One of the nice things about this winning run is that you get to drool over all that positive media coverage in the papers the following morning. Of course, with all the online content that’s now available – which has implications for the print media, a topic that An Spailpín is ruminating over this morning – you could I suppose choose to drool over your laptop instead. Be careful, though, or it could end up in the laptop hospital like mine has.
Right, let’s start with the dailies. Here’s the Irish Times, the Indo and the Examiner (don’t be shocked at this – it was Cork we were playing yesterday). Johnno has an amusing quote in the latter report, where he refers to the huge number of players in the Cork set-up at the minute. “It’s not a panel they have, but a platoon” he says. He’s not wrong, you know.
Beating the nationals out of the traps, though, was, of course, the one and only Colm Gannon in the Mayo Advertiser, who had his report out there before midnight last night. Nothing as yet from the other locals but for this kind of detailed, considered work you need to wait a bit longer.
Others? RTÉ (there’s no audio clips linked to this report, which is the main reason you’d be having a gander here – maybe those Sunday Sport clowns have taken over this as well), Hogan Stand and the GAA’s own website (you need to scroll down to the end of this for the bit about our game – it was only the meeting of the top two in the division, after all).
That’s about it – have a enjoyable morning’s drooling over that lot.
Thanks for the links Willie Joe-’tis very handy having them all in one place!
Can anyone answer this: Why wasn’t the Mayo and Cork match on Sunday Sport last night? A match between the top 2 teams, which was a crucial match for Mayo-why wasn’t that shown?
I have most of the answers to that on Twitter, Esther, as I’ve been in contact with both RTE and TG4 on Twitter since yesterday evening about it. Basically, RTE don’t have any of the rights to broadcast these games (Setanta and TG4 have them) which is why they simply reshow highlights on Sunday nights of matches that have already been broadcast in full on either TG4 or Setanta. (There’s another issue about RTE’s complete lack of interest in the NFL – last night they hardly mentioned the fact that we’re in the final with Cork – but that’s a separate issue …)
Setanta get the Saturday night matches only which meant that the decision about what to show (or not) was one for TG4. They decided to go with Dublin v Tyrone and, rather oddly, Donegal v Armagh. As a result, there were no cameras at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. That was, for sure, a strange choice of matches but, in TG4’s defence, if it wasn’t for them and their decisioin years ago to start live broadcasts of league and club games, we’d never have had TV cameras at any of these matches.
Firstly, well done to the team yesterday. a win is a win no matter who it is against. However, as I moved around Galway today I was reminded a few times that Cork sent out a team that was really second rate due to the number of changes made from their last outing.
But my gripe on this fine sunny evening is that I was on Aertel yesterday trying to keep up to date with the score. ~I heard on the radio (by accident!!) that the half time score was 0-7 each but it was well into the second half that Aertel showed this.
I was so annoyed that my phone nearly went flying a few times while looking for a true reflection of the score.
Enough of the rant…. lookig forward to going back to HQ for a visit against “Da Langers” and looking orward to the tea and sandwiches that the bould Willie Joe will ave for his loyal followers!!!!!
Stay safe!!
Are ya having a tea party after the final WJ??
I might even go further than tea if we win!
Willie Joe, Liam Hayes wrote about a review of the whole NFL yesterday without even mentioning the team that finishing top of the pile of 33!
Just read it now, Eriad – it’s an odd piece alright but that would be par for the course for the writer in question.
It is not just Liam Hayes. Listening to radio stations such as Newstalk today fm and other media, i get the impression that Mayo are not taken seriously, and are shown very little respect. Even after beating Cork well, everybody has them as favourites for the final!. I guess in order to get respect we will have to do our talking on the pitch.
Hayes and O Rourke never respected Mayo. I dont know if its a Meath thing or what. Not many take us seriously and it pains me to say it but…unless we win the final v Cork we will add more timber to that particular fire. Its simple really. Win the next league match and next six championship matchs and we have won the double. Then in the words of O Rourke we wont have given in to the b*&^%$s . It can be done but we gotta take Four Goal McGees motto to heart. Keep The Faith.
I can’t understand how everybody is so aggrieved that nobody really takes Mayo seriously. We deserve the tag of chokers and small game players. This was even more enhanced with the Meath debacle last Summer. Let’s not all be whinging about what people think/write about Mayo. When Mayo starting winning big matches, then we will get the respect and praise from the pundits. I think they are correct in their assesment of Mayo. We have to start winning or at least give a very decent display in the All Ireland series. Nobody to blame but ourselves I’m afraid.
Have to agree with the last two ,Our reputation is in our own hands. As the old saying goes ” If you get the name of being an early riser you can spend the day in bed” Kerry and Tyrone are 6 o’clock men.
Also it says something for our self belief that we shouldn’t give a sh*** ,and even welcome the attitude from D4 cause we know that some day soon, from out of the long grass we’ll show the fu***rs !!
think we threw even more timber on the fire last August as far as Hayes and O’Rourke are concerned. We have kinda earned the tag but as i keep reminding fellow Gaels from other counties at least we get to have the big days out. There are a lot of counties out there that would settle for just the one big day out. Our Problem is that we’re a high profile team without the medals so we’re easy prey. Until we win the big one and maybe even a second we wont lose that tag Im afraid. We are admired as a county of really good footballers without the mental steel to match. To be fair though we never give up and keep coming back for more and thtas admirable in itself. It will all be worth it when we finally make it to the summit, and we will and you know what else, i have this feeling in my gut that when it happens it will be a relatively straightforward victory and we’ll wonder what all the fuss was about!!
I prefer being ignored to being lauded and marked as favourites. Agree that we have to win the big one to get on the same attention level as Cork and Kerry and Tyrone etc. Worrying about the pundits lack of interest in us is just building them up even more to thump us if we fail, so let them snigger and ignore us, while we continue to support our team to the hilt.
Great result on Sunday.
Not getting carried away, as we all know that cork weren’t going full tilt at it. But I liked the fact that the players obviously knew what was going on up in Omagh, and went tearing into Cork at the start of the 2nd half. The game was over after that.
Next Sunday will show us exactly where we are.
A league medal would be great, but the experience of a big day out in Croker could be invaluable come summer time. How Kerry/Tyrone/Galway etc. would love the opportunity to prepare for the championship with a big game like this.
Was away abroad over the weekend, so was relying on the phone to keep track of what was going on. Came back hoping to catch highlights on TG4 last night, but nothing. Now I know we have a lot to thank that particular station for in terms of coverage, but they couldn’t even get 1 camera in there? The same thing happened for our game up in Derry.
As others have said, coverage of Mayo football is patronizing at best, and insulting at worst. And all this is before we have the delights of Joe fucking Brolly and his condescending tripe…
Only one way to shut them all up. Win on Sunday week, and more importantly, win the big one.
Every team who wins the All Ireland has a cause. Ours is now simple. To gain RESPECT. We need to get thick and use the fuel on the fire with stupid media comments like we are getting. Ted is right. We will win one or two All Irelands and wonder what the fuck was the big problem.
We’d probably be unbearable if we won the shaggin thing though!
Personally I would be very magnanimous.. except to all them Meath hoors i know… 🙂
RogerMilla dont lose any sleep over the Meath men. I live in their midst and they even hate themselves. Any good Meath team was backboned by the sons of the Western seaboard either Mayo, Galway, Donegal or Kerry. The Lyons’s, Harnans, O Malley, Moyles)grand nephew of Tom Langan),and Conor Martin all are of red and green blood. Colm Coyle is of Gweedore stock, Crawford of Down stock etc etc. They hate it when I remind them of it , for badness I stick in the great John Nallen who once scored 0-9 points against Mayo his home county in a league match back in the early 1960’s .Toss in the brilliant John Gibbons and as an old man said on LMFM in 1996 “If it wasnt for the Mayo’s there would be no football in Meath”. Dont make them something they are not.Terry Fergusons dad won an All_ireland with Dublin in 1963. O Rourke the archetypical Meath hard man is …whisper it…a Leitrim man. They do have a spite for Mayo though , so dont be afraid of them, remind them that without the outsiders they would be worse than Longford.
Thanks for clearing that up Willie Joe, regarding RTE not showing the Mayo match on Sunday Sport! I was awful annoyed watching it and seeing Congress 2010 flashing across the screen every few minutes, with no analysis of the Mayo game!
To be fair, OnTheRoad, we’ve benefitted from the influx of families from far-flung areas (dare I mention the name O’Shea?) in the current team, so I wouldn’t like to give the Meath feckers any ammunition they can use against us. Arguing is for chumps anyway – good performances and wins on the field’ll shut any naysayers up fairly quickly! (even Meath ones)
Important that we are not listening too closely to what is written or spoken about (or not) in the media, it never wins anything.
Our next two competitive games will be critical, Cork for a strong performance and a win versus Sligo. If those go well, then we should have a good summer, if not, then we (whatever about the national media) will be having some questions.
Lets not assume that Sligo will be easy, first game at home in the championship, and promoted to Division 2, they will be confident, have a young team that plays a fast game, with a certain Alan Costello operating on the half forward line.
Notwithstanding your explanation of RTE not showing the two top league teams in the country, it’s easier for them to go and interview a few of the usual heads about Congress 2010 and claim that they do a good job covering GAA -when they do nothing of the sort. It’s not enough we have to put up with Lyster smirking at camera offering opinions as if they should be worth something, we also have to endure the poorest analysts RTE sport has to offer. Compare and contrast with rugby, or Billo, Giles, etc. They couldn’t care less if the entire GAA community all jetted off to La Manga the day after the All-Ireland and stayed there until May Bank Holiday. They don’t care about Club or League games. RTE pay the money for the championship, TG4 do the hard work week in week out and deserve to be lauded for it. Time for GAA HQ to insist that coverage is expanded with Railway Cup finals or similar being broadcast if they want the Championship. Not to put too fine a point on it- but I fear it’s because they see GAA merely as a good way to get the boggers tuned in.
Some good points there ontheroad, they will be held in reserve for when needed!
Don’t forget the name Schlingermann either Chris Molina but lets face it sure every county has its newcomers , it is good for the gene pool or we would all be kicking off our middle foot at this stage 🙂
Cork is going to be a great test and so will Sligo , will be a very happy man if we negotiate those two fixtures successfully.
Well said Roger, but I would go even further. We should be happy already!
We have a team in a national final, we are facing into the Summer with a more positive attitude than we have had in years, we have a cause (RESPECT!) – could we get that made up in a big banner 🙂 and we have the best chance in years of doing the business.
Bring it on.
Keep the Faith!
Easy now Fourgoal….
We got to the league final in 2007 as well, and had a terrible Championship.
But I do think we’re in much better shape now than in 07. We have a younger team, who seem to be more focussed and determined than previous Mayo teams.
So I’m optimistic as well, but I’m trying to keep it under control – we’ve all been burnt before, and had to listen to mdeia and supporters of other counties ridicule us and trot out the “same old Mayo” mantra.
It’s probably better for us that the media don’t really rate us – the less said about us the better, it allows Johnno and the boys to go about their work quietly.
Have to agree with ya there tubberman.
agree fully tubberman .
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
About the game lads, if Cork had seven of their first team players missing and we played our strongest hand (bar one maybe two) are we not in a vulnerable position? Cork will have analysed the game and identified our threats. AOS and his two feeds may be well shackled in the final. This coupled with their additional strength from their original first team players looks like a whole new prospect.
David Brady was on Newstalk the other night saying we still had a “very small back-line”….what are peoples views on this?
One does have to agree that our smaller backs were the cause (along with a shite ref) of our demise against Meath last year? we seem to have coped a bit better with it in this years league campaign but I still worry….sorry to bring a dampener onto the very positive vibe here…
Hi Chris Molina. I probably didnt explain myself properly. Every county has its share of players whose parents hail from different places. Indeed in Mayo we benefitted from Martin Carney and Ray Niland men from other counties themselves. I suppose the point I am making is that Meath have beneffited greatly from Mayo stock but are quite insulting and ignorant towards Mayo. The view that the Mayo fan at home all the time has, and the view a Mayo man living in hostile territory has, can be quite different and possibly my views are coloured by the amount of flak Mayo at times unfairly recieve. We are not fools and we are well able to do our own criticising.
To paraphrase the great James Larkin:
“The best thanks we could offer those who went before and raised the Mayo from its knees was to press forward with determination and enthusiasm towards the ultimate goal of their efforts, a fourth Sam Maguire Cup for Mayo!”
I think it’s time we all got off our knees again.
Keep the Faith!
fourgoal a great post…
the faith is restored….:-)
The height of our backs is a cause for concern. They have not grown much since the Meath match. I presume Conroy can be sprung to full or centre back if required and he could well be needed against Cork. Surley Howley will not be able to compete against the number 11 who name escapes me.
Good sentiments all round folks. We should not have to apologise to anyone for the contribution Mayo has made to the game of gaelic football in this country throughout the ages. Yes, we should dare to dream and we don’t have to buy into the tired and simplistic cliches about Mayo that are conveniently trotted out by lazy media ‘experts’ who find comfort in reverting to stereotypes. We don’t have to prove them wrong, because they have been wrong often enough before. I honestly believe that even if Mayo won an all-ireland, fighting back from 10 points down by banging over points from all distances and angles, that the next time Mayo lose a game, the headlines would be announcing that Mayo are back to their old selves again!!!
There is so much to be said for savouring the moment, enjoy each score, celebrate each victory as an achievement in its own right and one day, for sure, the big prize will be won. When we don’t get the win, don’t lose the plot, dust ourselves down, and look ahead positively to the next battle!! We need judge ourselves by our own standards and to heck with what other people say or think about us. We are consistently one of the top 5-6 teams in the country year on year, and capable of beating any team (even Kerry!!!) on any given day, and feck the begrudgers. Tiocfaidh ar la!!