Cherishing Competition

So, the European Football Championship came to an end as the floodlit Maastricht G.A.A. grounds fell away into the winter's darkness. The season review will follow in the coming days but for now we must wallow in defeat and decide between bitterness at a season that could have delivered so much or the graciousness which is deserving to the victors. Of course, we choose the latter and must congratulate Den Hague, who deservingly took hold of the cup which we dug so deep to win in 2008. I've yet to be told of a team who has retained the European Football Championship and this year has been no different. I knew from the beginning it would take a titanic effort to overcome the obstacles that would stand in our way and I was not wrong.

This cannot be seen as a bad thing, however disappointing. I received a link from Johnny P last week which brought me to an article in The Times newspaper. It was about Nadal, the Spanish tennis player. He had just been beaten in the French Open after a stretch of 30+ games undefeated. He made a simple pronouncement to the waiting media vulchers; saying that sometimes, 'You need a defeat to give the value to your victories.' How right he is. Our results this year make me value last year’s triumph even more.

Our Hurlers swept all before them in 2009, winning 5/5 tournaments and maintaining an unbeaten run which stretches back to September 2008 in Zurich. Like the football, it’s a difficult Championship to be retained. Zurich were all conquering when their 3-in-a-row started back in 2003. Since then Den Hague and Luxembourg have swapped seats at the top table. We've knocked on the door in the last few years but couldn't sneak in until now. An avalanche of hurlers arrived to transform our fortunes and now it’s our turn. I think we lost one game all year, in the group against Den Hague down in Luxembourg. With barely a team to field, we regrouped and won that truly epic final after three periods of extra time, against the team who beat us earlier in the day. Still, we wished for more enduring battles but they were not to come. If the trend of recent seasons continues than we expect the rest to stand up and come roaring out of the blocks next year.

The football has not been such a one horse race up to now. Before our arrival, Munich, Paris, Den Hague and Lux were all eager contenders. Throw in the wild card that is Budapest and you have the makings of a competition which anyone could win on a given day. This year, Paris have won two, Den Hague two and we contested 2 finals. It is hard when at the end of the day's games there is no cup to take home. What would be harder though, is waking up on a Sunday morning, your body missing the cuts and bruises and stiffness that comes with hard fought games. The European Football Championship provides this and in doing so it provides fantastic competition for its players. There are no walk-overs, there are no games which pass without incident or are won without sufficient guile. Long may it continue.

This year, defeat has given value to our previous victories. I hope it will be the stimulus for future ones.