In the football world, with the provincials now all concluded, everyone still has a second chance card to play.<\/p>\n
Rarely \u2013 perhaps never \u2013 at this stage of the season have we had so many games, and so little season-ending jeopardy.<\/p>\n
And the ‘J’ word has firmly entered the GAA lexicon over the last few years, although it\u2019s always been lurking quietly ever since the football qualifier system was first introduced in 2001 and the ending of straight knock-out hurling four years before that.<\/p>\n
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\nKilkenny’s season could come to an end this weekend, before the All-Ireland story begins<\/p>\n
Back then, the idea of second chances in the championship turned many-a-stomach and led to some unexpected decision-making.<\/p>\n
In 1998, Offaly lost the Leinster SHC final but took advantage of the backdoor to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. A few weeks later, at congress, the Faithful County submitted a special motion to return to straight knock-out.<\/p>\n
Reaction to the football backdoor in 2001 brought plenty of opposition too.<\/p>\n
Prior to its acceptance at a special congress in 2000 where Galway, who\u2019d win Sam through the backdoor in Year 1, were the only county to oppose, then Leinster chairperson S\u00e9amus Aldridge stated “asking a player does he want a second chance is like asking a child does he want two plates of jelly or one”.<\/p>\n
GAA President Jarlath Burns was a firm proponent of the \u2018jeopardy’ term in a media tour two years ago when selling the current All-Ireland system. Interestingly at that special congress 25 years ago, on behalf of the players\u2019 advisory group, Burns argued hard for the knock-out system to be abolished. It should also be noted, he was the only then current player to show up at the CityWest for the event.<\/p>\n
Detractors aplenty, but the passage of time changes outlooks and second chances are a given now, and technically, during the football group stages of recent seasons, third chances were available too.<\/p>\n
The majority of sides still alive know they will have a while before they have to cash in those low-stack chips. They can ‘check’ for now.<\/p>\n
So, the psyche of how teams approach this weekend\u2019s action will be telling.<\/p>\n
Would an injury-ravaged Cork hurling squad be devastated if they miss out on the Munster final \u2013 and another war with Limerick \u2013 with their eyes undoubtedly focused on the Liam MacCarthy this season?<\/p>\n
And what of Kerry-Donegal? Whatever the outcome, they\u2019ll not be able to meet again until an All-Ireland semi-final at the earliest, so while shadow boxing seems out of the question, maybe the padding won\u2019t be removed from the gloves.<\/p>\n
The weekend past provided two very interesting, somewhat contrasting, quotes on how different managerial teams view the current structures.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s really unusual to play a game in a competition when it doesn’t have a huge bearing on the outcome (of the Leinster final)…while that was really pleasing in a number of ways, it has absolutely no bearing on next weekend and being in a Leinster final or not,” said Dublin hurling boss Niall \u00d3 Ceallach\u00e1in <\/a>after their win in Galway.<\/p>\n
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