CHAMPIONSHIP 2004/Brian Whelahan's diary: Wexford will test the reflexes but memories of past glories ease the mind

FINAL THOUGHTS

My first Leinster final was in 1990 against Dublin. That was a huge thing for me to play that day and to come away with a senior Leinster medal. The downside was that I got injured and missed the All-Ireland semi-final.

I'd say the biggest one of the lot was beating Kilkenny in 1995 because we had a point to prove. There had been a lot of nonsense talk that Kilkenny in '94 were a tired team after winning two All-Irelands, that they'd had time to recuperate and were going to come back out and prove that the last year had been a blip.

We were very focused in '95 and I couldn't see us being beaten because we'd played Kilkenny in the league that year and they'd got 4-8. I knew they weren't going to get four goals in a Leinster final and I knew we'd beat them.

It was a memorable occasion. There was a huge downpour before the throw-in and I remember some of our supporters doing a jig on the field before the match started. It added to the atmosphere and on The Sunday Game that night, there was a soundtrack of Van Morrison singing There'll be Days Like This with the boys doing "Klinsmann2 dives and sliding for 10 feet with a huge spray of water coming up.

That was a great memory for Offaly.

I never forget that in 1998, when Babs Keating took over Offaly, he met us for the first time. It was a big meeting and we divided into little groups to talk about our goals for the year. There was a lot of talk about All-Irelands and this and that and the other.

I was a bit taken aback by that because in '96 and '97 we hadn't even won Leinster let alone an All-Ireland. I was questioning whether we had our sights properly focused. The back door was in its second year then and maybe our mindsets were travelling a bit farther than they should have been.

As it turned out that year, we didn't win Leinster but did win the All-Ireland but I felt we were being dismissive of the Leinster title to be setting goals to win All-Irelands. I have always made winning the Leinster title my number one focus but unfortunately we haven't won one in nine years.

UNDER PRESSURE

Wexford are the team that's played at the level this year. We've had two games and been lack-lustre. In the semi-final against Kilkenny they played the game that suited their lighter forwards, like the Jacobs and to an extent Mitch Jordan. They weren't just hitting high ball in on top of Noel Hickey and Peter Barry.

We have similar players but they've progressed farther down that line. It's hard to judge how far Offaly have come because we haven't had stern enough opposition.

It could be that Wexford will change their game plan but I expect to be under pressure on Sunday with a lot of ball coming down on top of me. You cope as best you can. What we have tried to learn is that there have to be people in support, whether it's for breaking ball or to receive a pass.

Look at the way Kilkenny have played the last couple of years. When Peter Barry gets the ball he rarely clears. He looks for Michael Kavanagh or someone to hand pass to and they clear. That comes with practising and working together.

It's not the strongest part of my game but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm weak under high ball. You have guys who specialise in catching like Dan Shanahan or Gary Hanniffy or Peter Barry. I mightn't be one of those but I'd be hoping that not too many will be caught off me either.

QUICK ON THE DRAW

Kilkenny were unhappy with the qualifier draw. I think whether Offaly were in the draw or not, there's no guarantee that Kilkenny would have drawn us. Obviously they'd see Offaly as an easier touch than Galway and fair enough, that's their opinion.

But probably, what's at the back of all this is that they're not in the Leinster final for the first time in seven years and that's what's really getting under their skin. They have to come through the back door this time, unlike too many other years.

If you ever look at the reactions at a Leinster final after Kilkenny have won, there are not too many people jumping for joy or with the same enthusiasm as if a Wexford team or an Offaly team had won.

This year, they probably paid the price for that, not paying it the respect they should have - as well as being out-hurled on the day. If they want to retain their All-Ireland championship now they'll have to come through the back door with a lot of other big teams in it.

That's the way the cookie crumbles and they'll have to get on with it. But it's the first time I've ever heard Kilkenny complaining about a draw.

HOT TICKETS

The ticket situation before Croke Park was redeveloped was crazy. People are the same in every county and believe, "sure he's a player, he'll be able to get what he likes". The '95 All-Ireland was crazy. Clare got there first; they had their homework done. They were on the phone that night or the following day to every county secretary in the country looking for spare tickets that they weren't going to use.

So there was a huge shortfall of tickets in Offaly. On the Sunday morning of the match, I was getting phone calls from people asking, "Is there anything you can do for me?" The morning of the match! You can't offend people either but that was one very annoying week.

THE BOYS ON THE BUS

My memories of travelling to Croke Park are dominated by the bus. I think it's bloody crazy. You'd be on the bus for two hours, then into a hotel for a cup of tea and a sandwich and then back on for another three quarters of an hour.

That's the guts of three hours on the bus. No other sports people on the morning of a match or a race would be expected to do that.

It's definitely not the way to travel. The less you feel cooped up, the better. The last day we went on the train, drove to Tullamore and got on the train. It's only about an hour to Dublin and you can get up and move around.

I don't have any big routines on match day. I go and call for the brothers and we get the bus in the square or drive to the train.

My wife will have the holy water out and it would be out down in my mother's before we go as well. Then onto the bus or train, chat with players and read the papers.

I wouldn't read about our match but I might read about the soccer the day before or something in the international news that would interest me. I wouldn't read about our match because I think it can "unfocus" you.

To be honest I'm not a huge newspaper reader anyway. As my father says, "You own a paper shop and you won't bloody well buy a paper!"