Larry Ryan: Hype up Kiely, trusted Gilesy, Clifford can do no wrong
HYPE UP: Manager John Kiely poses for a portrait at a Limerick media conference at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
It’s hard to know if the survey was accurate or exhaustive, but word is reaching us that there hasn’t been a single sheep painted green in Limerick this year. There are reports of a singing teddy bear in Garryowen alright, and some decorated silage bales. But that’s entry-level stuff. It is quiet enough too in Kilkenny, by all accounts. Maybe hype is officially dead.
Of course, it is a fundamental part of the buildup to all sporting events now, a concern that there is not enough excitement. It has been said of the Women’s World Cup too, that there is not enough fanfare, not enough bunting. That the nation has not slowed sufficiently to a standstill. There is consensus that the All-Ireland hurling final has just crept up on us, that you’d hardly know it was on. But then you hardly knew the Champions League final was on until it was nearly half-time.
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