Could you blame him if he went?
Could you blame ‘The Gooch’ for calling it a day after this? After these scenes?
After his wildest dreams were made real…
Colm Cooper scored 1-2 for his Dr Crokes club in the March 17 All-Ireland Club Championship final at Croke Park. Crokes claimed club glory and the Kerry forward lost the plot. It was joy unconfined.
A journey that stretched over 16 seasons had come to a victorious end. Now, it appears, his inter-county career is also to end.
There have been widespread reports this morning, sparked by an Irish Independent piece, that Cooper will call time on his inter-county career later today. At 33, Cooper has seven Munster titles, five All-Irelands, four national leagues, eight All Stars, 17 goals and 196 points.
Last September, The Kingdom star told The GAA Hour Live he would stick around for this championship summer if his body was willing. He said:
“A player I respect an awful lot said, a couple of months ago, ‘Do it as long as you can because it’s going to be gone’.
“Talking to a few of the senior guys up here [on stage], they are on similar lines. So, if my body is good, if my body is healthy, I’d like to go again.”
Seven months on and Cooper seems content to go out on top, as an All-Ireland club champion.
If the confirmation does arrive later today, expect the tributes to flood in for the rest of the week.
