The View: Unfortunately the fog was a bigger threat to Mayo than Tipperary were

Croke Park was like Brigadoon last Sunday - that fantastic musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe - it was certainly a 'learner' game for the Tipperary senior footballers as the blue and gold flag was laid 'low' thanks to the rampant Mayor men.

Brigadoon, that mystical village in the Scottish highlands, which appears out of the fog just one day in a hundred years - well on Sunday, we had the fog; we had the 100 year commemoration as Tipp captain Conor Sweeney laid a wreath to mark the centenary of Michael Hogan's death; and we had the mysticism - how did we give away so many terrible goals, and how did we miss so many goal chances?

You just had to feel for the players on this occasion with so much going wrong on the day. But, you also have to give them enormous credit for plugging away to the very death - the result might have been well beyond their reach, but the margin of defeat was up for grabs right to the final whistle.

Tipp only got to play their own game for very short spells - Mayo simply wouldn't allow it - that in itself is a measure of the regard the westerners had for Tipp. In fact, while it might seem incongruous to suggest that Mayo paid Tipp the ultimate respect by hammering them, the truth is, they did. James Horan was at pains to point out afterwards that he did not know what kind of challenge Tipperary would bring. So, he tutored his men to go for the kill early and to continue the torture for as long as possible - he was not countenancing any possibility of a Premier insurrection. Get control, keep the foot on the throat and see out the win.

You'd have to say though, had Tipperary been more clinical, Mayo's pilgrimage to Croke Park could have ended up in a 'knock.' And, many of those gilt edge chances fell to the men you would want them to fall to. But, failure to take them was very costly.

Would Tipp have caused another major shock if they had taken the early two goal opportunities? They might have - it would certainly have been a different type of game. But, Mayo showed a real physical edge which saw them winning ball they had no right to win. Their power simply shoved some Tipp lads off the ball - strength and conditioning requires about three seasons to really take effect and Tipp's plan is for such a programme going forward.

The key now for Tipp is to not allow this Mayo defeat to halt their momentum. Instead, they must use the experience, the goodwill created, and the positive vibes of the season to drive them on in the Allianz NFL in 2021 - promotion to division 2 has to be on the agenda now because that's where the learning process will continue. Playing against the better sides will help no end, but remember any progress will be made without the influential Colin O'Riordan.

Minor and u20
So, the minor and u20 hurling and football championships are going ahead now. The word came as good news to some; indifference to others; and resulted in uproar amongst others still. We wish the Tipp minors in both codes and the u-20 hurlers the best this week in their games.

There appears to have been a determination to get the championships played as far as possible in the calendar year - why? What would have been wrong with allowing it to run into the new year for a time and giving the teams proper time to prepare?

Of course there would have been complications with second and third level competitions, but will these happen at all? It's very hard to prepare a Fitzgibbon Cup team when none of the students are attending college - virtual training sessions are an impossibility.

It also seems that decisions to be made on the split season for inter county and club campaigns will have a bearing - again the third level competitions come into play here.

The smart money is on the club season commencing in the earlier part of the year with the inter county season to run at more or less the same time as this year. Finance is the big driver here - the longer the year progresses, the greater the expectation that crowds will return to the games. And, the inter county games are the cash cow for the GAA which has lost out massively this year, and is perhaps looking at a similar scenario in 2021.

But what about the clubs? So, you might be playing in the first half of the year, get knocked out and then not have another championship game until July/August of 2022. You could go fourteen months, or more, without a championship game. That's not an attractive prospect.

While Covid has thrown up some huge headaches in a sporting sense, it has also resulted in great opportunities and possibilities. But, these must be embraced with a sense of responsibility to club and county alike - I wish them luck with trying to keep all parties on side with this - a thankless task.

AGM time
County Convention will have competition in the form of the Tipp u20 clash between Tipp and Waterford - guess which screen the majority of delegates will be looking at on Tuesday evening next. The Football Board Convention takes place on Thursday evening; the Mid Board are online on Friday; and the South Board on Sunday. The North Board are holding out, it seems for an actual, rather than a virtual experience. Surely, the others could have done likewise with big enough venues in all divisions capable of hosting them?

Ronayne departure
So, Shane Ronayne has departed the scene with the Tipperary ladies football team. What a contribution he has made during his four years in charge, bringing honours to the county and perhaps more importantly, helping to raise the profile of the game in The Premier . He will certainly be a hard act to follow. Question is; are there other Premier managers thinking of walking away?