All Ireland Football Final (and replay!)

We got back from our holidays just in time to see Mayo play in the All-Ireland Senior Football Final on Sunday 18th September. It's kind of hard to describe what this event (and inter-county Gaelic football in general) is like to non-Irish people. Gaelic footballers are amateur athletes who all have other jobs that they have to go to, yet they have extreme dedication to the sport. Around a third of the Mayo team live and work in Dublin, and they have to commute to Mayo (about a 3 hour journey each way) for team training. The league matches will start in early February, and the championship ends (usually) in mid/late September. The off-season is very short, and add club training and matches on to that, and the off-season is essentially non-existent. They play for the pride of wearing a county jersey. 

This year, Mayo played Dublin in the final. Last year the two teams met in the semi-final, and Mayo was defeated in a replay (the first match was a tie). In 2013, they met in the final, and Dublin won by a point. Dublin were the heavy favourites this year, and it was a bit like David and Goliath. Dublin has a huge population of players to choose from and tremendous resources at their disposal. Mayo were huge underdogs. 

Paul's mom, sister, and nephew came up for the match to stay with Gemma while Paul and I attended the match in Croke Park. The venue holds over 82,000 people, and tickets for the final are always like gold dust. We were lucky to get two! 

There were some crazy events during the match- Dublin got two goals which were own goals (accidentally scored by Mayo players), and in the last minutes, the captain of the Mayo team kicked an equalising point, forcing a replay! 😁

The replay was held this past Saturday, October 1st. This time we were EXTREMELY lucky to get amazing seats right in front of the Mayo bench (the bench sits a few rows back from the pitch). 

The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, after he was introduced to the teams. 

The Sam Maguire Cup- the trophy that the winning team receives. 

Unfortunately, after a tense game, Mayo were defeated by a point. It was heartbreaking. Because we were sitting so close to the players, we saw their extreme disappointment close up. Mayo have come SO CLOSE so many times. The last time they won was 1951, but they've lost 3 finals in the past 5 years, and lost in the semi-finals (after replays both times) the other 2 years. 

Mayo are known for being a resilient team with huge support, so onwards to next year. Mayo for Sam 2017!!! ❤️💚❤️💚