Larry Ryan: Blowing full-time on the summer of perspective

CHILLED ON THE WATER: Paul O’Donovan’s grasp of the bigger picture is one of the features of this Games, where winning is great and all but the human endeavour is more important than the achievement.

It is, as they say, Paul O’Donovan’s world now and we’re all just living in it.

You knew instantly it would be influential, Paul’s idea that the excitement around the lads’ gold medal was largely down to them being “born early in the history of time”.

That if we were to reconvene in, say, a million years, it would be less of a big deal because Ireland would surely have accumulated a good few golds in the meantime, rather than just the 10.

And sure enough, didn’t we hear Jed Mercurio, the man behind Line of Duty, coming at things from a similar direction during the week, in deflecting praise for writing the most watched TV drama of the 21st century. “Yes, well, it’s fair to say we’re only 21 years into the century. So I don’t know if that’s necessarily such a great accolade.”

They’re all seeing the big picture now and their own small place in it. It looks like the Skibbereen theory of relativity has given the great and good a healthy dose of perspective.

And it surely takes the pressure off, this sense that everyone’s time will come if we wait long enough.

They liked it a lot on the BBC, Paul’s other great line about how it sounded, being an Olympic gold-medal winner. “I wouldn’t go around introducing myself like that though,” he told them.

It is still hard to imagine anyone else introducing Paul without mentioning the bit of rowing he does. But it set an early marker in a summer where most people have made more of an effort than usual to introduce themselves to the human rather than just the athlete.

Of course conditions were right for all this perspective. We were softened up before the Olympics kicked off at all, particularly in this neck of the woods. Among all those who watched the final of the Euros go the way they wanted, who was able to get any good out of it, considering the grief the penalty fallguys endured?

And then, the Games were barely underway when a star name advertised how easily superhuman brilliance and human fragility can live side by side.

If we reconvene in a million years Simone Biles might still be a big deal. In Tokyo, she reminded us there are more important things than medals and pushing boundaries. Yet still used her mask as a blindfold while wracked with nerves cheering on her USA teammates — a scene that captured perfectly both the scale and insignificance of what we were all watching.

Biles, by and large, set the tone for how everyone else’s setbacks have been covered. There has been little enough recrimination when things don’t go to plan. Mainly recognition that a life’s work has been invested, but appreciation that a life isn’t being defined.

The only pity being that Natalya Coyle’s rogue mount Constantin seemed a little bit too philosophical during the pentathlon.

Maybe this more understanding environment has ensured the likes of Tom Daley is comfortable enough to be himself, and come out as a knitter. And it felt important how George Hamilton was entirely himself as O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy closed in on that famous gold.

Bitter experience has seen George noticeably dial down the chicken counting on international football duty but there he was, calling his first ever Irish gold, and calling it from nearly 250m out, comfortable that he couldn’t knock fate off its course. And a nation somehow breathed evenly, not fearing a ‘danger here’ and a surge from the German boat.

With a second gold on the table Sunday morning, we seem to be happy enough too to take Kellie Harrington at her word — that it will be what it will be.

So is there any chance this Games could change fundamentally how we watch sport? Could see us chill out a little?

It’s true that, while all this has been going on, Rassie and Gats and co seem to have misplaced all sense of perspective. So completely has Rassie abandoned any notions about ‘rugby values’, you’d nearly expect him to start up a chat in a pub while one of the 10s is moving through his kicking routine. 

But maybe perspective has leaked into GAA. Counties seem to be departing the championship quietly without too much rancour. There’s not even the usual edge to a Tipp inquest, even the referee escaping the worst of the recrimination. (Though as we’ve noted, the wider world generally manages a healthy dose of philosophical perspective when phantom penalties are awarded against Tipp.)

And might Paul O’Donovan’s grasp of the bigger picture have relaxed them, generally, on Leeside ahead of the big one on Sunday? They seem content enough that the good times will be rolling around again soon, even if it’s not this year. As if recent underage joy has reassured them that when we check again in a million years, the Rebels should have at least a few more Liam MacCarthys annexed.

Of course there are much bigger tests to come, for any newfound phlegmatism around sport.

Namely, the looming return of the Premier League.

Indeed, we probably saw a ceremonial final whistle blown on the summer of perspective with word, Thursday night, that Messi would be leaving Barcelona.

That triggered an outpouring of hysteria in Catalonia, naturally, but beyond too, as minds focus on the work needed over the next week. On the warchests yet to splashed.

Try telling Newcastle fans they’ve just been born early in the history of time. At places like Arsenal, where they can’t really be sure of another title, no matter how many million years they wait, there won’t be much in the way of human understanding for two or three precious points dropped on the opening weekend.

Fans are on edge and players are on strike and we saw Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow address his people solemnly about the departure of Jack Grealish, as if they were preparing for war.

We knew peacetime was over.