“That’s one of my best mates in the picture.”
Kicking off our Milestones series is former Donegal star Kevin Cassidy.
The Ghaoth Dobhair clubman was one of the best half-backs of his era and won two All-Stars and an Ulster Championship with his county.
In this series, Irish sports stars will take us through their careers with the help of famous photos from their past, recounting the tales behind the pictures.
Cassidy describes Donegal’s victory over Kildare in the quarter-final of the 2011 All-Ireland Championship as a turning point for the side.
The extra-time win showed that they were capable of grinding out victories outside of the Ulster Championship, with Cassidy scoring an incredible long-range point to win it.
In our first episode of Milestones, Cassidy tells the story behind a of manager Jim McGuinness shouting at him during the game, and why it reminds him of Rocky 4.
Cassidy said:
That’s one of my best mates in the picture. That’s from the night in Croke Park. Obviously it’s myself and manager Jim McGuinness.
And just prior to that photo, I had taken a shot which I missed. And Jim in no kind words was telling me what I should have done. And then fast forward a couple of minutes I was able to score the winner.
So it’s just kind of a funny situation. At that time we were all about controlling the game and controlling what we could control and I suppose me taking the shot on was something that Jim didn’t approve of.
But to me it almost reminds me of Rocky where Ivan Drago is in the corner and his manager is roaring at him what to do.
So thankfully I didn’t listen to Jim that night and I took the last shot.
But it comes up quite a lot. I think the raw emotions of that night, I think everybody just was up to high doing. Thankfully we got over the line.
Be sure to tune in to our next episode!
