Neil Ewing: Still a tasty breakfast but Gaelic football now more pancake than full Irish

As our preferences have evolved, so too has the game.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: As our taste buds have evolved so have the cafe menus. Like Gaelic football, the full Irish is still there, however. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Gaelic football now reflects our breakfast choices. For decades the cafes around north Dublin served a full Irish to every excited diner on the morning of the All-Ireland final. We still love it - its basic brilliance and guaranteed satisfaction will always excite us. Egg, sausage, bacon. Distinct items, each with unique strengths and each cooked separately from each other in a chaotic cauldron of a pan excitedly spitting oil in all directions.

The egg and the defender - a sticky yolk, but requiring an element of whiter than white. The sausage and the midfielder, meaty, their quality will go a long way to defining the outcome. The bacon and forwards, streaky but when good always the highlight that leaves us wanting more.