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'There'll be no dumbing down of the sport' - Inside UCF's preparations for the Croke Park Classic
BY NOW, YOU’VE probably heard or seen the advertisements for the Croke Park Classic which will see the University of Central Florida (UCF) host Penn State in their college football season opener later this year.
However, rather than waiting until August 30 for the game, Wexford native Ciaran Casey decided to take matters into his own hands and approach UCF to ask if they’d be willing to give him access to their athletics department as they get ready for the big game.
And the Fiesta Bowl champions said yes.
“It was a personal trip off my own back.” Casey tells TheScore.ie.
“I’ve always been interested in Division I college sports so, when the game was announced last year, I got in touch with one of the people in the operations department in UCF and I set it up through him.
“They invited me out to come a visit with them for a week.”
While there, the sports administrator with the Wicklow Sports Partnership was able to get a real feel for the preparations going into the event on that side of the Atlantic.
“There’s a huge amount going on in the background to ensure the event runs smoothly and there’s definitely a desire from those involved in running the game that they don’t want to ‘dumb it down’ – for want of a better phrase – for Irish fans.
“It won’t be run as if Irish people have never seen an American football game before but they also want to make sure it is as inclusive as possible so they’ll be highlighting other aspects of American sporting culture such as pep rallies and tail-gate parties.”
While working with UCF, Casey saw exactly what it takes to run a top-level college sports programme.
“When I was there I got unprecedented access, even more than I could hope for, it really was a dream come true.
“I mean, I got to go to any coaches’ meeting I wanted to, spending time with the sporting directors, etc. I did spend a lot of time with the football team and helped them out on the marketing and communication side with the game coming up in August.
“On the Tuesday morning, for example, I went to football practise which, over there, is run with military precision and I got to see how much goes into a session including how training is divided up, how many coaches they have, etc.
“It was phenomenal to see how well it was run and how professional it was. It was great to see that the public were allowed into the sessions too. Now, they weren’t allowed take pictures or record it but they were still allowed in there.”
While UCF are preparing to travel over to Ireland in August, some of their players – the likes of Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson — are preparing to enter this week’s NFL Draft. Casey was able to see exactly what it takes to prepare for the biggest step in a player’s career.
“UCF have seven players going to the draft this year including Blake Bortles who could be the number one pick in the draft.
“I got talking to one of the guys – Justin McCrae – and he really knows what he wants and knows that working with his former coaches in UCF will help him in the NFL and when he gets there he – and his former colleagues – want to represent UCF at a national level.
As someone who is familiar with how sport is run in Ireland, Casey could see both differences and similarities while in Florida.
“Spring training is quite intense – like pre-season training here – for the six/seven weeks in the build up to the spring game.
“They do an awful lot of strength and conditioning training over the summer too so it’s a lot of work to get ready for both the college season and the NFL.
Off the field too, college football and Gaelic games are not a million miles apart says Casey.
“I suppose you could draw a comparison with the GAA.
“There is a debate – as there would be in GAA – as to where the amateur ethos ends and professional one starts. I suppose when I went over I didn’t realise how much resources are pumped into college sports. The budgets, the branding, etc, it’s very, very impressive to see.”
While Casey was keen to show UCF students and administrators some GAA skills, a lot of the time he was fielding questions from players and fans about what Ireland would be like when they travel over here.
“I got a good sense that they’re going to be bringing over 200 staff and players just to begin with.
“A lot of alumni, donors to the college, etc, have committed to coming to Ireland and not just for the game, but for an extended period of a week or more so they’re very excited and intrigued about the whole thing.”
After his parents eloped to Ireland, Penn State coach James Franklin can’t wait to come back
‘US fans will golf their way from Shannon to Dublin for the Croke Park Classic’
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