Time for Tipp hurlers to forge new identity

If the All-Ireland hurling championship was more like the Premier League (which, let’s face it, it increasingly is), and you could pick which team to follow rather than adhere to county boundaries, I like to think I’d still pick Tipp, says Eimear Ryan.

The peripheral elements of supporting Tipp are all top-notch: Great tradition, colours that look good together on a headband, gorgeous stadium, and arguably the country’s most succinct terrace chant (‘Tipp! Tipp! Tipp!’). As for the hurling itself, Tipp are an entertaining and curiously rewarding team to follow — even long periods of frustration have just enough flashes of brilliance scattered throughout to keep us enthralled.

We’re lucky, too, to have a smattering of success every so often to keep us going, but never so much that we lose the run of ourselves. Consistency is a work in progress.