Sport for Business
Sport for Business
Touchdown Tourism: The Game Plan That's Winning for Ireland
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The Aer Lingus College Football Classic stands as a remarkable testament to sport's power in building bridges between nations. In this revealing conversation with Padraic O'Kane and John Anthony, the visionaries behind this extraordinary event, we discover how a college football game has transformed into a cultural and economic phenomenon that strengthens Irish-American relations in profound ways.
Since its inception with the Notre Dame game in 2012, this sporting spectacle has evolved into something far greater than just a competition. Each year, approximately 24,000 Americans travel to Ireland, staying 7-10 nights to explore their heritage while experiencing college football in a unique setting. The economic impact reaches every corner of the island, benefiting hotels, restaurants, golf courses, and local businesses nationwide.
What makes this event particularly special is its long-term commitment to Ireland. With games confirmed through 2028 and negotiations extending to 2037, the Classic has secured its place as a permanent fixture in both the sporting and cultural calendar. This foresight demonstrates exceptional planning in an era where most international events focus on short-term gains.
Perhaps most touching is the human impact. For over 25 players per team, this represents their first international travel experience, requiring their first passport. Coaches like Marcus Freeman from Notre Dame had never left America before participating. These cultural exchanges create lasting impressions and broader perspectives that transform young athletes into global citizens.
The government's enthusiastic support, including ministerial delegations and Taoiseach announcements, underscores the national importance of this public-private partnership. It has catalyzed approximately 15 annual business and academic events that continue throughout the year, creating lasting connections between Irish and American institutions.
As "Farmageddon" between Kansas State and Iowa State approaches, it promises exceptional competition on the field. But as John Anthony expresses through Maya Angelou's wisdom: "People don't remember what you said, but they remember how you made them feel." The overwhelming Irish welcome leaves American visitors feeling embraced and valued, creating ambassadors who carry their Irish experience back to the United States.
Looking to experience this extraordinary cultural phenomenon firsthand? Limited tickets remain available for this weekend's clash at the Aviva Stadium.
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Hello and welcome to the Sport for Business podcast. I'm your host, rob Hartnett, and in our latest episode for the week that's in it we're talking all things about the Thank you 24,000 inbound United States tourists coming to Dublin for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic and taking time while they're here to explore their roots, their heritage and the island of Ireland. This is more than just a game. That's been the tagline since the series was first created and in this episode of the Sport for Business podcast we're diving into it with the two men who were instrumental in setting it up in the first place and remain so in terms of keeping this fabulous sporting event and business event and cultural event going here in Dublin, taking place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon. So let's get into it with the lads who made it all possible, with the lads who made it all possible.
Speaker 1:I'm delighted to be joined today by Porigo Cain and by John Anthony. Together, they are the dynamic duo who have brought the Ellingus College Football Classic to life in Dublin. In many ways, they have brought the whole world of US sport to Dublin in a way that could never have been envisaged when it did come to life all of those years ago. This year we're just on the cusp of Kansas and Iowa both coming over there to play in the Aviva Stadium on August 23rd, farmageddon. It's being billed as Nice tagline there.
Speaker 1:You're very welcome onto the show, porrigan john thanks rob thank you, rob, good to see you I'm not overstating it with the fact that this event, these games, have potentially done more for us irish sporting relations than almost any other event I can think of yeah, I'm looking at John saying I better get in there.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, when you think of our history, when we go back and how John and I met that Notre Dame game in 2012 and I know they were here in 96, john was here in 96 with Notre Dame and before that and there was two games in 88 and 89 but really I guess what woke Ireland up and and seeing the opportunity John knew it all along was when that game came in in 2012 and if you remember where we were from an economic perspective, ireland was coming back from a really difficult time, particularly in my area and tourism and restaurants and hotels etc. And to see what it could bring in and we internationally launched the gathering around that. But a year later a year earlier when I first got to meet Notre Dame and get out there and see what South Bend was about and college football and how US universities understand the word alumni that we've not even still tapped into. In relation to our connections, I guess that comes more with our county, but seeing those connections, seeing that irish american connection and you know a lot of notre dame it's third and fourth generation and then when we moved on to boston college in 2016, it was a more second, uh, generation, etc. But the connections were dying down.
Speaker 2:And it's the two guys we named the trophy after martin octon and Don Keogh. You know, I remember. You know the reason why they've done this because they thought the best way for connectivity between America and Irish was through the sport of college football or collegiate sports and making that connection. And it really has paid off. We've made some amazing relationships. Personally, we've made some amazing relationships, but the country has what we've got out of it. You know there's 15 different conference, business events, academia events that are now annual, that comes with the game and so on and so forth. So we're not exporting people anymore out of here, thank God. So building that relationship with our American cousins and vice versa and it is a two-way street has never been more important. We're delighted we can play our little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and John, from our point of view here we look on the game. It's a big event. It comes in every year and everything that surrounds it is of enormous value. What's the perspective from stateside, though, in relation to Ireland, because there is, of course, the softer historic relationship that's there but from an American point of view, do you see this as being a real driver of Irish-American relations in relation to business, in relation to sport, sport, in relation to the soft diplomacy that our government is talking about a lot now?
Speaker 3:yeah, I love hearing all that and I love the question. I let pork answer first for because I shouldn't know the answer, right? This is what is. You're in ireland and it's hard for me to say. What I do know is, by the end of this game this year going back to our 2012 game we will have seen over 150,000 Americans go to Ireland to watch a college football game and spend a week in Ireland, and we know that impact is really significant, not just on the economic impact, but on everything you're saying.
Speaker 3:With soft diplomacy and sports as diplomacy it's, you're hard-pressed to find anything that brings the numbers that follow college football, and so that's why we're so proud, right, that over the course of what we're doing. You know, when I talk about over here, I always say it's kind of the ultimate win-win-win-win-win from every single single side. There's not a loser in this game. Uh, unfortunately, on the field, there's one team that goes home with fewer points than the other, so that's the loss. But but from the participating teams, from the universities and the benefits they get out of it, to all the fans that follow to watch it, to the Irish economy, to the jobs in Ireland, to the hosts in Ireland, this is just as I say, it's kind of the ultimate win-win-win from every side. And that doesn't even get into really the point of your question, which is just the long-term tale of that, which is just fabulous, which is just the long-term tale of that, which is just fabulous, and it's at a very personal level as well.
Speaker 1:I remember hearing coaches from Florida State, coaches from other of the schools that have been over the years, and talking about the impact it has on the players and not just the occasional player from Ireland that has gone over there and made a name but that this is an occasion on which as many as 15 or 20 of the players are having to go and get a passport for the first time, that they're experiencing international travel for the first time and even, as you say, even if they take a loss back from the game, they've just got such a victory for their own outlook on life that we're actually helping to create, you know, young Americans that are looking to the outside world in a different way than they would otherwise have done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're spot on there, Rob, it is. It's over 25 players per team. That don't. That didn't have a passport from the US. But even bigger than that is the coaches. Marcus Freeman from the University of Notre Dame, when he came to play in that game two years ago, had never been out of. He had to get a passport. He had never been to Europe, he had never been out of the US, and that's one of the biggest names in football coaching over here. So it really is so much more than a game.
Speaker 1:It is so much more than a game. Yeah, and tell me, you know, the NFL on the football side has become more international. It's moving to different cities and things like that, and of course they'll be coming to Dublin in September as well. Has college football taken a similar view? It doesn't appear to be the case. It appears still as though Dublin week zero is a real beacon there that we are international college football.
Speaker 3:Yeah, as of today, that's exactly the situation and it's a wonderful place to be. I don't think it'll stay our exclusive domain forever, but we enjoy it at the moment. The big difference from the NFL to college the NFL, much like all the pro sports in the US and all the pro sports leagues worldwide, you've got a single entity there, a league who is investing to go global, and college athletics just isn't structured that way. So there is no enterprise, no commissioner, no league, no organization who is making that investment. There's no commissioner, no league, no organization who is making that investment. So it's kind of up to us working independently with the given schools or conferences to help them go worldwide, much like a university does, but they haven't done it with their teams celebrated and got very excited about the first of this series of five games that we're now drawing towards the end of.
Speaker 1:It looked as though that was stretching to a very, very far horizon and now we're almost there. That's the nature of progress, that's the nature of time it advances and it moves on. Obviously, we lost the first game to that thing of which we will not speak its name, but how are we fixed now for the long-term basis of this? Because it feels so embedded. It feels like this is just the thing which happens in august and that people will actually plan their summer around. They think when is that weekend going to be? Yeah, I'm going'm going to be in Dublin there, because the life, the buzz, the pizzazz, everything that goes with it. So how will we fix now, from 2025, as we stand towards the next iteration of this?
Speaker 2:Don't forget, we lost the second game as well. Yeah, if you think about it, we played in 2016, which was more than an experimental game, and thankfully, john and I managed to wipe our brows at the end of it and get out of it with everything intact. But the next time we played and we built a team around it and we developed on. But actually the next time we got onto a field was in 2022, in 2016. So there was a lot of blood, sweat, tears and everything else went in it in the meantime. So you know, it's great to be sitting here now and knowing that we've completed the five games. Well, we've gotten contracted. We haven't completed them. We've also agreed with our key stakeholders in government and in Aer Lingus to extend for another two years and that's done. So we're now committed up to 2028, albeit we haven't announced that fixture yet. We have 25, 26 and 27 in the calendar, as you know, and thankfully, all stakeholders Rob, I'm delighted to, and it's really well known at this stage we're in long-term negotiations with everybody the regional partners team to now take us out to 2037. So another nine years on top of the two we've added up to on an annual basis. Everybody believes in it. People have got in behind it. They know each year is different. It's not like it's coming in with the same sporting event. We start from scratch with every game. John has to go and start the negotiations in certain ways, convince two new coaches, two new presidents, two new ADs and so on and so forth and all that goes with that were, please God, in a period of time within that 2037, we will see. We've already seen Georgia Tech return, but they've returned with a completely new team. There was a new coach, new AD, I'm not sure who, some of the middle management, I guess there, john, but that was it. So even you know, please God, we will repeat one or two of our teams that we've had here during the next 11 years or whatever the case may be. It is dealing with new teams all the time.
Speaker 2:So I think ESPN and the rest of TV guys like what we do here and they've come and supported that and that's an important part of what we do. Our stakeholders certainly do. People around the country benefit from it Economically. I think the connections we're making with schools etc. John will come in here, but we can't take the schools for granted.
Speaker 2:College football has changed in so many ways over even the period of time we've been there. So thankfully coaches are getting a little bit younger and are more up for it and see that it's a real good news story for their team and potentially part of recruitment and so on. But you know they're under pressure more than ever, as are the schools and fixtures, and we have competition you touched on it with particularly competition in the United States from mutual stadiums and cities and we know there's one or two European cities hot at our heels to try and take over our dinner. So collectively we have a lot of work to do. While we may have our sponsorship and everything getting into a better place, we still have to convert the two teams into all of them and that's, I can assure you and John can definitely come in here not as easy as it sounds.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I tell you I mean. The thing about it is, though, is that having the foundation of that long-term partnership with Eilingus as the title sponsor, with the government, with Dublin City Council, with all of the other groups that have actually come around and that rode in behind there, is such an apparent value. I've had the pleasure of joining you for the Ireland-US CEO lunch on the eve of the game, and the amount of soft power and, occasionally, hard power in that room is sufficient to say this is great for Dublin, but you're right, like it does, it does depend on on the teams, it does depend on the talent. I love the way that you said that the coaches are getting younger, just a year out from having Bill Belichick coming here with accepted every rule.
Speaker 1:I think I think Bill will take it that you're referencing Yonath Hart in his case.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, he is that. He is indeed, john. How challenging is that? I mean, it's got to be, I won't say easier, but you've got a better armory to actually go into the conversation, because they can see, they can feel, they can hear, they can talk to their peers to say at every turn, dublin has been a good thing and that enables you to get in the door. But, as Porig says, the nature of the game is changing. You know, name, image and likeness rights, the funding of college sport all of that is going to be materially different in 2037 to where it is now, probably 2027. How challenging does that make it from your point of view? Because you've done this for a number of years now and you've done it across other sports and you've done it across other areas as well. Are you worried about those changes across other areas as well, are you?
Speaker 3:worried about those changes? Am I worried, Rob? I'm old enough to say only the paranoid survive. So I'm worried about everything. But are we wonderfully positioned right now and in a better spot than we've ever been? Absolutely. We are not seen as some odd little sideshow. We are not the circus that maybe passed through town a couple of years ago that you remember as a kid. We are a very impressive, important fixture on the college football calendar. I speak to an athletic director and I speak to a coach about a future opportunity for considering inviting them. Invariably they will say oh yeah, I saw last year's game. That was, that was fantastic.
Speaker 3:So that that, that sacred spot in week zero that attracts so many eyeballs, has been really back to what I said earlier. College football works differently from any professional league that you've ever seen or familiar with. So there's not a single scheduling mechanism. So that's still a challenge, but it's not a challenge in getting people interested that want to play. It's just challenges threading the needle, for how does their schedule set up?
Speaker 3:If they have a big game in week one, they're not going to play overseas in week zero. Who are they supposed to play in non-conference that year? Are they supposed to play in conference? How many home games do they have? Because, again, it's not like a pro league where it's equal every year and you've got eight and eight or something like that.
Speaker 3:So if they have the right balance of home games and away games, they have the right scheduling opportunity. If they have an opponent that we can match together, that work out. They're very interested and, as Pork knows and as you know, God bless Aer Lingus and the government agencies for listening to this they are not going to claim that anyone really understands college football scheduling from that side. Very few in the US do as well, I might add. But they've trust us, They've grasped the benefit of this and when we're trying to inform them of how this works and that a longer window gives us an opportunity to work on some of these scheduling opportunities further out, they're giving us that runway, which is really important and we're really grateful for.
Speaker 1:And it must be a benefit as well from that commercial point of view that Aer Lingus' focus is very much on the United States now. So you know, every summer there's at least another new destination added, so this year Las Vegas coming on on stream as well. So they're very much focused and the more cities they fly to, the more that you know halo effect of of Ireland and Aer Lingus and accessibility and the benefit for both sides comes through as well. How far in advance does your conversation become serious? I can imagine that the relationship is ongoing, that you've got regular touch points and regular call-ins with all of the colleges, but how far out does the hammer just drop? A little bit heavier to say, okay, let's begin to talk about the logistics of this.
Speaker 3:Bit heavier to say okay, let's begin to talk about the logistics of this. In a conversation last month, the school mentioned 2034. So you know, it's not that we were talking, we're locking in 34, but they very much want to be in the game and they looked out to their schedules from now until 34 to tell us what years might be possible for them.
Speaker 1:And it must be a benefit as well from that commercial point of view that Aer Lingus' focus is very much on the United States now. So you know, every summer there's at least another new destination added. So this year Las Vegas coming on stream as well. Well, so they're very much focused and the more cities they fly to, the more that you know halo effect of of Ireland and Aer Lingus and accessibility and the benefit for both sides comes through as well. How far in advance does your conversation become serious? I can imagine that the relationship is ongoing, that that you've got regular touch points and regular call-ins with all of the colleges, but how far out does the kind of the hammer just drop a little bit heavier to say, ok, let's begin to talk about the logistics of this?
Speaker 3:In a conversation last month, the school mentioned 2034.
Speaker 2:no-transcript Okay yeah, and the big benefit there, rob, is we like in an ideal world. We haven't been exactly getting it. We certainly haven't for the 27 fixture. Getting two years notice to people, but certainly getting at least 18 months means they're planning that European or Irish holiday that they always wanted to plan, just getting a bucket list off it. They're staying here a minimum seven to 10 nights, etc. All of Ireland.
Speaker 2:There's no other event that people come in Ryder Cup even won't even hit into the level of time they'll spend in the country and that people come in and make it their holiday. They have it planned out. They've had at least one Thanksgiving and if we can give them two at home with the whole family, are we seriously doing this Ireland thing? Are we going to do the whole country? All the rest of them? There they come, they spend, they look at their ancestors, they like it and I think, with you know, global warming and everything that's going on at the moment.
Speaker 2:You know ireland has a destination in july and august, and particularly in august. Now it's becoming more and more attractive because of heat, not only in the united states but we're seeing it in europe at the moment. What's going on there, etc. So the economics. I think that's why we get the support from the agencies around, because this delivers for Ireland. You know there's not a, there's not a town or a village around the country that doesn't benefit from when you know, this year will be 22,000 Americans coming in, staying on average seven nights length and breadth of the country. There is another event that will touch the economics of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good luck trying to get a golf tee time at a one of ireland's premier links courses during that period of time and one of the joys of the event and the weekend in dublin is the intergenerational appeal of this, because we literally do see four generations of, you know, of grandparents and parents and kids and even great-grandparents, and they're all kitted out in their college alumni gear. You've alluded to the fact, porig, that we don't have anything remotely resembling that in terms of our affinity to our college, but this is a glorious opportunity for every college to reach out to its alumni, and there are, you know, 70 million american citizens that claim to be of irish heritage. So it's a it's a it's a nice way to actually go about it. I did love a line that I heard from a taxi driver one time a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1:When they got into town they said um, yeah, just just take me to a hotel and make sure it's got a castle in it that you know like the level of expenditure expenditure is far and away beyond what we're used to in terms of normal sports tourism, but it is still about sport, and I guess you know teams going on from week zero and if you get a win, it's actually given a real boost to their prospects through the year as well.
Speaker 1:So there's all of these things which I'm sure that you're storing, and you've got all of the data points as well as all of the stories to actually go out to the, those schools like 2034 is great, 2037 is even better. You know, even the olympics and the and the fifa world cup even they're not, you know, sort of locking in that far in advance, so I wouldn't beat yourselves up on that. In terms, then, of you know, it's obviously it's a year-round planning and execution strategy for the one week where everybody lands. Has that become easier over the years? Have you found a rhythm now that you don't sweat the small things as much as maybe you did back in 2016 when it first became apparent that we were going to have this great event?
Speaker 2:Well, the simple answer is there. We've now got a team it used to be John and I and a very core team from there and Leslie and Louise, but we built it out and a very core team from there Lesley and Louise, but we built it out and we're very fortunate to be able to have a team on both sides of the Atlantic that, in many cases, work only on this project. Our next best thing to do only so there we learn from our mistakes. Each year we sit down and debrief each game. How can we do it better? Where do we feel X didn't work? Why we listen to those two schools We'll go back to after this year.
Speaker 2:We'll ask K-State and Iowa State to give us their honest feedback. Where can we do better, etc. That's just the nature of who we are. We talk to our stakeholders. How can we do better? How can we activate better? How can we make the whole week even work? So we're certainly not sipping on our laurels on this one. We need to drive it on and bring it forward. And that's not just for the inbound. It's important for our domestic, as we develop the people here, that they see something new each year and they're excited about coming to a game. A lot of them are learning the rules a lot more than when we started off and they've got a fair idea of what a game comes from. It's probably fair to say, john, this won't be far off the most competitive American football game ever, nearly playing these Isles. These two teams the winner potentially should win their conference.
Speaker 3:They'll be very close to win their conference. Yeah, it's hard to be more competitive than last year's game, which came down to the last play, but the expectation going in this will be the closest prognosticators would say going into this, as both teams are competing for the Big 12 Conference Championship for sure.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:And I would only add to Porik's answer, in addition to everything he said. One of the differences, though, rob, from 2016 is right now we're working on three games. Right, we have 25, 26, and 27 all announced, so that's six different universities and teams that we are having regular communications with and preparations and planning for them.
Speaker 1:And the ripples of what you brought and how that's going out as well. Again, there's another big program of high school football that's going to be sort of taking place around in different stadia around the weekend and the days leading up to it as well, through into college mainstream teams and they say, oh yeah, I was there, I was in, you know Donnybrook, I was in the Energy Stadium. You know, six years ago we played and it was great.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. We've seen it from specifically. I remember some of the high school teams there in 2016 who had players who later started for Notre Dame or back in the 20, and they would have been there for the 2020 game even more before the cancellation. But the 23 Notre Dame game had starting players who had been there in 2016, and not just there in circling back doves, but now having really strong NFL career. So we've had a high school player whose first team in all NFL all pro. We have a number of the high school players I don't know specifically what we're at right now who are still competing in the NFL. So it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. We had Kevin White on the podcast a few weeks ago as well. You know the godfather of college sport as we build him, and we're not alone in that. But he spoke with such passion and enthusiasm for what you've been doing and your outreach, taking American colleges out of their comfort zone and bringing them over to an even more comfortable zone that they just never knew existed, over to an even more comfortable zone that they just never knew existed.
Speaker 3:Well, kevin, I hope he didn't erase his fingerprints from the evidence, because he signed that contract almost 25 years ago that led to the 2012 game that gave birth to all of this. So he tries to pass along credit to everybody else, but we remember who got it started.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a lovely thing to have Just before we wrap up. You've spoken about the importance of the negotiations, the importance of making this into a long-term permanent fixture, at least from a structural perspective as well, and government throughout has been very positive on this. We've had sports ministers who have gone on to be Taoiseach. We've had sports ministers who have gone on to take up the high offices of state and in the Department of Finance and all of the really important ones. As you would know, Borek, the willingness of government to actually listen and to get engaged in a public-private partnership of this nature is, in many ways, unusual. It's not something that they go into lightly, which means the fact that they have gone into it and gone all in with you guys is to your credit. Is that something which you would put a lot of store by? I mean, is it important to have the Taoiseach announcing teams into the United States like that level of governmental support?
Speaker 2:Look, it's hugely important and I guess even you know we will go on in October. We will go to North Carolina and we will go to TCU with an Irish delegation Both of them will be led by a minister and a delegation of about 20 people travelling over too, and the school's put on an amazing show for them and it's about the economics, the business, and we promote a game while we're there, because that's a big part of it. But I think you know this is seen as an Ireland Inc and Dublin City Council and the Lord Mayor play a massive part within that as well. So it really is an Ireland Inc. The Viva Stadium, you know, a great long-term partner of ours, etc. Green Jersey stuff all the way around, and that's what this was built on and that's why we're delighted that all our partners from day one have stayed with us. We've grown in the last week or so, which we were delighted to bring on as another partner and have relevance to this game, very, very much so. So I think the importance is huge. We just moved recently, as a major event, into the economic ministerial out of sports because of the change around it, so we've went for tours into Peter Burke's department. I guess we are probably more economic benefit to the country and business orientated, but there is a sporting event that goes on as well and the light of the sea flag coming on, great Natalia, who you know I don't know whether you know this, John Natalia just made the Irish team and was over in France playing the weekend. I think so you know from a former Dublin GAA. She tried once and she was told she's on the team and she's a fabulous athlete by herself. But to see that and you know, for girls and boys like that now to have an interest in going to the Olympics and there's a real jump here in Ireland about potentially could we get a team into the Olympics that's certainly going to be a strong win. But that comes from leadership down and we are.
Speaker 2:The secret of this, without a doubt, has been public-private partnership. We have amazing from Erlingus and the Glenton Picks and the Grant Thorntons and so many more to the department and the city council and Falt Island Tourism Ireland and we come together and we're just an amazing team. We only pull the guys together four times a year and we go to them separately if we need them outside of that, but it's just everybody driving the one direction and that's what makes it so important, so unique, and it's proven Economically. It works, the numbers arrive, the whole country benefits, etc. And we send one hell of a show back into America which helps develop further relationships and so on and so forth.
Speaker 2:And, as John has alluded to, we're almost a ballgame now at this stage in relation to how we fit, Even though we start the season off. It's the ballgame that gets the season going, etc. As opposed to end of season, and that's something we're very, very proud of and want to continue to drive on. But you only can do that when you have unity and we're very fortunate amongst all our partners to have that followed closely by the schools and the on-location team in America.
Speaker 1:It has always been billed as very much more than just a game. One hell of a show sounds like a pretty good calling card for you.
Speaker 3:I would want to add to that, when you were speaking of how much support we get from all those entities, the various government and the ministers and all the Lord Mayor From the American side of it. It makes me. It draws back that famous Maya Angelou quote about people don't remember what you said, but they remember how you made them feel, but they remember how you made them feel. The American side of this feels so welcomed, embraced, even important, from the Irish side. The schools tell me that consistently.
Speaker 3:I had no idea this would be such a big deal to the country of Ireland, and that isn't because of some fine speech they heard. It's because of this outreach, it's because of these people in very important, significant positions who are making the visits to the universities, who are welcoming them upon arrival, and it's the taxi driver that you mentioned, it's the publican serving them. It's everyone making them feel so welcome and pointing out that this is a big deal and how much Ireland loves this and how much it matters to Ireland. And that may really, in my mind, really started in the 2012 game, when that game really helped the recovery out of the global recession, but it's only gotten so much stronger from there.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, look, it has been great chatting to you. It's been great being part of this journey from 2012 all the way through goodness now to 2037. Just make sure that we get those signatures onto the contracts and get that signed. I'm not even going to begin to think about how old I'll be in 2037, but cathedral thinking. That's what we need here. We need to be building.
Speaker 2:And Rob. Before we wrap up, on behalf of our whole team, both in the United States and here, thank you. You've been with us from day one. You've opened up doors for us. When we needed a voice, you helped us with a voice. So thank you for all your help. As I said, this is one big team and you and many other of your colleagues in the media have played a really important part. So, on behalf of all, thank you.
Speaker 1:You're such a schmoozer, porig, but thank you, you're welcome. Thank you for allowing us to use up some of your precious time by listening to today's episode of the podcast. There are still a very limited number of tickets available. If it has inspired you to sample the food and the fare on offer at the Aviva Stadium this weekend, it is Farmageddon. It is two of the biggest names in college football that are going toe-to-toe head-to-head college football that are going toe-to-toe head-to-head, and it has been a wonderful experience to enjoy this whole series as it's been going through and looks like we'll be doing so for quite a few years to come as well.
Speaker 1:2034 already on the discussion table with one of the colleges over there, according to what we heard from John Anthony Himself and Paul Rigo-Kane have been very generous in terms of their time and giving over to us. We will be at the game and we will be coming back with the latest in our podcast series next week, where we did be diving into leadership of some of Ireland's national governing bodies of sport and plenty more besides as well. If you want to know more about what we do on the intersection between sport and business, the nexus of the commercial world of Irish sport. You can do so by going to sportforbusinesscom. You can tune in and subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. Thanks again for taking the time to be with us and we will no doubt chat to you again. Thank you.
