Cats to put Dubs in the shade

THIS time last year, I swore I’d never again go to a Kilkenny-Wexford Leinster final in Croke Park.

Thankfully we have a new pairing tomorrow — Kilkenny and Dublin! — however, it’s still on in Croke Park, far too big a stadium. It should be played in somewhere like Tullamore, where the atmosphere for the Kilkenny/Galway semi-final was fantastic, the facilities top-notch; or in Portlaoise, which would have been central to both counties.

It’s not that I want to deny either Kilkenny or Dublin their day at headquarters, just that I think it would have far more of a provincial final feel about it if it was played at a provincial venue. Additionally, I think you’d have had a lot more neutrals at the game, which — funnily enough, seeing as the game is being played in Dublin — would have benefited the Dubs, as most of those neutrals would probably have been shouting for the underdogs.