10 Reasons to Worship the Munster Championship

20th May 2014

Cork and Waterford play in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship quarterfinal this Sunday here are the PROC’s top ten reasons to look forward to the trip to Tipp:

1. The Hurling
Some bookies have Cork in sixth place in the betting for Liam McCarthy which will greatly please Jimmy Barry Murphy – expectations are low and that’s when Cork are at their most dangerous. After all, losers of All-Ireland finals tend to drift away in the following season don’t they? Sure, just like we did after we lost in 2003!
 

Harnedy: just after doing something brilliant

2. Semple Superstitions
Without flasks of tae, hang sangidges and digestive biscuits it just ain’t a real GAA day-out and your failure to uphold tradition could affect Cork’s chances on the field. Like, remember the time you put relish on your ham in 1998 and Cork lost? Or the time you had a take-away coffee from a filling station instead of proper tae from a flask on the side of the road in Thurles and it caused the strike? Get it right, Rebel.

3. Where’ll We Put The Car?
Ah, the trip north wouldn’t be the same without the parking dilemma banter. So, should you dump it two and a half miles outside the town on a soggy embankment and concede to a long walk? Try one of the car parks in the town that’s murder to get out of afterwards? Or go for the ‘super-hungover’ late-as-hell option with your acting skills and fake Thurles accent to fool a Guard into believing you’re a local so you can park under the stand?
 

The Divil has retired but his demons still persist

4. Banter in the Square
Against the Deise the banter is always easy for Cork fans. No matter what kind of ball hops and insults the Waterford crowd fire out there’s always just one reply: ‘BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE 1959 LADS!’. BTW Murphy's will be turning on their When it Rains It Pours app regularly through out the summer for Cork matches so you can bag a free pint in town when you get back (thus encouraging you to get back to Leeside quickly!). 

5. The Parade
No sport can compare with hurling and football for pre-match drama. The hype-building tradition where teams parade around the field behind a band whips the crowd up into a crazed frenzy where the collective pre-match anxiety is released as incoherent but deafeningly loud noise - like caged wild animals about to be fed. RAARRRR!
 

Sure, wouldja look at dah

6. The Craic
Amid all the furrowed-brow seriousness at championship matches there will always be quality craic on the terraces. Whether it’s laughing at the shouty hurler-on-the-ditch crank who hasn’t had a good word to say about any Cork player since 1963 or the jester up the back who keeps telling the opposition goalkeeper that there’s an urgent phone call for him there’ll always be plenty of entertainment to break the tension. 
 

The Deise score a point in last year's championship

7. Seeing is Believing
Picture the scene: with three minutes to go in a tense and tight game a Cork player dispossesses an opponent and pulls off a huge match-turning score into the Town End. A boiling sea of red, erupts into a deafening chorus of “Rebels! Rebels!”– if Cork is our God then this is the church where we’ve come to worship where doubters are converted and players become angels. Where men like JBM become demi-Gods, channelling our novenas into green and white flags.  Alleluia brothaz and sistaz!
 

Let us all stand now  for the gospel acclamation...

8. Second Comings
Today’s smallies may find it hard to believe that in days gone by if you lost your first championship game in June that was the last outing until next year. While we all want to make sure we put Wah’fud back in their box on Sunday, and no doubt JBM will be seeking to win Munster, it is a nice comfort to know that no matter what happens after 4pm, there’ll still be another day.  

9. Boots on the Ground
Philosophical bit: in an era where the globalisation of big-money sporting franchises and relentless media hype has stolen gate receipts from many stadia in Ireland, the Munster championship restores your faith in the human race. No matter how much TV adverts might tempt us to watch from the couch it is spine-tingling to see how many Cork fans will come out and support their county in the flesh.  
 

The winners on Sunday meet Crazy Davy's All Ireland champions on June 15th

10. Winning
All Cork fans really love beating Waterford - especially in Thurles. Even though the likes of John Mullane,  Davy Fitz and other love-to-hate figures have moved on from the Deise, that county’s unjustified cockiness really makes beating them extra special. The ubiquitous good mood infused in every Rebel by a championship win makes the long journey home a joy. The rest of the evening will revolve around the grand indulgence of The Sunday Game which allows you to spend the evening shaking your head and laughing to yourself at how much more brilliant this county is than you had previously thought.

Roll on Sunday. H’on the Rebels!