Why we’ll always be putting all on the line in GAA

I was talking to a man last Friday and he said something that brings a smile to my face every time I’ve thought about it since.

The man’s club recently lost a county final and my friend had his own ideas about where it all went wrong. After outlining his views, he said: “You know, the whole craic around the town is we lost because we went out too early. That’s it. That is the official explanation. We went out too early.”

While he grimaced and shook his head, I laughed. It’s been a long time since I heard that line being proffered as the reason for a defeat. Apart from humouring me, the story lifted my spirits.