The Gweedore players walked off the bus and into Mac Cumhaill Park on Sunday.
Most of them were doing the usual mean stare ahead, looking big and tough, showing that they were fully focused on the task ahead.
Eamonn McGee walked past unfazed, he looked down the camera lens, he’s seen all this before.
Then, behind them all, Odhrán Mac Niallais came strolling towards the changing rooms at his leisure. Headphones on, body relaxed, taking things at his own pace.
Gaoth Dobhair's Odhrán Mac Niallais boots it over with his left! pic.twitter.com/kdOr4RFRGP
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 21, 2018
And he went out onto the pitch that way, playing the game on his terms. Doing things how he wanted to do them and when he wanted to do them.
He kicked massive scores off his right and left, he took bigger catches and he was producing pieces of craft that just showed how slow the motion he sees in his head is compared to what the rest of them see around them.
On Monday’s The GAA Hour, Mac Niallais was awarded the Paddy Power Performance of the Week and Colm Parkinson’s adulation for the Donegal star was based on one simple thing: that he’s so much better than Wooly ever was.
“Odhrán Mac Niallais is just a top, top effortlessly, classly brilliant inter-county footballer. There’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“And when you have the type of class he has and he glides over the ground at inter-county level, he’s just standing head and shoulders above everybody else on the field yesterday.
“Look, he’s a Ferrari. He’s just so much better than I ever was. He’s just so much better.
“Anyone listening to this, think how good you are. Odhrán Mac Niallais is better than you.
“He’s just better than you. He’s just class.”
"Anyone listening to this, think how good you are… Odhrán Mac Niallais is better than you" 😂
Congratulations to @OdhranMac101, winner of the @paddypower Performance of the Weekend 👏@officialdonegal @gaothdo pic.twitter.com/KMjRMMEGJa
— The GAA Hour (@TheGAAHour) October 23, 2018
