I flew home on Thursday night for the All-Ireland Football final filled with hope that Cork would reunite with Sam on Sunday evening. Its hard to explain the impact a County's appearance in the big house on the biggest of days can have. I didn't hear mention of a recession all weekend. From the minute I passed through arrivals in Cork Airport it was all Cork Cork Cork. Signage, bunting, good luck wishes and flags adorned electricity poles, shop fronts and anywhere else where the Rebel colours could hang.
When I walked around town on Friday, cars whizzed by with flags hanging out the window. Old men, young kids and fanciful women all wore red. Kids rushed from the Primary Schools in armies of Cork jerseys. An unbelievable sight. In the build up at least, the fans are contained within their own County Boundaries so there is an intensity which is hard to describe. Open the newspaper or turn on the radio and all you hear is debate about the match, stories about tickets or interviews with past heroes.
Cars, trains and planes rammed with fans ferry the faithful North all weekend. They descend on O'Connell Street in a force that would have done the heroes of 1916 proud. I landed in the Gresham after fighting my way through the ticket buyers and sellers at the entrance. I was meeting the Bull but before he arrived I ran into Quigs and some of the Kinsale lads. Wolfey rocked up then with perfect timing. His buddy was looking for a ticket and my phone rang on que and he was sorted.
A wave of green and gold & red jerseys then swept up Gardiner Street, drawn to the main event. The pubs were buried behind the throngs of people. The flow of beer was only matched by the banter. It's old Ireland; the biggest of rivals, shoulder to shoulder without even the slighest hint of trouble or tension.
Plenty has been written about the game. It was devastating. Devastating. I hate the shite you have to listen to after these games. Fellas reel off the same bullshit, copy and pasted from another day. If Cork won it would have been a step to far for an ageing Kerry team. The Rebels rising complete. O'Connor's head would be on the block. Darragh would be gone, the rest would think long and hard. They didn't though and all the crap came out. Cork threw it away, bottled it, don't have it to beat Kerry in Croker. All bullshit. Kerry were better and the better team won. Possession means shag all if ya don't use it.
You could make a list the length of your arm but I'll keep my opinions to three;
1)The midfield dominance and resultant supply of the Kerry men from 15-35min
2) Forward positional switches. Cork have a man for each job; Lynch v Gooch, Shields v Walsh, Miskella v O'Sullivan, O'Leary v Galvin, Canty v Kenneally. What happens when one loses their individual battle? No plan B. Walsh won the battle royale. Lynch got in foul trouble early (wrongly booked when he was fouled initially). The masterstroke though was O'Sullivan filling the #14 berth. It robbed Cork of one of the summer's great raiders when Miskella was tied to the edge of the square. Kerry dictated to us and when they had the lead they toyed us. Inserting Moran was the final blow for Lynch. Kavanagh had to be dispatched to combat the size issue. Our backs launched our summer but on Sunday they were out foxed.
3) Kerrys defence; They got an unreal amount behind the ball. When you defend, you must block the middle and leave no gaps for the opposition to canter through. We found no gap. The most disappointing point for me, and I was looking straight down on them in the second half, was the lack of movement in the full forward line. The 3 lads were on top of eachother and didn't use the space outside them. In fairness to them the delivery wasn't great and their markers were inspired. The scoresheet will still say they got their share so maybe its harsh to pick them out.
Sport attracts alot of fair day supporters. I hate some of the criticism that comes out afterwards, along the lines of 'They'll never win one now'. Other criticism is more vicious and personal. The fact is no-one has managed to beat Kerry and Tyrone in the same year this decade (i'm open to correction on Armagh). This Cork team is coming. We've some of the games brightest stars in our forward line. We've great warriors at the back. It's a long road back to September but it's one they can travel.
I'd forgotten the indescribable pain which you feel after losing an All-Ireland. It's hard to speak for a period afterwards. At some level we can all relate to it. We've all lost finals which meant everything to us, we've all felt the pain. These lads are at another level though The All-Ireland is the final of all finals. The picture in the papers of the Cork players sprawled over the Croker concrete was packed with emotion. The pain in Canty's face, the hulk Pierce O'Neill with his head buried. I can only imagine how they must feel. They give every spare minute of their life to chase their dream and to have it shattered must be unbearable.
And what consolation for them? Very little now. When the haze clears later in the week though they will find comfort back amongst their own. The likes of Quirke, Shields, Canty, Murphy, O'Leary and others will throw themselves back into their clubs quests to win County titles with the club which launched them. If they can salvage that then they'll feel the emotion pour through the streets of their villages. Their faith will be restored and they will wish winter to a close and relish another crack at the big prize.
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