GAA
1 October 1997
They'll never win anything if the can't put the ball over the bar from 14 yards'
Hill 16 Comment by Tom Kelly
The capacity of Mayo football followers to digest setbacks of a depressing nature is surely one of the most remarkable features of the modern game. Few other county side in the sport can rely on such loyalty and allegiance to the cause, a faithfulness which so many expected to be rewarded with victory in Sunday's All-Ireland senior football final against Kerry.
But the script delivered a totally different and jolting message to supporters of the red and green. . .their team was simply not good enough. That, in a nutshell, was the bottom line. This time there were no excuses. No referee masquerading as a scapegoat. No basis for whingeing. Every reason not to talk to the Press, I suppose!
As I stood on Hill 16 with arguably the best supporters the game has ever known, it was difficult to analyse the collective feeling of deep disillusionment at the final whistle.
Few words were exchanged. Emotions were bottled up inside like never before. Some stood in a daze as if they did not know where the exits were. As if they could not believe what they had just seen.
This was supposed to be our day. The day when 46-years of painful waiting would be cast aside to spark off the biggest party the count had even seen. But the dreams and aspirations were torn apart in such astonishing fashion that it was too much for words.
This was worse than last year's double agony. Much worse. And when somebody suggested that Meath would have mopped the floor with this Kerry side, it was not what Mayo people wanted to hear.
What did they want to hear?
When the feeling of immense sympathy for the players was replaced by anger and frustration at the result, many wanted to hear answers to a number of very pertinent questions.
Why was the rhythm of the team disrupted by making five alterations to accommodate the sad loss of Dermot Flanagan?
Was there a question mark over the fitness of Flanagan and Maurice Sheridan before the game?
Why has Liam McHale suffered such a huge loss in form at the worst possible time?
How was a team, which was supposedly the fittest and physically strongest in the county, caught so frequently for pace by Kerry?
Why did it seem that honing the skill of shooting among the Mayo forwards was ignored following the warning signs which rang out loud and clear during the semi-final win over Offaly?
Why do Mayo lack the killer instinct on the big occasion?
It is important, if Mayo are to bounce back again as manager John Maughan has promised they will do, that such questions, and possibly many more, are answered in a reasoned and pragmatic manner.
If ever Mayo people needed to keep their heads, this is probably the time. But it's not easy. There is little doubt the county has a tendency to get carried way when it comes to Gaelic football matters.
John Maughan has done so much in achieving some degree of balance and stability, but obviously he has not done enough.
Despite his best efforts to cloak his players from the sense of expectation which had grasped the supporters, it did succeed in penetrating its way into the minds of the players. They seemed to start the game with a type of nonchalance which suggested the thought of losing had never infiltrated their intelligence.
Over-confidence is often a greater antagonist than lack of confidence. When you hear players talking about winning three All-Ireland title before they have won one, you begin to wonder what is going on.
When you hear others saying they did not need to be ridiculed by the local media', it surely cannot be seen as channelling their energies in the right direction.
Very few Mayo teams have enjoyed as much respect as this one. But, as in politics, you have to be able to take the knocks as well as the hero worship. It would be sad if the players blamed the media for their downfall. Such paranoia can only be detrimental to future development.
Kerry manager Paudí O'Sé and his charges were slatted by their own people after losing last year's All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo, and they took it squarely on the chin rather than building a chip on their collective shoulder.
It is alright generating 'a them against us' mentality if it works the oracle. If it doesn't, you have to go back to the drawing board.
The Mayo players should realise that the media, more often than not, are merely reflecting the views of the public. Perhaps they should listen to what the public is saying if they don't want to read the newspapers.
Those who watched from Hill 16 as another sad chapter in Mayo football history unfolded were heard to pass comments which would scarcely have pleased the players.
Remarks like 'They'll never win anything if they can't put the ball over the bar from 14 yards' or 'they don't have the bottle and never will' were passed by dozens of people.
Others described the first half performance as 'an absolute disgrace' and some wondered 'had one or two of the Mayo forwards stayed in the tunnel.'
But those same supporters will willingly wait another year if they can see their team progressing further over the Winter months and into another championship campaign.
Mayo have not taken the National League seriously for some time, and they have paid the ultimate price twice in the space of two years.
The county has now lost as many All-Ireland finals as they have won, but the flame will continue to burn in the hearts of the supporters until the dream of victory is realised.
Okay, there is a lot of frustrated and dismayed people out there at the moment. When the dust settles, however, a less cloudedly sense of judgement of Mayo's transformation under John Maughan will emerge.
Maybe he has taken his team too far, too soon. Maybe he can emulate Cork's Billy Morgan by reaching the promised land on the back of two consecutive defeats.
Even without the silverware to prove it, these are halcyon days for the Mayo game. Just ask those who did not get a ticket. But that's another story entirely.
