Despite the heartache, I wouldn’t give it up for the world

Despite the heartache, I wouldn’t give it up for the world

Welcoming long-time Mayo GAA fan and one of the most dedicated supporters we’ve ever met, Clíona O’Gara from Charlestown to the Club ’51 hot seat. Cliona sums up below how most of us feel when it comes to following the team, through thick and thin, from winter to summer.

There are days when being a Mayo GAA fan seems like the ultimate punishment for something you thought you didn’t deserve. Those moments after an All-Ireland final defeat when you feel like you’ve done something horrendous in another life to feel such gut-wrenching pain and heartache. That horrible pain you get when looking around Croke Park at the opposition’s fans celebrating, and thinking “this can’t be happening again”. Facing that dreadful journey down the motorway, seeing car flags on the road ahead, meeting other MO reg cars at the toll and everyone giving a sympathetic smile to everyone else. Stopping in Supermac’s in Longford, meeting more grieving fans and dissecting every ounce of the game with a complete stranger. Getting home, torturing yourself by watching the Sunday Game and going to bed thinking of what could have been. 
 
But even though being a Mayo fan has carried heartache on the third Sunday in September, I wouldn’t give it up for the world. We have a lot more good days than bad. I love the feeling when waking up on a cold, January Sunday morning and heading for an FBD game in Ballyhaunis or Ballinlough dressed from head to toe in your winter woollies. You look around and spot the usual 20 people that you know you’re gonna see at the rest of the games in every part of the country. You soon forget about the previous year and what might have been, and focus on what might be, and the blood starts pumping for a new season. The league flies by and before we know it, were wearing short sleeves and anticipating the championship. There’s no feeling like going to a championship game. Hearing the roars of the fans, feeling the shivers run down your spine when the National Anthem is playing, seeing those fans that have come late and cursing them for standing in front of you, but most importantly being there. Being there to watch your team, your county, your lads that you feel like you know personally from following them on twitter to Croker. 
 
Yes, not every day is a good one being a Mayo GAA fan but the good ones are nothing short of great. No, we haven’t landed that ultimate prize,; no, we haven’t seen our boys walk the Hogan stand and lift that cup we desire so much, but we will. In the meantime, we continue to get behind the team that has given us so many hours of enjoyment and entertainment. Mayo are very close to landing that prize and there will be a time when that final whistle will go in Croke Park and we will be All Ireland Senior Champions. We will experience that feeling that I’m pretty sure compares with nothing else for a GAA fan. We will cheer down the motorway, we will forget about our chips in Longford so we can get to Castlebar as quickly as possible and most of all, the journey of heartache over the years will all be forgotten.We won’t hold any grudges.

2014 may just be that year. Maybe.

 

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Planning for Game 5

Planning for Game 5

Here we all are again: for the 4th year in a row preparing ourselves for the trip east to cheer on our boys in an All-Ireland Semi-Final. It’s all very positive. But I’m very cynical as ye know.

It’s great to see us travel in such numbers and we comfortably outnumbered every other county there last week. But some of us tend to forget that we have two outstanding football teams still in action this year. Our minors… What a team. And it’s great to see the support in early for them last week. But if one more person asks me “how did the minors get on?” in the jacks of Croke Park after the minor game… If you cared, you would have been in on time. The pubs will still be there after the game, I promise!

Anyways, with that off my chest, it’s time to get to planning for Sunday week. The hotel is booked, the tickets are sorted, train tickets booked and…

Rail Strike

There’s only a bloody train strike!

Well there you go! We’ll have to take the hit and stay the night in the Villa Bella. The rumbles about a possible strike are sure to interrupt the plans of a lot of folk reading this although I do hope it doesn’t affect the numbers travelling. We hate to see anyone stuck so be sure to get stuck into our car pooling section! If you need a lift, post it up on our Facebook page and someone might be kind enough to bring you along (for a fair contribution to fuel and sambos, obviously!). In terms of parking, we’ll follow up with details closer to throw-in but the general rule of thumb is to get in early!

It’s a great time to be a Mayo fan. This excitement never gets old. I’ve spent all day reading articles, message boards, arguing with fellow fans, and watching classic games on YouTube. And there’s still 11 ruddy days to wait! So the overriding message for us has to be this: enjoy it. We are the envy of most other counties in Ireland. Only 4 teams get here every year, 8 including minor, and we have 2 teams representing us.

To stay in touch with the latest updates I would recommend the MayoGAABlog. The content is excellent, some great updates and links to articles in local and national media and some incredibly dubious conversation to boot!

I’d like to wrap this up by wishing the U21 hurlers the very best in their Connacht Under 21 B final in Athleague tomorrow. It would be a very welcome success with our seniors doing the business against Roscommon earlier in the year to win the Connacht title, not to mention  the minors’ second appearance in as many years in the All-Ireland minor C final where they look to retain their title. Also, well done to the Mayo Ladies team who qualified for the last 8 last Saturday after defeating Westmeath, and best of luck to them too as they take on All-Ireland Champions Cork in the next stage on Saturday in Tullamore.

Enjoy the build up!

MayoMark

Horan: one step closer to immortality?

Horan: one step closer to immortality?

James Horan’s first game as Mayo manager was an FBD game in Castlebar in January 2011. His league managerial debut also took place in MacHale Park against Down a month later. He opened up his championship managerial career in West London on a bright afternoon which almost went down in the history books as a black day for Mayo football. Two further championship games in very bad conditions dictated that he brought his men to Croke Park in July 2011 as Connacht champions but with the tag of serious underdogs to face Cork, the All Ireland champions. James Horan That day he made nonsense of Spillane’s ranting about Connacht football’s “Junk Status”, ridiculed Brolly’s assertion that Cork would easily progress and set the tone for some historic Mayo days in Croke Park over the next 3 years. For many that is the day that the Horan era really started. Now the Horan era is surely coming to a close and we face Cork once again. This time Mayo will be installed as favourites and rightfully so. Cork were physically and mentally superior to Sligo in Saturday’s qualifier. In Sky Sports high definition each man looked taller and broader, and even more importantly than this, they had far better ideas when on the ball. Colm O’Neill dominated the game ably assisted by Paul Kerrigan. Sligo had a patch of dominance and took a fine goal in the third quarter but the game was never in doubt. Keeping Kerrigan and O’Neill quiet will no doubt be key to Sunday’s game plan. Cork now have a huge step up in the calibre of their opponents in the space of a week. They started brightly against Kerry but were unable to compete with them as the game progressed.  I think the match-ups will favour the Connacht champions and while we, as Mayo supporters, will never get used to going to Croke Park as favourites, the players and management seem to have no problems with it ,judging by our wins over Down and Tyrone. Regardless of our chances of lifting the blessed chalice in September, and regardless of whether he continues in the job, we cannot doubt that James Horan’s tenure has been a great success.  Let’s keep enjoying it and hope fervently that Sunday’s game will bring him one step closer to immortality.

Defensive football – the new black?

Defensive football – the new black?

It’s August, and we are back to a familiar scene. Our opponents were confirmed on Saturday evening after Sligo were parked up by Cork.

When Cork emerged under the leadership of Brian Cuthbert, they looked to have prowess. They had a steady league performance, and with Kerry looking at sixes and sevens in the league, it looked from early on like they were the Munster team to watch. That theory was quickly demolished after the Kingdom destroyed them in the Munster Final by 12 points. And in a flash, Cork were banished to the dreaded qualifiers. They arrived in Tullamore on Saturday for a date with Sligo. Cuthbert made six changes from their Kerry hiding and unveiled a significantly revised game plan. A game plan that is now the new wave of vogue in Gaelic Football: overpopulate the opposition’s defence and stay there. This new wave was originally designed by Jim McGuinness and now, just like tight jerseys, it’s pretty much the new black!

At times on Saturday Cork played with only one player in the opposing half of the field. This style of defensive football was used on Sligo but in reality it was being introduced for their quarter final meeting with Mayo. But they have a lot of work to do before they perfect this style. On Saturday it worked for a while, then they drifted off course and looked unsure of themselves. Colm O Neill and Paul Kerrigan, seasoned players, were their star attractions; they looked sharp and up for the challenge. O’Neill finished with 10 points and will inevitably be a handful for the Mayo full-back line on Sunday, but with Keith Higgins now firmly back there, he’ll have the measure of the rebel. With the way the game is going now, it’ll be an interesting competition for Mayo, to see how they cope with the defensive approach. Fintan Goold started from the bench but replaced debutant, 20 year old, Ian Maguire and would look to have made enough of an impression to start on Sunday. Cork are jittery though, and tend to fall away when pressure is applied.

Mayo v CorkMayo have never had a great record against Cork in championship. Horan’s men have looked slow to get going so far, maybe they are just warming up to this stage or maybe they are beginning to tire. Sunday will tell a tale. Big performances will be needed by every Mayo player. Will Mayo counteract the defensive trap? Will they need to?

James Horan’s men have shown heart and determination when needed in their Connacht Championship, let’s hope this continues through on Sunday.

Face The Ball Prediction League Week 9

Face The Ball Prediction League Week 9

Face the ball prediction league week 9

Facetheball prediction league logo

After 9 weeks of the face the ball prediction league, the Mayo Club 51 mini league is as follows;

Mayo Club 51 Leader board —- Start Week : 1
Your position:

    Total Week 9 Week 8 Week 7 Week 6 Week 5 Week 4 Week 3 Week 2 Week 1
1 Dan 856 119 135 91 175 46 106 26 73 85
2 macdanger 841 124 105 95 180 79 102 0 73 83
3 Ciarano 837 119 83 118 161 44 102 28 73 109
4 Nodlag5 837 92 131 117 169 45 103 26 71 83
5 MsLaineyHughes 819 89 132 125 182 74 81 0 24 112
6 mclouga9 814 148 76 88 165 20 128 29 76 84
7 Padraic McHugh 798 123 135 99 184 20 128 0 26 83
8 dcr22B 789 96 102 88 184 43 130 26 43 77
9 the V-man 788 129 107 122 151 74 100 0 45 60
10 Seamus 787 97 76 138 181 44 100 25 44 82
11 sam no.4? 783 129 49 95 188 76 80 28 50 88
12 Citywest1984 782 153 74 85 193 75 71 0 44 87
13 digherdeepandthrowherwellback 775 92 86 95 174 46 96 0 75 111
14 Fleadh Cheoil 773 76 84 92 189 74 72 28 74 84
15 nerdyfi 770 95 100 93 178 45 70 26 76 87
16 Sinabhuil 767 154 71 103 187 48 70 27 49 58
17 mayomagic 758 147 103 91 161 45 76 0 50 85
18 Yew tree 752 124 101 94 187 20 99 26 23 78
19 RiainPierce 752 78 134 95 156 45 102 29 25 88
20 Mayor McCheese 750 97 103 90 191 45 70 27 44 83
21 MaigheoAbu 750 95 103 96 183 46 98 29 46 54
22 gomonaghan 749 70 105 101 176 45 100 26 44 82
23 kcawley 729 95 86 70 169 73 77 29 45 85
24 ONeill 726 56 113 118 187 46 74 0 54 78
25 MikeyBhoy51 709 92 75 90 150 43 102 26 46 85
26 Sarahf458 708 101 105 91 185 20 75 0 46 85
27 Lar Naparka 708 92 27 116 161 48 110 28 45 81
28 MayoGodHelpUs 708 30 104 145 159 73 70 0 45 82
29 142 MO Sam 700 101 47 73 153 20 118 57 50 81
30 horansmen14 700 79 132 90 183 44 72 0 45 55
31 mayo.mick 682 48 102 89 161 45 96 0 54 87
32 mayo4ever 681 95 27 115 190 75 101 26 0 52
33 Black Cards Ahoy 680 47 111 90 186 46 74 0 45 81
34 Johnnyrebel 676 122 48 92 158 44 101 0 25 86
35 currane100 670 93 86 90 162 45 74 20 45 55
36 MickC 667 76 86 122 158 49 49 26 24 77
37 Mick51 664 97 116 90 189 20 54 27 45 26
38 Maloney74 662 121 28 103 193 44 69 0 45 59
39 Catriona 640 67 110 52 169 20 73 20 44 85
40 Newport 633 75 47 119 166 44 53 26 24 79
41 RogerMilla 631 46 43 103 169 73 73 0 44 80
42 thecailinrua 605 46 85 90 154 46 49 27 50 58
43 AlanP 598 81 50 103 130 20 113 0 47 54
44 supersars 570 46 43 52 169 46 102 0 26 86
45 therocketncw 561 46 43 52 169 46 75 0 49 81
46 cafferkey 528 46 43 52 155 23 89 20 45 55
47 amayofan 446 46 43 52 85 23 45 20 50 82
48 Dooriels Finest 444 46 43 52 85 23 45 20 50 80
49 mortified 443 46 43 52 85 23 45 20 50 79
50 kaysers 361 46 43 52 85 46 89 0    
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