Bringing down the house
If nothing else, Jim and his ‘Tir Connell Globe Trotters’ certainly challenged the status quo of our game this year. Considering the level of public criticism and disdain, Jim must feel that somewhere along the way he had also asked the taxpayer to bail him out of a multi-million euro land deal!
Donegal and Dublin’s stand-off reminded me of a great book I read a couple of years back, ‘Bringing Down the House’. The author, Ben Mezerich, tells the story of how a group of MIT students from Boston formed a blackjack/21 card counting team, with the aim of winning huge amounts of money in the casinos of Las Vegas.
To save my column inches I’ll ask you to Google ‘card counting’ if you’re not familiar with the term. But in short, they exposed a gap in the rules; and without breaking any, they used their sharp minds to turn the odds of the game in their favour, thus challenging/changing the long established status quo in the casinos.
There was nothing illegal in their actions, all it required was a sharp mind, plenty of patience and most importantly... plenty of Liathroidi!
With regard to Jim and Donegal, there is no charge of law breaking being laid against them, simply, like the MIT card counters, they challenged the status quo, and in doing so got everyone in a bit of a tizzy.
Both Jim and the MIT card counters displayed similarities in how they attempted to take on the establishment in an unorthodox fashion, but within the rules. Regarded as social misfits, the whizkid students would never have experienced their newfound lavish lifestyles through conventional means. To do so they had to think outside the box and their innovative approach won them millions. Jim and Donegal very nearly achieved comparable levels of greatness, but nevertheless their achievements have been remarkable when you consider their starting point.
Most modern sports have been subject to change following innovations and advancements by their participants. Just look at how over the past few years the rules of rugby have been changed to adapt to/counter the physical advancements, and to also speed the game up making it a more attractive spectacle.
Those who closely follow Formula One will be familiar with how the rule makers are constantly trying to keep pace with technological advancements, thus endeavouring to ensure a safe and level playing field.
In our own game, Stephen Cluxton has almost single-handedly revolutionised the kick-out to such effect that the traditional long kick out to the big men in centre field is fast becoming a rare site.
Would Mick O’Connell or Jack O’Shea have fancied chasing out to the wings after short, diagonal kick-outs? Bah!! But funny I don’t hear Pat Spillane et al looking for Cluxton’s head on a plate. Expectation also has a lot to do with the over-reaction of both commentators and supporters following last weekend’s contest. When the Dubs entertain a full house at HQ, patrons have come to expect an electric atmosphere with a swashbuckling style of play that keeps the Hill in chorus. So when the exact opposite of that was served up, it is not surprising that people felt a bit let down.
Now compare that to the snooze fest served up in the Aviva last Friday night. However, bar a few huffs and puffs from Dunphy and Giles, you never get the sense that the beautiful game is in grave danger of a downward regression following one bad game. Soccer aficionados realise that this is par for the course and such games have to be endured every so often.
Now, I’d be lying if I told you that I wouldn’t do anything at this stage to win that silverware which has eluded Monaghan for so long. With that in mind I can only tip my hat to what Donegal achieved, and take great inspiration from a group of players whom we actually held the ‘Indian sign’ over for the past number of years.
McGuinness is no dozer (after all he did spend 11 years in third level education!); benefiting from first mover advantage, he will have realised that his innovative ways caught many off guard. He will also know that should they sit still, teams will soon adapt to their unorthodox style.
When the MIT whiz kids started winning inordinately large amounts of cash, the casino owners soon worked out what they were doing. Along with blackballing the flamboyant maths geniuses from every casino in the city, they have also since introduced numerous counteractive measures, making it now nearly impossible to get away with card counting in major casinos.
If our commentators’ misplaced fears are ever realised and many other teams try to replicate Donegal’s style of play, I have no doubt the powers that be will quickly act to change the rules thus rendering it obsolete. At a very simple level, if the authorities only re-enforced the now seemingly forgotten hand-pass rule, such a style of play would become next to impossible to implement.
In the run up to the establishment’s preferred All-Ireland, no doubt we will be treated to numerous clips of the good old days when Pat Spillane and the Bomber went about literally throwing the ball into the net, and of when the entire Dublin back line attempted to decapitate poor Mickey Ned O’Sullivan.
However they like to fondly remember that ‘golden era’, our commentators would do well to remember that back then, empty terraces were a regular site at grounds throughout the country and the monopoly both teams enjoyed over that period didn’t do much to promote the game outside said two counties.
Gaelic football has never been as popular as it has been over the past decade. ‘Puke football’, as some like to call, it has done more for the game than most would like to give it credit for. As the Kerry boys will tell you as they jingle those medals in their pockets, winning is everything. And while they continue to lead the field thanks to their tradition and commitment to excellence, they should be thankful that the rest of us continue to challenge the status quo and thus keep things interesting and the terraces full, even if at times it is unpalatable for some.
In the next few months the Donegal lads will be planning their well earned team holiday. They could do worse than head for the Nevada desert and try their hand at a bit of blackjack. I’m heading there myself in early January as part of our honeymoon, and yes, my blackjack strategy is coming on nicely; ‘winner winner, chicken dinner’!
However, once our planes touch down on home soil, attentions will quickly turn again to the up and coming season. And, as every year, we will again look for ways we can go about, ‘bringing down the house’.
