Kerry didn’t lose this match, Dublin won it.
We used to have an old club manager, as intense as they come, obsessed with systems, lived and breathed football and one thing he told us way back in one of his first meetings always stood out.
The only thing that will beat us is the clock. He’d say it over and over during that initial pre-season.
Basically, the only thing we were in control of was our own effort – that’s all anyone is in control of. If we stuck to the system, if we did what we were told, if we played to our maximum then the only way we’d lose is by running out of time and we couldn’t fault ourselves.
Eventually, the idea went, we’d wear teams down by doing what was in our power. If we kept doing that, we’d win more games than most.
If we were to come out at the wrong side of a result, it wasn’t going to be down to something stupid or something we should’ve done better and we’d maintain that level of performance win, lose, or draw. It was almost like a game of poker: playing the percentages and knowing that, statistically, your informed decisions will work out in the long run as much as the stats say they should.
There’s no shame in losing a game of football. There’s no disgrace in going down to the champions and, by God, when those Kerry men get home to the south west of the country, they’ll feel some sort of closure through the pain that they did everything they could’ve.
Sometimes, that’s not enough. But, sometimes, the beauty is in the attempt.
Kerry came to Croke Park, they took a shot, gave it everything they could and they brought Dublin to their knees. They were oh so close to rocking the entire Gaelic-playing world and once again changing everything we thought we knew about this sport.
They couldn’t have done more. They could’ve had a free when they trailed in injury time. They might rue handing Dean Rock those dead balls late on as Dublin breathed down their necks but, in their hard of hearts, Kerry men and women could leave the capital knowing that they had emptied the tank. They gave it a rattle, they gave Dublin the very best of them and they were just beaten by a better team who was every bit as hungry as them.
Kevin McManamon absolutely nailed Peter Crowley in injury time but it sure looked like a foul https://t.co/b0jLnRonMN
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 28, 2016
Afterwards though the commentary focused on the old guard, what will become of them, how the Kerry team might change over the winter. It completely dismissed the fact that Colm Cooper played like a man possessed – almost as if he had just remembered that he used to be the greatest player of all time. He could do that for another summer or four if we wanted to. He strode around biting his teeth, stripping ball from the air and turning sharply to make things happen and Dublin were fearful of him again.
Kerry didn’t need Kieran Donaghy on Sunday. They barely used Marc O Se. They’re not relying on this older generation, just because they’re there.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice picked the best available players and worked with what he had. If those best are still in the older bracket, so what? What’s the point in constantly refreshing your team with teenagers if you’re never going to enjoy them when they hit their peaks? And the manager, incidentally, proved that he is one of the best. Again.
They came up short of what could just be the best ever team – physically, technically, and mentally. Dublin’s heart is as big as their talent and their talent is as big as their pool.
Writing an epitaph for Kerry moments after they brought the champions to the brink was totally out of keeping with what had just actually happened.
Kerry lost, but they announced their return. If they never needed a return to the top tier, the rest of us needed a reminder that they were always there all along. And if we wanted to scoff at history and tradition and all the tired narratives that headlined the previews of this game, then the Kingdom just showed that they too have talent. They too have heart.
There are only three teams that could win an All-Ireland at the moment and Kerry are one of them. If they keep playing like that, they’ll lift Sam again and they’ll do it soon.
Because the only thing that beat them on Sunday was the clock. But, Jesus, didn’t they give it proper go. A Kerry go.
There’ll be no riding into the sunset now though. The next ambush starts tomorrow. The war continues,
