READ THE REID, DONEGAL DEMOCRAT (Last weeks article) Have you ever been called “stupid”? I believe that most people of my generation were called “stupid” if we weren’t clever at school. Things have changed a lot since then because no one is deemed stupid and if they are, it is politically incorrect. The last time I was called “stupid” was by a Dublin man. It is a derogatory term and has so many demeaning connotations. I accepted the remark in good jest because I knew that this gentleman was new to Donegal and was yet unaware of the workings of cute culchies. I’ll tell you how stupid I was. This man had me tortured with incessant phone calls. I deactivated my voicemail so that he couldn’t leave messages. I met him in person a few weeks later. He told me I was stupid because I didn’t know how to work my voicemail on my phone. Little did he know! In his eyes I was uncultured, thick and lacking intelligence. This is a generalised perception that the urbanised Dublin population have of people who do not come from our capital city. Most of these people have never been to O’Connell Street never mind to a rural county like Donegal. And those who have visited culchie land and even settled here will tell you how hospitable we are and that we are not at all stupid. The Dublin supporters that you will encounter in Croke Park this Sunday will be made up of city slickers who hold this superiority complex that is also so evident in the team that they will be supporting. The Dublin fans will have to travel no more than an hour to get to Croke Park. The Dublin players have everything stacked in their favour. Our supporters will leave early on Sunday morning or will travel the night before to enjoy the pre match atmosphere. They will either be staying with friend or family who have been forced to work in the metropolis because the Celtic Tiger never reached Donegal. Most though will stay in hotels where they will have to fork out inflated costs thus boosting the Dublin economy. Still, we don’t mind. It is a big day out for us! Dublin is outstanding favourites because they have hammered every team they have played in the championship so far. Their players are pampered like no other team. They have the luxury of playing on their home pitch. Their sponsorship deals far outweigh any other in the country. They do not have far to travel for collective training. Their advantages are numerous. The most crucial factor though lies in their belief that they are unbeatable. Maybe they are. They have many quality players and have strength in depth. On the day, Donegal has to get their game plan technically right. The danger for Dublin always has been their ability to believe their own hype. No team is invincible. I believe that the pressure that the media has put on Dublin could be their downfall. What will happen if Donegal upset their game plan and they become disjointed and frustrated? They have danced and pranced their way to the All-Ireland semi-final and they are there on merit. I outlined the teams that they have beaten so far and I will again as a stark reminder; Laois, Wexford, Meath, Monaghan. Do any of these teams jump out at you and scare you? Have any of these teams won an All-Ireland title in recent years? Meath won their last All-Ireland title 15 years ago when our own Darrach Jigger O’Connor was at play school. Given Donegal’s thumping against Mayo last year, it is easy to forget that we were All-Ireland champions in 2012. Those same players are still here, hungrier than ever. We have been dismissed by many of our own followers never mind the rest of the country. There never has been a more successful manager than Jim McGuinness in the history of Donegal football. His record speaks for itself. By the way, I tried to contact him for a comment to include in this week’s column but he has his voicemail deactivated. Stupid or what? Yes he’s as stupid as a fox. Don’t you think that McGuinness and Co. have something up their sleeves for this game? You can bet on it. I am not a betting person and don’t really understand odds (because I’m stupid) but I understand that most bookies have Donegal installed at 7/1 to win this game whereas Dublin is there at 1/10. For those people who are as stupid as I am, it means if you bet one euro on Donegal you will get seven back plus the one you bet. You need to place ten euro on Dublin to get one back plus the ten of course. This is unrealistic odds to state the least. You may deduce from what I have written this week that I dislike Dublin, Dublin people and Dublin football. The only time that I enjoy travelling to Dublin is always football related. I do not dislike Dublin people at all, it’s merely the arrogant attitude that predominantly prevails in relation to culchies. As for Dublin football, I admire how they have added life and atmosphere to our national game. Every county in Ireland loves going to Croke Park to play them and more importantly beat them. It’s as simple as that. Roll on Sunday and in the meantime keep the faith!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 12:09:11 +0000
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