RYAN Where are the warriors for Rebels?
THERE was a big fuss made last year over the flying by Cork supporters of politically sensitive Confederate flags.
Move over there, I have never been one for hopping on board these politically correct bandwagons but I feel the outrage this time.
That flag is utterly offensive and unbecoming of where Cork stands now as a hurling county and it should not dare be flown when the Rebels take up residence in their plush new stadium by the Lee next year.
I have a far better idea for a flag that would sit comfortably with where they are now and which would better reflect the menace that they bring to bear every time they step onto the field.
It is easily made too; you just get an old flour bag and wash it clean so that the whiteness shines through.
The flag of surrender and not one that was used to declare warped notions of supremacy would sit far more comfortably with where they stand, or should that be where they lie.
Last Sunday, when the scoreline popped up that Roscommon had beaten the Rebels by 4-25 to 3-10, for a split second I thought it was the hurlers.
That’s how far they have fallen and if their only comfort right now is that the footballers are going worse than they are, well then that’s no comfort at all.
They head for Croke Park tonight to take on a weakened Dublin team knowing that a third defeat in a row will leave them looking at a place in the relegation final.
If this game was taking place in Parnell Park, then I would have absolutely no doubt that Dublin would win.
Playing in Croke Park gives Cork a sliver of a chance; the wide open spaces and perfect surface speeds the game up, min-imis es the amount of physical contact and allows players to open their shoulders a little easier.
That should appeal to a Cork team who, when they are in the groove, can be easy on the eye — we saw this in the corresponding fixture last year when they nailed 34 points — but when they have a battle ahead...well, that’s a different story.
In their opening two games, with the exception of the final 15 minutes against Water-
ford, they have not been able to compete in the trenches, have struggled dismally to win primary possession and have been bullied out of it. It has reached the stage now where a whole new generation see Cork hurlers as a soft touch, which is incredible because the blood and bandage was once a badge t hat held true. Cork a l wa y s played with arro- gance in keeping with their mindset, but they hurled with a thunder that was loud and thrilling. I grew up love watching them play; now they leave me droopy-eyed.
They have lost their way and they have lost their pride.
Why is that? Honestly, I don’t know. I have never bought the argument that this is all down to a lack of structures, an argument which Dónal Óg Cusack articulated so fiercely last year.
Cork have the greatest structure of all: they have clubs. Lots and lots of them, a lot more than any other county in the land, and that means they have more hurlers than anywhere else.
There may be some merit in the argument that they were slower on the uptake than everyone else when it came to engaging development squads, but that has been long addressed.
In fact, last year, bucking the trend, they dominated in all the underage grades below minor in Munster, which might hint at a rebel wave rising.
I would not hold my breath, though, because the step up from underage to senior is still huge and there is something so sickly about Cork at senior level that it is in danger of infecting the minds of young players coming through.
They are still finding their way back from a change in culture that was brought to them by Donal O’Grady and carried on by John Allen, who reinvented Cork’s style. It may have paid off with a couple of All-Irelands but ever since it has changed the way they think about the game and play it.
They see the game as something that can be played off a black board now, believing that it is all about possession, protecting the ball, playing the space.
They have left the warrior part behind; when was the last time you saw Cork hold up their end as equals in a passion play?
When was the last time that they truly eyeballed Kilkenny — and don’t mention 2013 when Brian Cody’s team was on its knees — or Tipperary and gave as good as they got?
They can’t do that now and the thing is everyone else knows it.
That is why Dublin would have relished getting their claws into them in the tight confines of Parnell Park, but they should still have enough to force them into a couple of tight corners tonight where they will draw enough blood to bring them to their knees.
As for the bandage, they can be wrapped up in their white flags on the journey home.