200 Not Out

Ciara Farrell arrived in Brussels at the beginning of the year. Don't think she played football before she landed but she's taken to the game fairly well. When I met her at The Bomber's going away, i thought she was a corner back (for various reasons). When I try to think of a way to describe her, i'd probably choose the one about having two ears and one mouth and using them proportionately.

Anyway, in a semi-aggressive manner on Saturday night, she started questioning me on why i have a blog, Such was the barrage and swarm of opinion coming from her, I had little time to ponder her question before responding. It is a good question though and the timing is appropriate as I have just completed my 200th entry.

I suppose there were a few reasons initially. The one that immediately springs to mind is the comment Dad used to make about the fact that the people involved in club's are constantly writing the history of the club. He's right in one sense but actually, no-one is actually writing it. So that was one motive. Another was the unique nature of playing G.A.A. in Europe. I thought people might be interested in knowing the difficulties we face but also by reading it, they may be reminded about what the G.A.A. is all about, understand how lucky they are to have it, and not take it for granted. It was also intended to generate a bit of banter amongst the lads. Certain messages in the posts will resonate with some more than others whether they relate to commitment, performance, Cork hurling or anything else.

I got a mail off someone last week saying they enjoyed a recent entry a lot. It was about the disappointments with Kinsale. I presume it made him pause for a moment and think about those and other days. I know my family read it and can keep up to date. There's other parents who may read it and are pleased that their sons and daughters have a healthy outlet in their adopted home. If the blog succeeds in communicating the strong sense of community we have in the club, then those parents who log on will probably derive some feeling of security, knowing their kids have such a support network here.

The next angle Ciara took was to suggest that only having eleven followers was not so impressive. I asked her was she a follower and she said no. Having registered followers is of no importance to me. There are readers, like Ciara obviously, who like to read it but just don't feel the need to tell the world they do! I know there are lads from other clubs who check in every now and then. I hope they get a different sense of what we are about to the one they may get when we face them on the pitch. Maybe somewhere along the way it can generate discussion between us about what we are doing in our respective clubs and share some ideas.

There is only one disappointment I have relating to the blog and that is that some of the best stories remain untold. Needless to say I've had my share of disagreements with lads and have my own opinions on the rights and wrongs. Such discussions are not appropriate for the public domain but I'm sure will be retold in the future when we meet for pints or clean out our inbox, we will retell them with a totally different perspective.

It's probably fairly accurate to say that I enjoy the G.A.A. Often, you can influence people by venting your passion for something in a certain way. Even salesmen can succeed in this and sell things they don't necessarily believe in. So if you feel genuine passion for something and can convey that passion to other people, you stand a good chance of influencing someone in a certain direction. Influencing people (sometimes it bordered on bullying!!) has been a key factor in growing our club. We are lucky to have people who can do that. My job is to try and influence the Gaelic Footballers and this blog is one of the tools I keep in my box.