Sporting marathon to enjoy on Father’s Day
I’VE CERTAINLY been a firm critic of Hallmark holidays in the past.
Whether it’s the terrible tackiness that masquerades as romance on St. Valentine’s Day or some other more offbeat celebration, these forced displays of affection leave me feeling as cold as an ice lolly in the dark depths of December.
That said, my indignation has gradually subsided since first becoming embroiled in the world of nappies and night feeds all of eight years ago, and I’m now embracing the wonderful third Sunday in June known as Father’s Day with open arms.
The marvellous occasion has now turned into an annual tradition that allows me to forego some of my more menial duties and scuttle off to the sitting room for a day choc-a-block with sports of all shapes and sizes.
On Sunday I got into my stride early by tuning into the first-half of the Serbia versus Costa Rica World Cup game before swiftly switching over to the crucial Munster hurling encounter between Clare and Limerick.
Coincidentally, my thoughtful kids had given me a lovely red card in the morning, something I’d like to think I was much more deserving of than the one dished out to Clare’s David Reidy for the most innocuous of challenges.
There’s no doubting that Limerick’s Tom Condon deserved the punishment meted out to him for his scandalous strike, and it’s hard to fathom how two players could have been handed the same sanction for a despicable stroke and a completely harmless collision.
Anyway, thankfully Limerick were unable to accept the generous Father’s Day gift as Clare were much the better side and the ridiculous red card didn’t have the significance that it may have done.
What the match did prove is that the hype surrounding Limerick was more than a tad premature. It has been suggested in some quarters that they could be the main challengers to Galway this year, although it’s becoming more and more clear that the westerners are a good bit clear of the chasing pack.
The Munster championship may have thrown up a host of intriguing contests, but the province’s finest seem to be pretty much on a par with Kilkenny and Wexford and it will take an extraordinary effort for any of them to dethrone the champions.
After the hurling action was wrapped up for the day, I was then faced with the choice of watching Galway and Roscommon going head to head in the Connacht final or Mexico trying to topple champions Germany in the World Cup.
If Joe Brolly and co. were to be believed there was as much of a chance of a scoreless draw in our native game as over in Russia.
I decided to do my utmost to follow the goings-on in both, so ended up doing more flicking than an overworked tiddlywinks champion.
Galway’s approach in the firsthalf was definitely more cautious than either Mexico or Germany were showing in their hectic encounter, with the action from Hyde Park more pedestrian than a Sunday afternoon stroll on Grafton Street.
Mercifully the second-half turned out to be a bit better as Galway somewhat threw off the shackles to deservedly wrap up the provincial success, while, over in the Luzhniki Stadium, Mexico pulled off a seismic shock to see off the Germans.
Speaking of shocks, Mexican supporters jumping in jubilation shook the ground so hard that they set off earthquake detectors in Mexico City.
Finally, I had the young fella in tow, while expecting to be dazzled by some samba skills as Brazil took on Switzerland.
Although Philippe Coutinho did manage to treat us to a spectacular opener, the South Americans failed to kick on and the Swiss in typical fashion ground out a result.
It wasn’t exactly a convincing start by the South Americans, who have been touted as one of the pre-tournament favourites, but past experiences should tell us not to read too much into the opening matches.
Portugal won the Euros two years ago after drawing 1-1 with Iceland in their first game, with Ronaldo and co. going on to share the spoils in all three of their group games, before eventually slogging their way to the final where they stunned hosts France.
In the 2010 World Cup, Spain lost their first game 1-0 to Switzerland, before getting their act together and going on to win the tournament with a succession of single-goal victories.
A bit like my well-oiled Father’s Day routine, the World Cup is a marathon, not a sprint.