The Dublin captain was very gracious about Tyrone but made a pointed remark to the naysayers.
Stephen Cluxton raised the Sam Maguire for the sixth time in his illustrious career and had a few words for those that think the deck is stacked in Dublin’s favour.
The Dublin goalkeeper, like his teammates, overcame a slow start to grow into the game and finish as well deserved winners.
The 36-year-old climbed the steps of the Hogan stand and, after raising the trophy to a rousing ovation, had some words of consolation for the losers.
“It was nip and tuck,” he said as he addressed the Tyrone players.
“I know you put a lot, and lot, of effort into this – and we have too – but you put us to the pin of our collar. We’d just like to thank you, on behalf of everyone else here today, for a great game.”
Cluxton next moved on to thank Dublin’s main sponsor AIG and the team’s commercial partners for the support and backing ‘that we really, really cherish’.
Mindful of the shout-out to Dublin’s many sponsors, and mentioning the county board, Cluxton commented:
“Regardless of what people say about money or population, you put these teams out and we really, really go as hard as we can!”
That remark got a huge reaction from the tens of thousands of Dubs still packed into Croke Park.
Stephen Cluxton becomes the first man to lift Sam Maguire four years in a row – watch his speech in full https://t.co/7Xu0lCUFB1 #DUBvTYR #GAA pic.twitter.com/mQ1xpbha2R
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) September 2, 2018
Cluxton has heard it all before. He’ll keep hearing it too – Dublin DO have a monetary and population advantage – but he’ll keep coming back for more.
He’s not finished yet, and neither are Dublin.
