More to winning than luck

In Eamonn Sweeney’s article (‘We’ ll miss Mayo but we’ ll never forget them’, Irish Independent, July 2), he flags how unlucky the Mayo team have been over the past four or five years, how they were dogged by “only ifs” and “might have beens”.

No true lover of Gaelic football would wish bad luck on any team, and even more so that a team would perform to a standard where victory was always snatched from their grasp. Replaced with “buts” and “maybes” and “if only this and that”.

But at the end of the day, few, if any, All-Irelands are won or lost by luck.

To lose is usually down to sloppiness and lack of concentration, to win is to have belief and that bit of steel in your body and heart, and to play for the full 70 minutes. Nothing less will do.

I say thanks to Mayo for the memories, but your loyal supporters deserve more than excuses. Kildare proved it.

Just go out and do it.

Fred Molloy Clonsilla, Dublin 15