Dublin v Mayo 2020 All-Ireland final

[Tubberman]

It's getting dangerously close to a lot of people just not caring anymore.

[From the Bunker]

Thoughts on All Ireland Final
1. Dublin love to be challenged. They have so few opportunities to be involved in a real battle and when one comes along that's when they come alive.  Dublin are bored, yesterday was a stroll in the Park in 3rd gear
2. Well done to Mayo for being one of the few counties that can provide that challenge. They went for it......in doing so they won the kick out battle for a long time They were still beaten by a team in 3rd gear
3. The first goal should never happen. How can an all ireland final team concede that? Mayo never lost composure though and came right back into it. The goal was pre-planned. Dublin knew O'Se would be at midfield for throw-in. Once McCarthy won the ball, O'Se with no pace was left for dust.
4. I noticed the embraces Farrell had with McMahon Kevin Mac MDMC etc. They were long and heartfelt. No bitterness seemed to be present and that takes a lot from both parties. Dublin do seem to have a very special bond, again this comes across in interviews. It's not all about money. Wi ning brings a team closer together. Can see them all back in 2021 Those Lads have so many medals from when they were starters a few years ago, that they are just glad to be part of the panel at this stage. Why would they have any bitterness?
5. Mayo could take a lot from this game and this year. They had several new players who now know what is required and then fitness levels they have to get to. Mayo will have learned that they were comprehensively beaten by a team in 3rd gear. There are traces of positives to take from the game. But in the scheme of things Mayo are Millions of Euros away from Dublin.
6. Other counties need to go after dublin like mayo did. Get 20/22 players to the level required. Can see Kerry Donegal Tyrone possibly Galway getting close in 2021. What counties? Donegal who lost to an average Cavan, Kerry who lost to a shite Cork team. Where are these counties going to get the time and more importantly the money?

[dublin7]

It's getting dangerously close to a lot of people just not caring anymore.

I'm sure footballers in Sligo, Waterford, Limerick for example would be encouraged to train even harder next year if Dublin were to be split in two....

Their odds of winning the All Ireland would plummet and generate huge interest in these counties

[rodney trotter]

Will Cluxton play into his 40s? ala Buffon at Juventus.
It was important for Dessie Farrell that he played on this year as captain and organiser of the defence.
It would probaly be a time for Comerford to step in next year to get experience, but if Cluxton is still performing hard to drop him.

[dublin7]

Thoughts on All Ireland Final
1. Dublin love to be challenged. They have so few opportunities to be involved in a real battle and when one comes along that's when they come alive.  Dublin are bored, yesterday was a stroll in the Park in 3rd gear
2. Well done to Mayo for being one of the few counties that can provide that challenge. They went for it......in doing so they won the kick out battle for a long time They were still beaten by a team in 3rd gear
3. The first goal should never happen. How can an all ireland final team concede that? Mayo never lost composure though and came right back into it. The goal was pre-planned. Dublin knew O'Se would be at midfield for throw-in. Once McCarthy won the ball, O'Se with no pace was left for dust.
4. I noticed the embraces Farrell had with McMahon Kevin Mac MDMC etc. They were long and heartfelt. No bitterness seemed to be present and that takes a lot from both parties. Dublin do seem to have a very special bond, again this comes across in interviews. It's not all about money. Wi ning brings a team closer together. Can see them all back in 2021 Those Lads have so many medals from when they were starters a few years ago, that they are just glad to be part of the panel at this stage. Why would they have any bitterness?
5. Mayo could take a lot from this game and this year. They had several new players who now know what is required and then fitness levels they have to get to. Mayo will have learned that they were comprehensively beaten by a team in 3rd gear. There are traces of positives to take from the game. But in the scheme of things Mayo are Millions of Euros away from Dublin.
6. Other counties need to go after dublin like mayo did. Get 20/22 players to the level required. Can see Kerry Donegal Tyrone possibly Galway getting close in 2021. What counties? Donegal who lost to an average Cavan, Kerry who lost to a shite Cork team. Where are these counties going to get the time and more importantly the money?

Lots of issues for Mayo players/fans there. Imagine having to settle for a Connacht title this year. Players must be asking themselves why they even bother. I bet footballers in their neighbouring county of Sligo will be sympathetic to their plight and consoling them today given all the success they've had in recent years

[Baile Brigín 2]

It's getting dangerously close to a lot of people just not caring anymore.

I'm sure footballers in Sligo, Waterford, Limerick for example would be encouraged to train even harder next year if Dublin were to be split in two....

Their odds of winning the All Ireland would plummet and generate huge interest in these counties

Splitting Dublin in 2 will simply mean a Southside Tigers versus a Fingal Flyers final.

[Rossfan]

It's getting dangerously close to a lot of people just not caring anymore.

.
They don't already about Leinster and the AI is heading the same way.
At least we in Connacht's "big 3" have a Local squabble to get excited about as have 6 /7 Ulster Counties. Hopefully Tipp will make Munster interesting for another couple of years.
Then there the 4 NFL Divisions and the Tailtean  to give some Countues interest.
And Club Championships within all Counties.
The general public however don't pass much heed in Club and NFL.
It was always the race for Sam that got Joe Public interested enough to get out and give the GAA a big Summer payout.

[Lar Naparka]

For the first time ever, I suppose, I was able to watch yesterday's game in a relatively unemotional state.
I was damn sure that Dublin were going to win with the score differential being my main concern. I'm fed up with one point defeats and I didn't want to see our lads being totally embarrassed so I was happy with the margin - five points reflected the difference between the sides- with the proviso that Dublin probably could have stepped up a gear or two if the need arose.
I had thought Mayo were punching above their weight in getting to the final but watching Dublin in action I don't think any other side in the land could have performed better than Mayo did on the day.
Dublin are a magnificent team and watching them was a case of poetry in motion- I saw no stand out displays, some lads were maybe a bit more high profile than others burt all on the field at any time fitted in seamlessly to the overall plan.

Not for the first time I realised that there aren't too many with a philosophic turn of mind on this board, we all can get hot and bothered over the Cause of Dublin's stranglehold on Gaelic Intercounty football but in the general fun we forget to consider the Effect.
Cause and Effect and the meaning of life and all that- the Cause is relatively immaterial whereas the Effect is all important where Dublin's dominance is concerned. It really doesn't matter how they got to where they are nw. It's the length of time they stay there that should concern us and I can't see them going anywhere in the short term.
Dublin certainly cannot be blamed for the unlevel playing field we have. They play the game by the rules and strive for perfection at all times. Every other county would do exactly the same if they got the chance.
IMO, they are as close to it now as anyone could ever be and, unfortunately for the long term good of the game, I can't see any other county ever getting within an asses' roar of it either.

I couldn't help thinking of Con Houlihan's grandfather's spade as I see how effortlessly Dublin can effortlessly shunt great players whose sell by date is approaching and replace them with youngsters who can hit the ground running.
This is the one aspect of Dublin's run of success that sets them apart from Kerry, Kilkenny hurlers or any other team that stood out in their times - all of them were eventually hauled in as they didn't have ready made players of equal stature waiting in the wings when the likes of Shefflin and Sheehy had to call it a day.

Apparently, Con's grandfather pointed at a well-worn spade and said it was the best diggin' implement in the entire county - as good as the day his own grandfather had bought it 90 years ago.
All it had in the meantime were 4 new heads  and 5 new handles but it still was the same as ever!
I wonder if Dublin keeps effortlessly slipping in new back and forwards, heads and handles, will we be talking about the same once-in-a-generation team 40 years from now?

[SouthDublinBro]

when will the fiction around donegal end? every year we're told they're going to do something, every year they fail to do anything. they won't do anything next year either. neither will tyrone and you can forget about galway. kerry might make a final but they won't beat dublin.

All of those other teams you mentioned have won an All Ireland more recently than Mayo. I would fear facing any of them in a final over Mayo.

[Rossfan]

Hounds concern for Sligo is touching.

[seafoid]

A few thoughts:

There may be a few retirements put on hold because of the short season next year. 6 months is a short stint to commit. ANyone who retires will have been told by management to retire.

The GAA are in real trouble. The only survivor out of all this is the Connacht, Munster and Ulster Championships.

The Leinster and AI Championships are effectively dead rubber games.

The organisation (GAA) is hugely controlled by Dublin. Be it financial, administration and media.

Corporate boxes, advertising, newspaper sales, Tv viewership all influence the narrative.

Many not from Dublin chose not to rock the boat for fear of losing out on their handy money.

Des Cahill, Joanne Cantwell supposedly neutral observers have even upped the bias.

Dublin control the debate, just like Dublin control everything else.

I watched they AI final yesterday like I'd watch a mid week game in the premiership with my any team playing. There was no real excitement, anticipation, grief, sadness.

I did not feel bitter/jealous toward the Dublin players, I did not feel sad for the Mayo players. I did not really care.

I have never felt like this about a game involving Mayo in an AI Final. Never!

Of course Covid has had an influence. But things have been changing and yesterday was a continuation of that change toward the AI being a non entity.

When we lost heavily to Kerry in 2004 and 2006. I was despondent, but there was always a light.  There was always a chance. A chance we'd get it together. There is no chance anymore. Anybody thinking otherwise does not have any comprehension of the Gap and what you are up against.

For Dublin Fans this has been a Magical decade . Eight out of ten titles. Kerry in the '70's and '80's won eight out of eleven. At the time of their last win that group were really old men and the lack of integrating new talent seen a famine of 10 years after. In contrast Dublin are about half way with their second group in their dominant decade.

Thanks to the Mayo team for the last decade. I don't know how history can deal with them. History only records the feats of winners and lets face it that group did not win anything. And you cant make anything tangible up to even acknowledge how good they were. Can you?

But then again who cares? it's only football. There are other things in life that will far more define them.

There are far more problems in the championship than Dublin. If Dublin was split tomorrow it would help the likes of Mayo and Kerry, but what difference will it make to the majority of counties like Carlow, Sligo, Leitrim, Clare etc?

Likes of yourself are whining because Mayo can't beat the dubs in an All Ireland final/semi final. Leitrim, Carlow, Clare have to play in a provincial championship every year they have no chance of winning and get hammered most years. At least the second tier championship is a step in the right direction. Until the provincial championships are scrapped and a proper structure is put in place mismatches will continue in all provinces

#gaslighting

Dublin never cared about D4 counties

[J70]

It's getting dangerously close to a lot of people just not caring anymore.

I'm sure footballers in Sligo, Waterford, Limerick for example would be encouraged to train even harder next year if Dublin were to be split in two....

Their odds of winning the All Ireland would plummet and generate huge interest in these counties

His point was clearly about more than the players themselves.

Attendance (once spectators are back) and tv viewing figures are going to decline, if they haven't already started to do so.

Personally, I watched the second half of yesterday's game, and half-watched the last ten minutes. It was boring and inevitable that Mayo were going to lose. I can't imagine even Dublin fans were too engaged in it.

I might watch the final next year if Kerry really get their shit together, but even then the Dubs will still have more than enough to win by five or six points in the end.

Sport needs suspense and romance and possibility. It's gone at the senior AI level, even if it sort of survives at provincial level outside of Leinster.

[WhoDat]

when will the fiction around donegal end? every year we're told they're going to do something, every year they fail to do anything. they won't do anything next year either. neither will tyrone and you can forget about galway. kerry might make a final but they won't beat dublin.

All of those other teams you mentioned have won an All Ireland more recently than Mayo. I would fear facing any of them in a final over Mayo.

donegal would be swatted away by Dublin, so would tyrone. kerry won't do anything either. and i don't believe any dubs who say they'd be worried about playing any of them.

[Milltown Row2]

if donegel were so good they would have beaten cavan and dublin destroyed cavan so there

Your knowledge of football is bate right there. That's like saying Kerry would have been stuffed by Tipp, daft, nearly as daft as your Friday night games!

[J70]

when will the fiction around donegal end? every year we're told they're going to do something, every year they fail to do anything. they won't do anything next year either. neither will tyrone and you can forget about galway. kerry might make a final but they won't beat dublin.

All of those other teams you mentioned have won an All Ireland more recently than Mayo. I would fear facing any of them in a final over Mayo.

Fear what, exactly?

That you might win by less than five points?

Those teams all won their All Irelands before Dublin morphed into the remorseless, efficient, seamless, self-replicating machine that they are now.

Donegal may win another Ulster or two until Michael Murphy retires. Then we're done for a few years, at least. There isn't another Murphy waiting in the wings. Same with the likes of Neil McGee.

Dublin have no such concerns.