Bernard Brogan’s words should give Mayo the perfect motivation for 2018

They don't want anybody feeling sorry for them.

Mayo have been through the wringer, they've suffered more than any other sporting team over the last few years. They've been knocked down, losing finals by the finest margins, but they still just keep on coming back. They're like a bad smell because they just won't go away, and while the towel would be long thrown in by other outfits who have come up just short on so many occasions, these lads are hell-bent. 2017 was yet another tale of heartbreak, but according to Dublin star Bernard Brogan, who was speaking to SportsJOE recently at SuperValu's Behind the Ball campaign, the last thing these lads want is for people to feel sorry for them. It's fair to say that this has been a prominent theme since that crushing September day. People do feel sorry for them, why wouldn't they? When Dublin defeated them, they defeated not just Mayo but 31 other counties, because we all love their attitude, their bouncebackability and we all just want them to end that famine that has denied them. We do feel sorry for them, and Bernard Brogan admitted that he does, too.

"We know as much as anyone how much effort goes in from the start of the year in January to the third week of September. Mayo have had tough times in the past, straight away, I went over and tried to chat to a couple of the lads to wish them hard luck. It was a very close game, and we're all there to win, and I have to say, I do feel sorry for them.

As a player, though, Brogan knows that a player hates to be directed with sympathy. Mayo hate this, and they'll be mad to stop this trend in 2018. They'll be mad to show that they can win and that they have the ability to bloody well earn it.

"They don't want us to feel sorry for them, they want to go out and earn it and they will get there at some stage. They're a great bunch of lads and we've massive respect for them," he added.

Brogan, who had to make do with a substitute role in Jim Gavin's set-up this year claims that he does see them getting over the line eventually.

"We've had great battles over the last few years, we've edged it the last few times, it's different, obviously, with a couple of All-Irelands in the pocket than not, but they're a serious football team, and they'll keep coming back and I do see them getting over the line," said the 33-year-old.

Indeed, when asked if he'd like to see Mayo win an All-Ireland if Dublin weren't their opponents, he admitted that with the "grá" he has for the county, he'd find it hard not to.

"The Brogans are from Mayo, my granny and granddad are from Foxford and Knockmore so I've a big grá for Mayo. I would have spent a lot of my childhoods down there," he said.

Bernard Brogan was training parents and kids at SuperValu’s #BehindTheBall Camp at Trim GAA Club. SuperValu’s volunteer camps took place nationwide and were designed to encourage more parents to lend their support and get involved in their local clubs throughout the country.