Some people should simply steer clear of sport.
Gerry Ryan declared on the radio on Monday morning that the All-Ireland football final was “an extraordinary day.”
Really? I thought it was fairly subdued myself, certainly not a patch on the hurling equivalent.
Unbeaten all year, and having gotten off to a flyer, Cork ultimately ran out of ideas and up blind alleys, while Kerry didn’t have to reach anything like the heights they did against Dublin to avenge their Munster final defeat.
Thirty-six Sam Maguires is a near one-in-three ratio. Reaching six successive finals in the modern era is a massive achievement in itself, second only to the peaks attained in the Kingdom’s seventies/eighties heyday, and they’d no backdoor back then.
Jack O’Connor will never be as popular as Mick O’Dwyer within or outside of Kerry, but he’s delivered three titles. Tadhg Kennelly will be glad both he and Jack came back.
On a final footnote, fair play to Paul Galvin. He was terrific again on Sunday, showing what a fine footballer and athlete he is when he puts his mind to it and omits the macho. And the much-maligned referee Marty Duffy was nothing like as bad as he was made out to be in the build-up. Though as I said, it was tame out.
See The Munster Express newspaper for more Fullback stories.
