It’s vital fans get access to their heroes.. but are there better, safer ways than on the pitches?
SOME of the commentary that followed Mayo’s win over Dublin last weekend got under my skin.
Seconds after the final whistle as Mayo fans ran onto the pitch Enda Mcginley – working for RTE – pointed out how it was only the second round of the League.
Social media was awash with similar observations from the celebration police, as if a win over Dublin in February was the touchpaper for setting bonfires ablaze across the county.
The reality is, if Mayo had lost the game by 10 points, the pitch would still have been flooded with kids frantically trying to get selfies, autographs, gloves, socks, jerseys and even boots from players.
It happens all around the country to some degree after games and has done for quite some time, though it’s gone to a new level of late.
As a player, it’s far from ideal and can be quite testing at times. One minute you’re knocking lumps out of your opponent in the throes of a frantic finish to a game and, within seconds, you’re trying to smile and pose for photos.
The last thing you need after a game is to be surrounded – you either want to savour the victory with your team-mates or get the hell out of there if you’ve lost.
I endured plenty of sickening defeats at Machale Park. One League game, played on a particularly warm spring day, lingers in the memory. I was on the opposite side of the field to the dressing rooms when the match ended and had to go all the way through the crowd, signing jerseys and the like as I went.
I had shipped a heavy knock during the game and, between that and the tiredness and dehydration, it felt like hours trying to get back to the dressing room.
My experience was very much at the lower end of the scale compared to the likes of Joe Canning, David Clifford and Aidan O’shea, who are the top targets for young supporters once the final whistle blows.
It’s not just players, however, and there’s a safety aspect to it for supporters too. One slip and you could be caught under a stampede.
I remember seeing a very distressed family having lost their child during a pitch invasion after a game at Hyde Park at which I was on media duty. Thankfully they were all reunited.
Referees too can be sitting ducks at times and it’s something I feel needs to be regulated.
Surely there’s a better way of allowing fans to meet their heroes? Designated areas with barriers outside the stadium perhaps? Or an annual meet and greet where players aren’t exhausted having just played a game.
But while it may need to be regulated, it’s still vitally important and it was fantastic to see pictures of Dublin players with young Mayo supporters last Saturday. It’s what the GAA is all about.
I remember my mother landing home with an autograph book filled with Mayo players’ signatures ahead of the 1996 All-ireland final. She was working with Mayo captain Noel Connelly’s mother at the time and that was the link.
Some of the autographs were supplemented with nuggets like ‘work hard, practice off both hands and feet’ – advice that stood to me for years afterwards and which I’ve passed on more than a few times since.
If you’ve lost you just want to get the hell out of there