All Ireland senior football final 2012 Donegal v Mayo

[RMDrive]

Get a grip lads, talking about home comings. Jez, ye are in for a big land thinking like that. Lets enjoy the lead up to the game. Two humble counties, badly hit by emigration. The next couple of weeks will be a lift to people home and away. There is alot of inter-marraiges between the counties and there are similar demographics.

Getting home is the easy part. Having something to bring home ....
There's a huge connection between Mayo and Donegal. Look at the names in north Mayo ... O'Donnell, Doherty ... and I'm sure vice versa. Also very similar people - fishing  and sea-faring background, gaeltach areas .... Please god we'll get the win but if not there's no other county I'd rather win it that Mayo.

[From the Bunker]

To be fair to Brolly (and when he is ridiculing your county on National TV it hard to!). All the points he made were relevant. Mayo Collapsed in the last 15 minutes. Mayo always have one big game and collapse in finals. Donegal will rather meet us in the final and will be licking their lips. Jim McGuiness will look at the last 15 minutes and have a plan.
Of course it's easy analysis, because we have not recently won the Silver Cup and until we do we are cannon fodder. If we had one Sam in the last 20 years, we would be praised how we closed the game out from a tight situation.
Joe naturally was dismissive of Mayo and was more interested in the 'Things' Callum Best had seen in his Life! 

Not to sound cocky but this is a real chance for Mayo. Donegal are good. But they have not won Sam in 20 years. Their players have no knowledge or experience of AI final day. The Hype in Donegal is Mad at the moment and will get even madder as the days go by. Players are household names. Everybody expects Donegal to win. Most are talking of it being just a matter of turning up. This can get into young lads heads.

Meanwhile here in Mayo, there are dribs and drabs of flags in front gardens. The days of Hype seem to have diminished with all the AI appearances and no Sam. So far no pictures of Horan holding babies on Facebook pages and giving feck all insightful interviews. There is no stand out Mayo player for the media ala Mortimer or McDonald. The media have us written off and I'd say there were a few pissed off journalist who had drafts for a Donegal/Dublin final pre-written this week ready for publication. Despite beating the Dubs, the result is seem more as Dublin being stale and blowing it, and Mayo falling over the line. There is no Kerry in the final either and no matter how good Donegal are they don't have the aura the Kingdom have (for us). Don't get me wrong we respect Donegal, but they have had a soft centre in the past too and who knows it just might reappear on the big stage.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Finals are for club mafiosa and their families - many who couldn t be arse going to earlier rounds.

And neutrals who want to be there and then complain when Mayo don t give them value for money

Whatever about the club mafiosa etc it is an interesting point about who deserves tickets. The Mayo fan who has been to most of their championship games but isn't involved with a club or the U-12 coach who has been out with the kids every Saturday morning for the summer at the local pitch but can't go to games because of a young family etc. All things being equal it is the club man who wins in my book. But it is ridiculous how many tickets go to other counties who are not competing.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Does anyone know if SuperValu are selling tickets for the final?

Not for finals I'm afraid.

Is Champ15 a Donegal lad, not used to finals are they 

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

To be fair to Brolly (and when he is ridiculing your county on National TV it hard to!). All the points he made were relevant. Mayo Collapsed in the last 15 minutes. Mayo always have one big game and collapse in finals. Donegal will rather meet us in the final and will be licking their lips. Jim McGuiness will look at the last 15 minutes and have a plan.
Of course it's easy analysis, because we have not recently won the Silver Cup and until we do we are cannon fodder. If we had one Sam in the last 20 years, we would be praised how we closed the game out from a tight situation.
Joe naturally was dismissive of Mayo and was more interested in the 'Things' Callum Best had seen in his Life! 

Not to sound cocky but this is a real chance for Mayo. Donegal are good. But they have not won Sam in 20 years. Their players have no knowledge or experience of AI final day. The Hype in Donegal is Mad at the moment and will get even madder as the days go by. Players are household names. Everybody expects Donegal to win. Most are talking of it being just a matter of turning up. This can get into young lads heads.

Meanwhile here in Mayo, there are dribs and drabs of flags in front gardens. The days of Hype seem to have diminished with all the AI appearances and no Sam. So far no pictures of Horan holding babies on Facebook pages and giving feck all insightful interviews. There is no stand out Mayo player for the media ala Mortimer or McDonald. The media have us written off and I'd say there were a few pissed off journalist who had drafts for a Donegal/Dublin final pre-written this week ready for publication. Despite beating the Dubs, the result is seem more as Dublin being stale and blowing it, and Mayo falling over the line. There is no Kerry in the final either and no matter how good Donegal are they don't have the aura the Kingdom have (for us). Don't get me wrong we respect Donegal, but they have had a soft centre in the past too and who knows it just might reappear on the big stage.

Nail on the head Bunker, Mayo is immune to the hype now, despite the singing at the end (Which we do anyways coz Mayo people love Mayo and love football who wouldn't love both), there was alot of wry smilles afterwards as in sure its only a Final, no point getting excited we won nothing yet. Donegal people don't get to finals (bar one) they probably blowing their loads by the bucket. They are in hype overdrive, sure I went up last week (home for a week and the Mayo game) and filled them with a load of shite on how they were the best team ever and had Sam in the bag, the lads were almost getting wetter than the women. Build that rock up lads, so they can smash themselves off it. If Mayo lose it will be because we were bet by a better team, Donegal have to contend with the hype machine.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Finals are for club mafiosa and their families - many who couldn t be arse going to earlier rounds.

And neutrals who want to be there and then complain when Mayo don t give them value for money

Whatever about the club mafiosa etc it is an interesting point about who deserves tickets. The Mayo fan who has been to most of their championship games but isn't involved with a club or the U-12 coach who has been out with the kids every Saturday morning for the summer at the local pitch but can't go to games because of a young family etc. All things being equal it is the club man who wins in my book. But it is ridiculous how many tickets go to other counties who are not competing.

What about the man, who played underage up to minors at club level, then went to every Championship game and club game for years, then got back playing club in Dublin but only made matches when the club not playing, then switched back to Mayo Championship and League matches and some Dublin and some Mayo club matches, then went to club games in Aus and went to the pub to watch Mayo, then every championship and league match and most FBD and some challenge game, then back playing club in England, then random flying home for some matches. Do I deserve a ticket, not sure, I have done everytype of GAA fan at this stage of course all the while going to random county club matches, interpros, etc. I don't think any person really deserves it more than the next. Its very hard under the systems in place to judge how much a man or woman deserves to go to the Final, does a GAA fan from Kilkenny, London, Melbourne or Waterford deserve a football ticket, or a Mayo, Armagh, European clubman, Cavan fan deserve a hurling ticket!

[cadence]

i suppose having been beat in a few big ones the mayo psyche needs to find some omens to ease the anxiety and donegal's simpleminded positivity needs taking down a peg or two by the more world-weary mayo sophisticates?

both sides have plenty hurt stored in the locker, plenty fuel to burn and they'll be as prepped as they can be. and the ball will be thrown in and we'll see what happens then, same as always.

[rrhf]

Reading some of the comments on here, competing supporters are deeply miserable as opposed to excited. Fear of losing means many won't watch the game.  We need more joy lads

[Sam2011]

September 23 1951- Mayo won Sam
September 23 2012-???

Is it a sign?

rrhf- I think its fair to say that we are all excited and delighted to be in the final. It just that in the past we've experienced the real high scale hype and now it would be nice just to sit back and enjoy the next three weeks without all of the hype we've had in the recent finals gone by.

[LeoMc]

Does anyone know if SuperValu are selling tickets for the final?

Not for finals I'm afraid.

Is Champ15 a Donegal lad, not used to finals are they 

One of your own, musta missed the hype around the last few.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

September 23 1951- Mayo won Sam
September 23 2012-???

Is it a sign?

Yes. It's a sign that the 4th Sundays in September in both 1951 and 2012 fell on the 23rd.

[seafoid]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0904/1224323575384.html

"Mayo have scored 7-69 in four games. Without Andy we got 0-19 at the weekend and he was an immense loss. If in the past we had lost Ciarán McDonald or Liam McHale before a big match it would have been very hard to recover. Kieran Shannon, the sports psychologist, has done great work, as has Cian O'Neill, who's proved a winner.
"They've banished the ghosts of the past and there's a hardness and steel I haven't seen before.

[blanketattack]

Will the winning supporters try and make it onto the pitch???

[Tubberman]

Will the winning supporters try and make it onto the pitch???

Winning the match is the main thing. If we have to stay in the stands to watch the presentation, that's fine by me!

[RedandGreenSniper]

Finals are for club mafiosa and their families - many who couldn t be arse going to earlier rounds.

And neutrals who want to be there and then complain when Mayo don t give them value for money

Whatever about the club mafiosa etc it is an interesting point about who deserves tickets. The Mayo fan who has been to most of their championship games but isn't involved with a club or the U-12 coach who has been out with the kids every Saturday morning for the summer at the local pitch but can't go to games because of a young family etc. All things being equal it is the club man who wins in my book. But it is ridiculous how many tickets go to other counties who are not competing.

What about the man, who played underage up to minors at club level, then went to every Championship game and club game for years, then got back playing club in Dublin but only made matches when the club not playing, then switched back to Mayo Championship and League matches and some Dublin and some Mayo club matches, then went to club games in Aus and went to the pub to watch Mayo, then every championship and league match and most FBD and some challenge game, then back playing club in England, then random flying home for some matches. Do I deserve a ticket, not sure, I have done everytype of GAA fan at this stage of course all the while going to random county club matches, interpros, etc. I don't think any person really deserves it more than the next. Its very hard under the systems in place to judge how much a man or woman deserves to go to the Final, does a GAA fan from Kilkenny, London, Melbourne or Waterford deserve a football ticket, or a Mayo, Armagh, European clubman, Cavan fan deserve a hurling ticket!

Yes, you martyr, you deserve a final ticket, obviously. Where some of the tickets go does frighten me.