Strange times indeed as the sliotar goes Stateside

BEFORE I tell ye the startling truth that countless millions of American sports lovers were riveted to their TV screens a few hours ago by a unique display of hurling by hardy American soldiers, can I say there are already signs the sporting year we have just begun will be a memorable one on many fronts.

Given the strange event early this morning and others which I am about to mention, this could be the year Leitrim will win Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy will move to Dublin.

These are strange times indeed.

Bearing in mind some of you reading this are still nearly as sick as parrots from the rich sporting diet of the season just ending, can I point out ye are still feeling better than thousands of a species of Australian parrot called the lorikeet. They are suffering from a mass hangover which is expected to last for months!

Nobody knows why because these beautiful parrots — blue heads, red wings, green bodies — normally feast only on nectar and pollen.

It is now believed to be connected to the loss of the Ashes, but they are all very drunk, reeling around on the ground rather than flying in their normally huge noisy flocks high overhead.

And, at the same time, in hunting-crazy Arkansas in the US, the hills were filled on New Year’s Eve with scores of hungry hunters and fowlers.

That did not happen to them, especially around a town called Beebe?

They had to run for cover when they began to suffer from an aerial bombardment of thousands of dead blackbirds!

These blackbirds are larger than ours and are equipped with powerful red wings.

And they were all dead! Again nobody knows why. One school of thought is that a huge migrating flock of them were struck by lightning at a high altitude as storm clouds gathered over Arkansas.

The matter is being actively investigated. These are strange times indeed.

Today, across America, the matter of the falling blackbirds is likely to be vying as the top saloon story with talk of the mighty display of hurling’s most famous club team of the moment, The Barley House Wolves from New Hampshire.

The Wolves are all serving soldiers in the US forces, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a documentary about their love for the game and their history was aired on prime cable TV into over 30 million homes early this very morning.

It was entitled “Two Fields, One Team” and, for sure, our ancient game never had a larger international audience.

The documentary was crafted by the official Pentagon channel, which reaches serving soldiers all over the world, and from tomorrow you can view it yourself on www.pentagonchannel.mil. The documentary was part of the regular RECON programme and I’m not making up this story no more than I’m inventing the yarns about the dead blackbirds and the drunk parrots. For these are strange times indeed.

The hurling yarn begins back in Shannon Airport five years ago when a large contingent of US soldiers bound for the battlefields from Concord New Hampshire first saw hurling on a TV screen in the airport lounges. (I wonder what game it was?).

They were so fascinated by what they saw when they returned home, they launched The Wolves, plunged themselves into the subculture of hurling with the encouragement of their officers, and now trade with considerable success at junior level on the American hurling scene.

The Wolves have a panel of nearly 200 enthusiasts, few of them with Irish blood, and even managed to secure a coaching session from Cork 2010 captain Kieran Murphy as they sought to enhance their skills.

And hurling is spreading like wildfire amongst their ranks. Strange times indeed.

Croke Park, which should have converted hurling into an international attraction many years ago anyway, must be over the moon today at the development. One hopes they will support The Wolves in every way possible in the future.

I have often said here that if I were a Chilean or a Mexican or a citizen of any other country that loves sport, and I saw a televised game of hurling in some airport, that I would be totally captivated forever too.

And, for certain, the hurling Wolves from New Hampshire have to be providing infinitely superior fare nowadays than the better-known Wolves lying at the bottom of the Premier League across the water! Strange times indeed on the sidelines of the sporting action of this freshly minted season. Anything could happen and probably will.

When blackbirds with red wings begin tumbling out of the clouds, and when parrots are out of their skulls, then Longford might win the Leinster football title, Antrim’s hurlers might humiliate The Cats, fishes might fly, forests might walk, and Carlow could be a good bet for Sam Maguire.

Happy New Year.