Hurling a cut above but Tipp should be afraid... very afraid
THE curtain goes up on the real chase for the Liam MacCarthy Cup this afternoon, and the expectation is that by early September the game of hurling will have properly cemented itself in place as this country’s greatest sport.
In the next four months the hurling championship looks certain to leave its Gaelic football brother in the shade, and whatever the short-lived exploits of our 11 participants in the Lions tour of New Zealand, and however it ends for Martin O’Neill by the end of June in his daring quest for early World Cup qualification, nothing looks likely to distract from Tipperary’s desperate efforts to win for the first time back-to-back All-Ireland titles in the modern era.
Michael Ryan’s men begin the defence of their Munster and All-Ireland crowns against Cork in Semple Stadium this afternoon. And while Tipp had nine points to spare over the former giants of the game this time last summer, most observers agree that Tipp should be afraid, perhaps very afraid, on this occasion. As they should be against Waterford, Clare, Wexford, Galway and Kilkenny!
We do not have enough counties who are capable of taking their place at hurling’s top table – but those we have share equal competitive instincts and ambition in 2017.
Like the introduction of a ‘Super8’ in the football championship in 2018, the GAA powers that be have promised that a remodelled hurling championship is also around the corner, and whatever in unveiled is certain to only further strengthen hurling’s hold on Ireland’s sporting consciousness.
To have the likes of Tipperary and Kilkenny, and Galway and Waterford, all meeting one another at the tail end of the Championship will be momentous. And it can not come soon enough.
Of course, when it happens, it will prove damaging to football in particular and will further show that the pulse of the bigger ball game is extremely pedestrian in comparison. In the meantime, we should sit back and soak up games that will be thrilling and pure in their form of magical stick work. Games that are all ours.