Sir, – I was disappointed to read Darragh Ó Sé's comments about Kerry's All-Ireland win last Sunday, and in particular what he said about the nature of winning ("The middle third", September 24th, 2014).
Having freely admitted that the final “was a terrible game” and that both teams were responsible for that, he then said, “But this is about winning. Get the medal in the drawer and let people sing laments for the game all through the winter”.
I couldn’t disagree more. Of all the counties in the Gaelic football tradition, Kerry have always embraced the philosophy of winning in style, whilst remaining true to the fundamental skills of the game.
This, of course, can’t always be done and I accept that they were short of key players this year and had a relatively modest team on paper. In light of that, their achievement is a magnificent one. However, the tripe served up to us on Sunday does not necessarily bode well for the future of the game and the Ulster-initiated blanket defence system should be rejected out of hand, rather than emulated.
Furthermore, the unwritten commandment of “win at all costs”, so often faithfully followed in professional sports, has no place in our amateur games. With those same games comes a certain tradition. A departure from that tradition is, in my view, a betrayal. – Is mise,
KEVIN HICKEY,
Larchfield Road,
Goatstown, Dublin 14.