Liam Sheedy: We just can’t presume that Tipperary people will always talk hurling

Discussion in the Premier county is downbeat and the popular prediction is that our record of a senior All-Ireland win in every decade is about to end.

MAN IN THE ARENA: Tipperary manager Liam Cahill arrives before Munster clash with Clare at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

There is a tendency in life to reach for extremes, to paint a picture close to rock bottom when things are not going well. And equally to presume that good times, when they come, will roll for all eternity. With Tipp hurling, those tendencies go into overdrive.

The reality is Tipp people were facing up to a period of transition, as a cluster of our greatest ever players neared the end. But I guess not many expected transition to look like this. One point from four games and -36 scoring difference. Just 12 months earlier we headed into the final round robin match seemingly destined for a Munster final after three really strong performances. But since that loss to Waterford, the trajectory has plunged in the wrong direction.