Class ’til the end.
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same…Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!”
(Rudyard Kipling)
A bad winner makes a worse loser.
Dublin are not guilty of either.
All throughout their total domination of Gaelic Football, when the rest of the island were taking shots at them, swiping at them and just hating them, they kept their class, they kept their heads down and they just carried on.
They took everything their enemies had to throw at them, most of which were aimed through green eyes, and their counsel was unmoved. Jim Gavin and his players were unaffected by differing opinions and motivations and the growing clamour to see them beaten and, whilst the rest of us prayed for their demise and the future of the sport, the Dubs brought home two league titles, two Leinster titles and two All-Ireland titles during a record stretch of unbeaten games.
What a streak from Dublin. What a serious, serious outfit.
The last thing everyone needed was them angry coming into the championship
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 9, 2017
Under the steady stewardship of their manager, the capital never once got carried away.
When they won, they shook hands, kept their calm, and focused on getting better.
When they drew, they shook hands, kept their calm, and focused on getting better.
On Sunday, when they finally lost, they shook hands. They kept their calm. Now, they’ll go and focus on getting better.
That composure and that class was fronted by their coach and captain.
One by one, Stephen Cluxton and Jim Gavin walked through every player in the Kerry squad and congratulated them as the Kingdom prepared to lift the league trophy, the first time anyone outside the Dubs had done so since Gavin took over.
They treated defeat like they do their victories and showed the rest of the players the way.
Jim Gavin could even bear to spare a moment for young Gavin Crowley who had absolutely terrorised the All-Ireland champions when he came on for Lyne in the first half.
But then the manager walked straight into the Kerry bunch and made a point of shaking hands with each and every one of them.
When you’re used to winning as much as he is, this could not have been too easy. But it was completely admirable.
He made sure he missed no-one.
Even in defeat, Gavin has that winning class.
No wonder it rubs off on his team. Dublin win with grace and they lose with grace.
They’re an example to every side in the country.
Reflection is the better part of a champion.
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