Time to Go Psycho

26th Jun 2012

We were upbeat at half time at the Blackrock End on Sunday afternoon as the sun peeped out from behind the clouds over the Marquee and lit up Pairc Uí Chaoimh while Superfan Cyril and the boys banged out rhythms below us to accompany the half-time analysis.    

Two points up, motoring well with some neat direct hurling and the fear of conceding a murderous amount of scores in the first twenty minutes like the league final had abated.  Break out the sandwiches and tae there bubbila.

Maybe it's time for legend JBM to introduce his players to the Looneys

As is often the case in Gaelic games, the sending off of John O’Brien seemed to benefit Tipp more than fifteen man Cork: memories of a similar day against Waterford when Sully was left to be the unmarked Corkman - yet we still lost. The second half goal was the killer.

Despite the extra defender at the Blackrock End there seemed to be some confusion among the Cork backs about who was doing what culminating in Shane O’Neill’s unusual lapse in concentration as he seemed to freeze instead of sprinting with his man for a loose ball behind him.

Afterwards as we quenched our thirst in the sun back in town, the conclusion was that while we have a great bunch of level headed skilful players perhaps we need one or two players to play the role of team psychopath every now and then.

You know the type: the man possessed by a demon, terrified of failure, driven by nothing except winning. And let’s everybody know about it.

Nashy did fine in so far as we have decided to put a 'y' at the end of his name.

In the almost-professional era of 21^st century Gaelic games they are a rare breed but easy to spot: the pumped up wing back who wins a free out and celebrates like he has scored a goal by roaring and throwing his hands up. The midfielder who gets creamed by a Kerry knee in the back but gets up and punches the air because he has won a small advantage in a game of inches.

Other players feed off his apparent dementedness and mania keeping their performance tempo and intensity at boiling point for long periods especially when the opposition are in a purple patch. It also encourages supporters to get more vocal en masse and that in turn feeds back to their heroes on the field who might be experiencing fatigue or doubt at that moment.

Ah yes, 2012...I remember that I went straight for his throat at the throw in

On Sunday towards the end of the game the Cork crowd were occasionally out-voiced by chants of Tipp! Tipp! Their supporters were reacting to all the small but significant advantages won by their players – usually frees. The players that won the advantage reacted in a way that inspired the Tipp crowd who then inspired the other Tipp players when they might have felt the task of beating a Cork, clearly recovered from the league final defeat, was becoming too much.

What we needed was a big visible display of Rebel defiance from one of our players, especially in the backline – a player seen roaring on others would have been joined by a chorus of 20,000 odd in red.

Niall Mac regularly fills this role and but for his unfortunate injury maybe the attitude that helped him win a senior county medal would have kicked Cork on when Tipp worked their way back into the game after Cork rebounded post- Tipp goal.

Niall Mac: mental - in a good way

Despite being ahead by double figures against Dublin on Saturday night, seeing players like Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrell celebrating a free out like he had just won the All-Ireland is startling (to the point where you want to say ‘ah cmere listen fella tiz only a game like’) but it also sends a deliberate message to opposition players: I’m not just going to beat you up here, I’m going to murder you, mutilate you, eat you and roar with delight as I enjoy swallow every morsel of you with absolutely no remorse.

It often has a very visible effect on an opposition teetering on the precipice of doubt especially in the final fifteen minutes.

"I WANT TO KNOW WHO ORDERED THESE FUCKIN' RIDICULOUS PANTS?!"

JBM and his management team have calm cool heads and the Cork legend’s style is thankfully anathema to that of Clare bainisteoir and pitchside madman Davy Fitz. While no Rebel wants to see or hear the toe-curling potty-mouthed tirades of Mr. Fitz perhaps giving license to Cork players to show a little inspirational dementedness at key points in the game might be another useful  card to add to JBM’s pack.

Ah lads, get a room!

This Cork team will destroy Offaly in two weeks time, have no doubt about that. But in doing so they should not be afraid to just beat Offaly but to eat them alive like men demented.  When it comes to murdering bigger teams later this summer we want Cork to found guilty but insane.

Rebels Abu!