The city that never sleeps challenges the city that never kicks

Sunday's New York Times, in an article about the world of sport's perennial losers:

In Ireland, the national hurling and Gaelic football championships have been contested since 1887, yet five teams have never tasted ultimate victory in either sport's top tier. In the case of Kilkenny, it has won 28 hurling titles over the years, but not a single Gaelic football crown. How a county that produces men who can whack a ball with a stick but who can't kick a bigger ball with their feet is something of a mystery.