Media and sport go hand in hand in today’s society. Sport has become such a big part of our lives, and this may have a lot to do with much of it being covered in great detail by the media. Television mainly, allows us to follow a clubs success, and create our own judgements on their performance. So the issue of broadcasting Queen’s soccer and GAA matches, with the help of a live stream, to the Students Union has been raised quite recently.

Neil Brannigan

Queen’s athletes rank among some of the best in the country, competing at standards varying from a university to an international level. They train tirelessly throughout the year, in all weather conditions, watch their diets and training regimes like experienced professionals, and yet many go unrecognised. Our university has many sporting heroes; the PEC itself is lined with images of past pupils who went on to become successful ambassadors of their sport, and not enough is being done to promote their legacy and that of our rising stars using the media.

I can see only good things coming from Queen’s club matches being broadcast live at the Union. Not only would it promote our teams, but could also prove to generate more individual appreciation for our athletes. More people may become interested in travelling to watch games, and with a good baseline of support behind them, our lads might feel more valued.

If this scheme was to prove successful we could go one step up; broadcasting our teams’ matches on national television. UTV prides itself with covering local events throughout the six counties, so university matches would fit in perfectly! University competitions can generate extreme intensity and excitement. The games are of the highest quality, and really could rank more exciting than some of the yawn worthy premiership matches which are currently broadcast.

Our players need recognition. They are better role models than most celebrities circulating the ‘red carpet world’ at the minute; why not promote them? More supporters are also needed for our clubs, and this scheme could be just the answer.