Colin Sheridan: Why a GAA draft? Why not? It’s been a while since things have been interesting
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces Jaelan Phillips as the 18th selection by the Miami Dolphins during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio last Thursday. Could the GAA do with a Draft Pick process to spread talent more evenly across all the teams of the championship?
Imagine for a moment that, in an attempt to redress Dublin’s dominance of the Gaelic Football championship, the GAA went all communist on things, and had a draft. You heard me. Worst team gets first pick, best team, last. Thirty three teams, 33 players. It’s open season, too. Everyone is fair game. Hold your ire. The days we live in, daydreaming is the opium of the masses. You don’t need another “LET THE KIDS PLAY’’ miscellany from me. This is pure back-of-beermat stuff.
Who gets first pick? Well, with no better way to do it, the teams will be ranked by how early they exited 2020’s bastardised championship, with a few anomalies; New York and London were not given the chance to compete due to pandemic related travel restrictions, so, they automatically receive first and second pick respectively. Sligo were unable to field a team, but, rather than be rewarded, they will assume the slot they would’ve had anyway, had they been beaten by Galway last November (15th pick).
