Yay, Sports!
The Aer Lingus Classic organizes an American football game each August in Dublin, and this year featured Georgia Tech versus Florida State. Rob’s first job in sports nutrition was at Georgia Tech, and ten years of our lives revolved around GT Athletics, a really special time in our lives. Rob was lucky to have landed with a great group of people, at the right time, in athletics. From the administration and support staff to the student-athletes, the GT Athletic Department was a fantastic group of people, all pulling in the same direction.
Since working in college athletics takes up every spare minute of your time, Rob’s colleagues were also our social group. We were on campus weeknights and weekends for ten years to watch and support any of the teams competing. So when we had an opportunity to go see GT play in Dublin, we jumped at the chance.
We had an excellent time catching up with some of Rob’s former athletes, such as the now head coach Brent Key, as well as former co-workers, some who are still working at GT.
Also, from Rob’s time working at the US Olympic Training Center, we’ve made friends with some Irish Boxing celebrities. We met up with Billy Walsh and Bernard Dunne in Dublin, and spent some quality time together. A session with these two is full of stories, probably most of them true, and plenty of laughs.
a bit of HIstory
In between trekking around to meet up with friends at different pubs, we visited a very special place for some Irish history. Glasnevin, Ireland’s National Cemetery, is a fascinating place to visit. We definitely recommend doing the tour, only €14 per adult or €40 for a family of two adults and up to four children. Our tour guide, Pat, is an excellent story teller, and hearing about some of the historic heroes of Ireland, in the setting among intricately carved memorials and grave stones, is an experience to remember.
Game Day in Dublin
One of the slogans of the Aer Lingus Classic is, “Much More Than a Game,” and this is indeed a true sentiment. As long-time Georgia Tech fans, I can safely say that we have never hung out with Florida State fans on game day, and yet in Dublin we had such a fun time with everyone. We were all incredibly happy to be there, a bunch of Americans getting together for a football game in Ireland. How very special.
Game Day was beautiful, sunny and cool. Young Irish entrepreneurs sold homemade chocolate chip cookies, Cokes, hats, and scarves along the walk to Aviva Stadium. Both teams kept things exciting with a close score throughout, and there was a lot of “tomahawk chopping” in the stands. Florida State was ranked #10 in the nation coming into the season, but Georgia Tech scored a field goal right at the end of regular time to pull ahead for the Win. So exciting!
Dublin Logistics
| Transportation – Trains and Flights from Germany | DB ICE Train from Stuttgart to Frankfurt, booked through Omio.com Lufthansa direct flight FRA – DUB |
| Hotels | Hotels and Airbnb’s on Game Day weekend are pricy, and fill up quickly We stayed at Wynn’s Hotel, which has nice service, and a great breakfast. Request to stay in a room away from the street, the tram line out front is loud! Other hotels that we’ve liked, or had good feedback about: Wren Urban Nest The Mont The Schoolhouse Hotel Buswell’s Hotel The GT Team hotel was The Clayton House, on Burlington Rd |
| Transportation – around Dublin | Dublin is very walkable, and there are also city buses, trams, and trains We used Uber and FreeNow very successfully for quick rides around Dublin, and to get to Glasnevin Cemetery |
| Late Night Food | Just in case you need food late at night, there are several Eddie Rocket’s around Dublin, diner style, quite good food Otherwise, your choices are McDonald’s, Burger King, or Pizza |
| Pubs | Dublin is chock-full of beautiful, interesting pubs with great bartenders and many also have live music We love pub food, but not all pubs serve food Here is a list of some of our favorites |
| Good to Know! | Ireland is +5 hours EST The plug-in adaptor is Type G, the 3-pin, same as the UK Currency is the Euro |
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