I’m a firm believer in being as positive as possible until the moment when it’s out of your hands

26 September 2007


Okay, so I did say that it was the end of the road as far as me and optimism were concerned. But I’m so not down with the whole negativity thing that is going on in the meeja at the moment. We are all[1] disappointed. But as Emmet Byrne said on d’telly last night it is easy to be negative. Not only is it easy, it is a fairly pointless exercise.

I’m not saying that we ignore the shite play, or pretend that everything is okay with the rugby team, but we aren’t out yet, so why not hope? Why be so negative in the questions to the players? And don’t give me that “hard-hitting journalism” tosh, cause that isn’t the reason. The reason is that it is easy to hit someone when they are down and taking the easy option is, well, easy, innit?

So lets hold all post-mortems and “Alas, ochrone” wailing and keening until after the final match on Sunday. Yes, we’ll probably be going home, but this is sport, and stranger things have happened.


Title provided by BOD

Linknotes:

  1. for a certain value of all

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8 Responses

  1. JL Pagano says:

    I agree to an extent in that our opinions should fall somewhere between the two extremes of "Jaysis they're all a pack of overpaid wasters!!!" and "Ah, come on give em a break, sure aren't they trying their best!!!".

    But I have to say, if I had the chance to ask the players a question, you can be damn sure it'd be negative. It would probably go something like this…"Lads, what exactly can Irish rugby fans, who have followed you around France, bought all the jerseys, seen you every day doing ads on the telly, expect from this squad against Argentina based on what they've seen in the three matches so far?" I think that's a fair question.

    On a separate note…are you on Facebook yet?

  2. Fence says:

    JL, I agree that their are question that need to be asked, and we shouldn't be all "wa-hey the bhoys" but sport often depends on the psychology of the players, so I'm more in favour of upping the confidence rather than trying to tear it to shreds, which seems to be a tactic used by certain sections of the media at the moment. I do think your question is a fair one, and I'd say the players would say it is too, but there is a difference between that and asking "you've played crap so far, why should we expect any difference this time out"

    As for the facebook issue, I am, but I amn't :)

  3. John says:

    Check out this article on my blog. It’s a preview on the upcoming match between Argentina and Ireland. And don’t forget to leave your comments as well.

    http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2007/09/puma

  4. anne says:

    You know I'll be cheering for you, right? If only because there are a few teams I'd like to go way before Ireland – and yes, that's very unsportsmanlike, but hey, I'm a girl.

  5. jean pierre says:

    i couldn't agree more. its easy to be negative and it can be very damaging. yes – one can be realistic, but negativity isn't really very productive.

    good luck for the game with the argies!!

  6. Fence says:

    And now, the end is here. No more positivity at all at all.

    I'm going to be cheering on Argentina for the rest of the competition.

  7. Alan says:

    I’m going to be cheering on Argentina for the rest of the competition.

    GEE THANKS!

  8. Fence says:

    Sorry Alan, but it is the truth.