Club is family.
The fourth step on Jeff and Kammy’s journey to Croker involved the charismatic pair being thrown into the deep end in a junior football Championship game in the heart of Monaghan.
It’s prime club season in the Ulster county, with the Monaghan seniors getting knocked out of the All-Ireland by Dublin three weeks ago.
The juniors are in full Championship mode at the moment, and Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara got a taste of what it’s all about when Éire Óg Smithboro took on Currin GAA club recently.
After journeying through one of the most remote parts of rural Ireland last week in a banged up Toyota Corolla, the pair were well prepared for the “fire and brimstone” of the Championship action, as the Éire Óg manager referred to it when building up to the big game.
The lads were granted access to Currin’s dressing room, a place where player manager and former Monaghan stalwart Dick Clerkin was central to the action.
The fire was in Clerkin’s belly prior to the game, and Jeff and Kammy were getting fairly riled up themselves due to Clerkin’s passionate words.
The pair made their way to the stand, where they met up with Hugo Clerkin, a former Monaghan legend and the father of Dick.
Hugo informed the lads about the tradition that exists in the GAA, and the lads remarked that such culture is lacking in their soccer world.
“You don’t really have a transfer system…There’s a great sense of pride in the local area,” said Hugo.
Chris and Jeff learned about the role of the sweeper, and witnessed some fine scores from both teams.
Jeff was impressed with the standard and is wondering just how different an All-Ireland final will be.
See how they got on here.
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