Moscow-bound Brian ain't leaving on a jet plane
This was to have been a day trip to savour for Kerr as he settled into a private jet yesterday morning for the spin to Moscow to see Ireland's main European Championship rivals clash.
After all, Russia's latest soccer icon, billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, uses a jet to go to the toilet, so it would have been nice to live the high life for once.
But as Kerr was sinking into the plush armchair in the executive jet, air traffic control in Russia delivered the deflating news that the flight was going nowhere for the moment.
Control couldn't say how long the moment would be so Kerr, fearing he would be in mid-air and miss the goals (though with so many to choose from he could have caught at least one), decided to disembark and instead dig out the remote control from under his pile of soccer mags at home.
FAI spokesman Declan Conroy, a former PRO for Aer Lingus, was in a good position to explain. "These things happen," he said, explaining congestion, weather or any number of things bothering the Russians could have caused the delay.
The FAI's justification for the 20,000 extravagance of hiring the luxury Gulfstream was the friendly against Turkey. This kept Kerr from getting a regular flight but made up for it by proving lucrative for the association's coffers.
While Kerr lost out on sampling the Abramovich lifestyle, the morsel he did enjoy on the runway won't cost the FAI a cent because charters, Westair, are not hitting them with a bill.
Kerr watched Ireland's task of getting to Europe grow stiffer than Russian home brew like everyone else on the box.
"It's a bit disappointing but at least he can see the match on TV and he'll get a tape of it as he always does," said Declan Conroy. "He eats tapes with alacrity."
Well, they're bound to be better than aeroplane food.
