COLUMN: 'The weight of history' on the line for Mayo against Galway

With two days to go until the biggest game of the year for Mayo – so far, at least – it’s probably a good time to stand back and take stock of the wider landscape. The Mayo camp will undoubtedly be doing the same – taking a few steps back to get a run at the huge step up in tempo and physicality that awaits them on Sunday in Castlebar. 

It always strikes me at this time of year how strange our relationship is with the National League.

MAYO V GALWAY: All you need to know ahead of the Connacht final

When we are in the thick of it, it’s the be-all and end-all. It essentially operates in a vacuum, so games are analysed and scrutinized to death, but the minute it’s over, it’s usually instantly consigned to the insignificance of history. Sure we can barely even remember who won the thing (ahem). 

That said, in Mayo, our own topsy-turvy campaign is probably still quite fresh in our minds, not least because it gave us very little indication as supporters of where we are as a team.

On paper, as league finalists, we put in an excellent campaign. And if results are all that matter, Mayo have done very little wrong this year so far, apart from the small matter of losing by ten points to Galway (if we’re being facetious, at this point). Combined with our Connacht campaign so far, our performances have frustrated, bored and thrilled in equal measure, but mostly, they have perplexed.

HOT FAVOURITES

So, while Meath might have sprung probably the biggest surprise of the championship - in oh, about 15 years - on Sunday, by finally ending Dublin’s reign as Leinster kingpins, Sunday is the Big One in this neck of the woods. It’s fairly clear that this is the game that management have had in their sights since the day the draw was made, and rightly so. So have supporters. 

In an era when the entire GAA championship structure has been chopped up and shuffled and thrown up in the air more times than any of us care to remember, Connacht Final day remains an anchor to days of yore. Days when it was an occasion to remember, and when winning it would get you straight into an All-Ireland semi-final. Those were the days when the sun always shone, the flags always flew and the sense of occasion was massive.

Sunday is a big day for Galway. They stand to claim four Nestor Cups in a row, an achievement they haven’t managed since 1966. In 2015, Mayo claimed five-in-a-row, and Galway will want to best that, along with cementing their seniority in head-to-head victories in Connacht.

It could be argued that Galway have their eyes on a far bigger and elusive prize, but Padraic Joyce will not now - nor ever - relish losing to Mayo, so there will be no doubting their enthusiasm. They are raging red-hot favourites though, which is a place no-one really likes to be – just ask Kerry and the Dubs. 

SMARTS?

With only two wins over the old enemy since 2015, Mayo are overdue a victory. Denied by a poor refereeing decision at the death last year in Salthill (and, to be fair, our own inability to put the game to bed sooner), Mayo should not be lacking in hunger or drive on Sunday. But will they have the smarts?

Based on the evidence available to supporters so far: a worrying lack of certainty around what our best team is, strange decisions around positioning, a leaky defence, a midfield that has struggled badly for three games on the trot, a reluctance to kick the ball, an even greater reluctance to pull the trigger, a kickout strategy that doesn’t appear to exist, an aversion to two-pointers and an over-reliance on one forward, you wouldn’t be overly optimistic, would you?

Mayo fans are known, paradoxically, for both our stoic optimism and their over-the-top negativity. We talk down our teams like no other county. We demand a ferocious amount. Winning games isn’t enough - we need to win them in the most elegant style.

I am absolutely convinced that if we won an All-Ireland final playing poorly that there would still be people over on Mayo GAA Blog losing their minds about it. And yet, despite the decades of disappointment we still go at it every year thinking and hoping that we have a chance of doing just that.

EASY TO APPLY: Do you know Mayo's Greatest Supporter? 

UNLEASH THE HOUNDS

The bookies may well have written Mayo off for this weekend, but no Mayo and Galway fan worth their salt will be quite so naive. They will know that the Connacht Final is a game where logic cannot be defied.

Where the beat of the band leading the parade will be mirrored in the hearts of those in the stand and on the terraces … the anxious quickening thud in our chests as the roar grows and reaches a crescendo during the final notes of the national anthem. The weight of history, and the pride at stake. Is there a sight so potent, so capable of lighting a fire in the belly as that of the maroon jersey, worn with a swagger, in expectation of victory?  

While there is a lot of pressure on the Mayo management, in contrast, very little expectation is being laid on the team. And that surely has to hurt. The comparisons with the team of a decade ago must surely reach a point where defiance will kick in and manifest itself like it did in Armagh a few weeks ago.

If we know anything about the Stephen Rochford of old, it’s that he’s capable of pulling an ace out of his sleeve and is not afraid to gamble (even if our performance in front of the posts so far this year suggests differently). Perhaps the gamble this year was in our approach to Sunday – show no hand, nor indication of threat, do only what is needed - and on the day, open the floodgates, and unleash the hounds. If so, it’s a risky one. If not – well, your guess is as good as mine. 

There is only one thing certain. There is nowhere in the world I would rather be at 4pm next Sunday when the ball is thrown in.