championships, with counties like Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin, and of course Galway trying to claw into Kilkenny. The Allianz 2003 season started up last weekend, with Kilkenny trouncing County Waterford in a commanding 4-11 to 0-12 victory. With the season going clear into March, there's more than enough time to pick a county now and follow it to the completion of the season without interfering with any American sport.

So pick a county and get into either of these two thrilling sports before the doldrums of sports in this country gets you down. You'll see that though Irish is a small island nation known primarily for its propensity to head to the pub and renowned lush landscapes, it can also be a place of sports bliss.