“I felt sick” – The pain in Mick O’Dwyer’s voice talking about 1982 is real

It’s unbelievable how a man can be so successful and still be so haunted by what he didn’t win.

No-one will match what Mick O’Dwyer has done in the game of football.

Four All-Irelands as a player, eight as a manager. 21 All-Ireland finals, Leinster success with Laois and Kildare and even a Tommy Murphy Cup with Wicklow. Throughout an inter-county coaching career which spanned 38 years, the Kerry legend beat every single county in Ireland at one point or another.

Micko salutes Micko pic.twitter.com/ObxxsHTkEE

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 9, 2018

But he still hurts. He hurts so much to the point that he feels sick.

During that brilliant Micko documentary on RTÉ on Monday night, O’Dwyer talked about the pain he felt at missing out on the big time with Kildare and the frustration at leaving Laois. He even had regrets with Kerry when, despite winning seven All-Irelands over the course of nine seasons, the most renowned manager on the island surmised that they could’ve won nine.

But it was missing out on the five-in-a-row that eats at him the most.

In 1982, Kerry were coasting against Offaly until a last-gasp Séamus Darby screamer snatched the game from the champions in the most dramatic of circumstances. And Mick O’Dwyer remembers every movement of the football that day.

“If we had scored, we’d have gone eight points up and the game would’ve been over. 

“Time nearly up, everything looked great. A high, speculative kick from Connor, the full back… bang. Back of the net. Game over.

“If we were well-beaten, you’d be happy enough. But we were so close. I felt sick.”

Mick O'Dwyer talks 5-in-a-row hype and disappointment. Watch 'Micko' in full here: https://t.co/tPBpumsZbo @LoosehorseTV pic.twitter.com/8rfzND8kNc

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) January 8, 2018

Maybe that’s what sets these serial winners apart, the fact that they obsess over the losses. They win so much that it probably doesn’t even register with them because they’re always focused on what more they can win and they’re always hurt by the ones they didn’t win.

Even now, even for Mick O’Dwyer, the pain is palpable.

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