I am finding it genuinely difficult to get motivated for the football championship
Fourth place, possibly fifth. That’s where the All-Ireland football championship placed in sporting relevance at the weekend. Dominating the national airwaves and media, the European Cup rugby showpiece took top billing.
Munster hurling took second place, with third and fourth going to the English and Scottish Cup finals depending on your regional preference. Dublin and Roscommon? The pitiful sight of disinterested seagulls and empty seats in an echo-filled Croke Park tells you all you need to know.
As someone who will always try to look on the brighter side of things when it comes to GAA matters, honestly I am finding it genuinely difficult to get motivated for the football championship at this time of year. I don’t blame supporters who are voting with their feet and staying at home. If the GAA top brass are not seriously concerned about the current apathy towards our most popular national sport, they should be.
In Jimmy McGuinness’s first coming, Done gal’ s clash es with Tyrone were box-office. I can still visual is et he bone-crunching challenges dished out by the McGee brothers on Seán Cavanagh and Co as Donegal did everything in their power to shift the dials of power west. This weekend we couldn’t even be bothered complaining that this match wasn’t shown free to air. At least, the poor people at GAAGO got a weekend respite.
Insecure
Don’t get too comfortable mind, ‘Hurling Man’ will likely be piping up again sometime soon with more insecure ramblings.
Maybe I am just particularly pessimistic after Monaghan’s humbling trip to Killarney last weekend. Normally the Monaghan supporters would travel in their thousands to such an occasion. Kerry, championship, Killarney. Where else would you want to be?
Plenty of other places, it seems. The few hundred that made the long 10-hour round trip had little to cheer about, as Vinny Corey’s players chased shadows all afternoon, and in doing so evaporated the last drops of optimism in the county.
On Saturday afternoon, to their credit, the Donegal supporters came out in force to welcome their provincial-winning heroes back home. Why wouldn’t they? As the Tír Chonaill star continues to rise, All-Ireland ambitions are growing.
After another close-to-flawless performance, Donegal continue to move up the Sam Maguire pecking order. Beating a top-performing Dublin still feels a bit out of reach, but McGuinness can be justified in his confidence that they can beat anyone. Their powerful centre pairing of Jason McGee and Micheál Langan are up there now with the best midfield partnerships in the country.
Ryan McHugh is back to his free-running best and in Oisín Gallen they have one of the best full-forward prospects in the game. With all directed by the laser-like boot of Shaun Patton, they now have a balance across their side that will take a good team to beat.
Elsewhere, and in front of what is surely their lowest Croke Park championship crowd ever, Dublin did what they needed to against Roscommon. After being pushed hard by Louth in the Leinster final, Dessie Farrell would have wanted to be walking away on Saturday with a double-digitvictorytodispelanysuggestions that they aren’t the outright favourites for Sam Maguire. Even though it took the final-quarter surge to see off a competitive Roscommon, Dublin never looked like losing a game that even the seagulls looked scarcely interested in watching.
Maybe the Dublin following were saving themselves for their road trips to Cavan and a neutral venue against Mayo in the coming weeks. The latter has the potential to lift the muted interest in the All-Ireland series thus far.
My final word goes to a never-improving Louth, who comfortably defeated neighbouring rivals Meat hinsu n-kissed Inn is keen. As someone who spent several years working in Drogheda, it is heartening to see a proud football county competing at the best of its ability. Finally ending a near 50-year championship hoodoo against the Royal County might mean little to those outside the north-east.
But to those passionate supporters in the clubs of Termonfeckin, Cooley and Ardee, the banishing of such would have been widely celebrated on Saturday evening over a pint or two. Monaghan has the task of welcoming the not so‘ Wee’ County to Clones next weekend. If Corey can’t get more out of his players than what was witnessed in Kill arney last week, Meath won’t be the only border rival they will hold bragging rights over.
With other sports starting to make way, here is hoping for a rise in interest next weekend and beyond. If it doesn’t, the season will be over before it even starts.